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Thursday, January 5, 2012

Quotes That Make You Think and Think and Think Again

"If your dreams don't scare you they're not big enough."

I saw this quote this morning on Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/pin/234750199296391163/)

At first I smiled and thought, "Awesome." Since that first "awesome," I can't get that quote out of my head.

I realize that I don't have any "scary" dreams and it makes me sad. I'm sad because I know that I am "playing it safe."

Each time I try create a "scary" dream I come up with nothing. This makes me think and think and think again to figure out why I'm stopped.

That is a VERY good thing.

I wish you many "scary" dreams.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Have Too Much Stuff? - Get Rid of It!!!

Commercials on day-time TV are interesting. This morning, the "suck vac bag" commercial came on and the opening question was "Do you have too much stuff?" The answer from the commercial was "buy the new suck vac bag."

My answer was "GET RID OF IT!" Yes, I actually yelled at the TV. Yes, I felt like an idiot. I couldn't help it. It's was the professional organizer inside of me doing the yelling.

It's like the old adage, "If you have to ask the price then you can't afford it."

In this context, "If you have to ask if you have too much stuff then you have too much stuff."

The funny thing is that when people think organizing they think "keep all my stuff but in a smaller space."

True organizing is only keeping the things that are useful and serve you. Please note, bringing joy or good feelings can be a service. So, you don't have to get rid of your favorite painting when you are seeking to be organized.

If you are looking to be organized in this fabulous new year, then I have a 3 pass system to go through your stuff and get rid of it. You can apply it to any area of your life (office, closet, garage, etc).

Step 1 - Create a holding area.
Step 2 - Move items to the holding area in 3 passes or phases.
  • PASS #1 - Remove anything that you haven't used/worn in the past year.
  • PASS #2 - Remove anything that no longer fits (your body or decor or lifestyle).
  • PASS #3 - Remove anything that is broken.
Step 3 - Keep things in the holding area for at least a week.
Step 4 - Make decisions about items in the holding area. The "I might use it someday" excuse doesn't cut it!!!
  • Trash
  • Donate
  • Keep

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Less Watching More Doing

It's my lunch hour and I am surfing the Internet looking at my favorite sites for inspiration:
I've been a fan of these blogs for the past few years and they contain such great ideas for the home, tech and kitchen. Today, for some reason, it feels more like I'm looking at other peoples' lives/homes/tech/kitchens and avoiding of dealing with my own life/home/tech/kitchen.

Yes, this is a recurring theme. This September 2011 Watching Other People Do looks at my past addiction to HGTV shows. I still love HGTV. I just watch a whole lot less of it.

I have no idea why this is showing up now. Perhaps it's the whole "new years resolution/fresh start" lens through which I am currently viewing the world. Regardless, I'm going to let go of figuring out the why and just do.

Perhaps Yoda had it right all along.

Monday, January 2, 2012

Efficiency or Coldness - My Love Afair With My DVR

Have I shared how much I love my DVR (well any DVR)? I love it but I don't "llllloooovvveeee" it. (Bonus points to whoever can name that movie reference.)

It was today as I was watching the recorded Rose parade that I found myself fast forwarding through the "dead spots" between floats and bands. I also fast forwarded through the marching bands. I admit zooming past the bands was a bit cold but there is a limit to how many times I want to hear about the fundraising done by the bands to make it to the parade. I was on the dance drill team in my high school days so "been there done that" in the area of band fundraisers. I did watch the dogs surfing. I'm not made of stone.

After I finished the parade, I thought back to the other lllooonnnggg event of recent times, the royal wedding of the Duke & Duchess of Camberidge. I recorded that bad boy. Watching the wedding was fantastic. Procession of the Queen...fast forward. Procession of the bride and her father. Opening hymn...fast forward. You get the gist.

I watched the Rose Parade in less than an hour.

I watched the royal wedding in 35 minutes.

Effeciency or coldness?

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Being a Blogger & Learning to Type

I've started and stopped this blog with the high expectations of "being a blogger." I always typed ideas and thoughts and would occasionally post a blog entry.

Seth Godin, author of Lynchpin and other excellent books, plainly said that if you want to be a blogger then write everyday, no matter how good or bad.

This reminds me of when I was going to learn to type. I didn't go to typing class in school but I had gotten my hands on a typewriting class book. I started following the lessons one day at a time. My dad walked in on one of my lessons and asked what I was doing. After I told him I was learning to type he looked at the book And said, "This doesn't have real words."

He left the room and returned with my favorite magazine. I asked what was going on. He asked, "How do you think secretaries become good at typing documents? They type real words all the time"

So here I am typing real words in a real blog.