Loading....
Recent Article Links:

Tag 'organizing'

Free Yourself from Your Stuff

Courtesy of Carmen Coker, owner of Clutterbugs:

A well-known Zen parable tells of a wanderer on a lonely road who happened upon a fierce stream that had washed out the bridge to cross over it.

The man, afraid to swim against such a strong current, decided to build a raft. He spent many hours cutting down trees and vines for the project. In the end, the wanderer had a very sturdy raft that brought him safely across the river.

Once on the other side, he thought to himself: This is a good raft. If I meet with another stream ahead, I can use it again to navigate the water.

And so the wanderer carried the raft for the rest of his life.

Think about the moral of this story for just a moment.

From the outside, looking in, this might seem ridiculous. Why would some guy carry a heavy raft around if he didn’t need to?!

But, often times, we do this same thing in our own lives. Maybe not a raft, but maybe something else. It’s not uncommon for people to hang onto an item because it was useful at one point or another but has since become irrelevant. Bottom line: it’s now clutter.

If this sounds familiar, I encourage you to take a few hours throughout the next week to purge these objects that no longer add value to your home, office, or life.

Don’t carry these “rafts” when you don’t need to…

Michelle's Signature

Monday Mission : Spend Time with Your Family

Here in Georgetown, schools are closed for Spring Break this week. So, with the kids at home, this is the perfect time to be intentional about spending quality time together as a family. Need some ideas?

Michelle's Signature

Monday Mission : “Git-R-Done”

I am a master of procrastination. Give me something that I don’t really want to do, and I’ll find a zillion ways to avoid doing it.

Today’s fine example : contact the insurance company.

On Friday, I stopped by the pharmacy to pick up Amanda’s prescription for antibiotics (re: ear infection). The total charge was nearly $75 for the generic form of the medication!

Since we have a decent health insurance plan, I questioned the price and was told that the pharmacy has our insurance information on file, but had been instructed by the insurance company to charge a $75 copay for the prescription!

Now, we normally pay a $10 copay for the generic form of any prescribed medication, so this answer concerned me…

Anyway, long-story-short, I need to call our health insurance company today to get it all straightened out (“Git-R-Done”). Ugh!

So, what about you? What important task have you been dreading? How do you motivate yourself to finally “Git-R-Done”? I’d love to hear from you!

Michelle's Signature

BNI Scott County : Success Masters

Georgetown now boasts its very own Business Network International Chapter called Success Masters.

BNI is the World’s Largest Business Networking, Referrals, and Word of Mouth Marketing Organization.

I attended the Kick-Off Event on Wednesday, courtesy of a personal invitation from a fellow Lilybugs consignor and mom : Alison Waldridge.

Having been accepted as a new member, I am looking forward to picking the brains of more experienced and successful local business owners. ( Of course, getting some client referrals wouldn’t hurt, either! 😉 ) Wish me luck!

Michelle's Signature

Monday Mission : Weed Out Your Wardrobe

Woohoo! The Lilybugs Children’s Consignment Sale was a great success! I’m looking forward to picking up my cheque on Wednesday. I made a net profit of $128.80… enough to cover what I spent on Amanda’s summer wardrobe, birthday presents, and advertising (i.e., my [ real neat ] business cards and checklists for the goody bags that were handed out to shoppers)!

My little 2-bedroom apartment is breathing a sigh of relief now that I have eliminated several bins of outgrown clothing and toys. Now, I should be able to find adequate storage space for the belongings that Amanda and I actually use (i.e., camping equipment, art supplies, bicycles).

So, if you haven’t done so already, set aside an hour or two to sort and purge your excess clothing as the seasons change and the weather gets warmer.

THE RULES:

  • Grab your calendar now, and schedule an appointment with your wardrobe within the next 2 weeks.
  • Invite a trusted friend to join you in weeding out your ‘old’ clothes. She’ll help you remain objective.
  • Hold a private fashion show, and
    • TOSS any clothing items that have holes (or if, like me, you’ll never realistically repair or pay someone to repair these items).
    • KEEP only items that actually FLATTER your body type. Get picky and brutal. Rid yourself of all ‘skinny’ clothes; at the moment, they are simply taunting you every time you see them, reminding you that you’re fat, you’re lazy, and you’re not good enough. Nothing is ever worth all that negative self-talk. Besides, when you finally do lose the weight, you can reward yourself with a new wardrobe!
    • DONATE anything that is still in decent shape but that doesn’t make the cut (or you never really wear). I hate to burst your bubble, but honestly… if you haven’t worn an item in the last year, you’re never going to end up wearing it. Schedule an appointment on your calendar to take these items to friends or local charities.
  • Put away whatever items you keep (in an organized manner, of course). Need ideas? Sort by color, by length, by clothing type, or even by complete outfits.
  • Take inventory of the clothing that you kept.
  • Make a shopping list of items that you need to replace in order to fill out your wardrobe for the upcoming season.
  • Block off some time on your calendar for a shopping date; and, when the time comes, shop with confidence and a discerning eye.

So, what about you? How do you sort and purge your wardrobe? Please share your tips in the comments below.

Michelle's Signature