Breathing Space & More...

Yesterday I sat down to type out what I really believe about my business.  I had just been searching websites of professional organizers to find out how they let other people know what makes them special; what they share in their "About" section.  I thought it might be a good idea for me to put down on paper why I want to do this work and why I believe it has value. One person had labeled this page her "manifesto."  I took that idea and started to type.  It was fun to collect all of the little thoughts and phrases that have been surrounding me for the last 4 months and put them together on one page of text.  It felt like a culmination.   Here's are a couple paragraphs from my business manifesto: I believe that it is really helpful to have a partner as you begin this process.  A partner who only wants the best for you and is ready to be of service.  A partner to help you gain clarity around what you are really looking for i...

It's funny how junk starts to accumulate if you let your guard down just a little bit.  We have been redecorating/reorganizing the bedrooms in our house with the goal of clearing clutter and creating space for the items and activities that matter the most to each of us.  As I work on sending out the things that we have outgrown or that no longer serve a purpose, I am looking at them with new eyes.  I am thinking about how they entered our lives and where they will go next. Last night I finished the book Garbology by Edward Humes.  The book has been moved from my coffee table, to my bedside and back again as I chipped away at it over a few months.  It wasn't a book that I could digest all at once.  The history of trash in this country, how our cultural norms were developed, the gravity of the numbers surrounding our waste, the descriptions of our landfills, the depth and consequences that surround this topic weighed too heavy on my heart to take it in...

"Be daring enough to tell us-your customers, your fans, your people-about your ambition  because we'll be the ones to help you fulfill them."  -  Danielle LaPorte It is a new year.  A time of new beginnings.  A time to clear out the old and make way for the new and I am ready for it.  I have been inching forward in my new business and now it's time to push the go button and let things begin.  I am ready to see where this leads. Just the other day, I was listening to Oprah interview Sue Monk Kidd, the best-selling author of "The Secret Life of Bees."  She was talking about her transition from being a nurse to becoming a writer; something that she had wanted to be since she was a child.  She was speaking about listening to what is calling from the bottom of your heart.  Hear it and then proclaim it. Last year I proclaimed that I was done teaching in the classroom or in a traditional "teacher" way.  I know there is somet...

Holidays around here are usually all about tradition.    Traditions become things that we can look forward to and they create a pattern that makes the holiday run smoothly.   Predictable and expected.   But sometimes things have to change.   How do I deal with things when they change?   When life throws a curveball or we start to outgrow a tradition?   How flexible can I be? I know that my default is predictability.   It takes work for me to shift gears, especially when things are out of my control.   I usually have a little period of overwhelm and then eventually my pendulum swings back and I realize that whatever the new plan, it will work.    It won’t be the end of the world and I might even be pleasantly surprised by the change. I have been thinking a lot about making memories as I spend time with my eighty-six-year-old grandmother who is suffering from Dementia.   It is a hard fact to swallow.   There...