Jump on the Zen Habits Bandwagon!

Zen Habits is one of my favorite blogs! And if that's not enough to convince you to check it out, consider this: it's one of the Top 100 blogs on the Internet, and covers: achieving goals, productivity, being organized, GTD, motivation, eliminating debt, saving, getting a flat stomach, eating healthy, simplifying, living frugal, parenting, happiness, and successfully implementing good habits. 'Nuff said!

I'll keep this post short so you can go straight to the Zen Habits blog to check it out!

Cleanse Your Soul with a Good Exfoliation

Yesterday I spent the day at a Korean Day Spa. I'll take a moment to pause for the obligatory waves of jealously to pass.

Now as I was saying, yesterday I was at a spa. Part of my treatment was a full body scrub. Most of us can extol the virtues of using a dab of exfoliator in the shower - softer skin and no more cracked elbows. But the virtues of a two-hour full body exfoliation is more akin to a cleansing of the soul. Now stick with me. For centuries, people have elevated the cleansing of our outer bodies to reflect an inner cleansing that leads to greater clarity. As an organizer, I'm a firm believer that our outer lives often reflect back to us our inner thoughts and feelings. Whether you are clearing out the clutter in your office or, as in my recent case, scrubbing away the top layer of my dermis, the clarity that arises after you are done is profound.

So since it's Monday and for many of you, the start of your week, I encourage you to strip away some of that outer clutter - whether it's a stack of bills you've been avoiding, the dreaded "junk" drawer that's a catch-all for any number of things, or a simple sugar scrub in the shower. As the the Chinese philosopher Lau Tzu is quoted as saying, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Let today be the day that you take a single step toward more direction and clarity in your life.

T.G.I.F.

In honor of the mantra of the day - T.G.I.F. (and for those few of you out there that live under a rock, this catchy little acronym means Thank God It's Friday!) - I want to share with you a simple organizing strategy I use myself. For me, this acronym has a double meaning. Every Friday I use these letters to help me go through my in-box (you know, it's that dreaded pile - or piles! - that you haven't processed). It's simple, so go grab your stack and go! Here's what you do:
Toss: Anything outdated or irrelevant must go! Toss them (by toss, I mean recycle of course!).
Give: You’ll come across items that should be delegated to others – so give them away!
Immediate Attention: This is the pile that can make your stomach turn. You’re sure to unearth items that should have been done yesterday. After you’ve completed the simple sort, address these items ASAP.
File: Create a stack for all relevant information that needs to be filed. And if you have time, file them away.

Now go enjoy the weekend!

My First Trip to the Land of Blogging

Launching my company and website has been a rollercoaster of irony – so many highs and lows that I’m feeling dizzy. In an effort to embrace my passion for living simply and hopefully help people see the virtues of simplifying their lives, I’ve made my life much more complicated! So here I sit contemplating this paradox. Where did I take a wrong turn down this path of simplicity and end up on this complicated road?

Whenever I come to one of these questions, I like to take a “zen” moment. For me this means sitting by my window and eating a 100-calorie fudgecicle (trust me, nothing helps you live in the moment better than a fine piece of chocolate!). As I concentrate on the chocolately goodness I ponder paradoxes. Good/evil. Simple/complicated. Fast/slow. The only conclusion I’ve come to is that these paradoxes will always exist. The question now becomes, amidst all of this craziness, how do we find peace and simplicity within ourselves?

This blog will be about my journey for this ever-elusive peace and simplicity that we all strive for. I hope you can glean some insight from my missteps. I will also include some tips and tricks I’ve learned along the way as well as some insights from others. And since so much of what I do with clients involves organizing their outer lives to help bring inner clarity, there will be tons of organizing tips and some of my favorite products.

Please join me on this journey!