Your House In Order

I’m a fan of podcasts. I load them onto my iphone and listen while driving, walking the dog, washing the dishes, or doing anything that doesn’t require critical thought.  It keeps my mind engaged and I usually can add something to my stockpile of semi-useful information. (i.e., My father is older than sliced bread.  Commercially…

The trouble with clients is that they expect me to solve their problems. Many times when I enter into a new client situation, I wonder how on earth I’m going to help.  As I walk and talk with the client and discover layer upon layer of disorder and clutter, I realize that the scope of…

I live in a tiny house. But it has a big garage. I used to keep my car there, but my mini-van is too long to fit! The garage has now become my de facto project headquarters. When the holidays roll around, I create “Santa’s Workshop.” I set up two folding tables, pull out my…

Christmas is approaching like a freight train. Are you feeling jittery?  Do you get a tight feeling under your diaphragm, does your heart race, do you feel like screaming, crying, or running away? What’s happening is the onset of panic. The seeming enormity of the undertaking triggers an immediate flight response that bypasses logical thought.…

Yay you! You’ve successfully scaled back! Enjoy the feelings of accomplishment and relief.  Less stuff frees emotional energy. Your pared down space physically requires less of your time. You are free to pack up and go at a moment’s notice.  Celebrate your liberation! Now you need to keep it small. You’re only human. You will…

This is the nitty-gritty of downsizing – paring down your possessions.   All the planning in the world is useless until you actually carry things out of the house… and keep them out! We talked about the emotional component of untethering yourself from your stuff. Keep this in mind as you start going through your belongings.…

It’s all so clear in your head.  You’ve decided to scale back.  You want to occupy less space on the planet.  You are paring down your belongings or moving to a smaller home. You know why you are doing this and why it makes perfect logical sense.  You have a plan. But then you confront…

In a previous blog, we talked about why to downsize, now we’ll talk about how. You’ve got to have a plan. Otherwise, you will be quickly mired in inertia. Visualize the whole project and have an end point in mind.  Avoid acting haphazardly or rushing the process.  Rushing begets regret – regret that you kept…

Downsizing.  The very word is a downer.  It implies descent, drawing to a close, or an euphenism for losing a job.  No wonder we’re resistant to downsizing – the word itself sounds like defeat. Better to use terms like right-sizing, scaling back, or de-accumulation.  Think of the process as a way to bridge old and…

Let’s talk for a minute about productivity apps. These are apps designed to help you operate more efficiently in your personal or business life. There are a lot of them out there. Search “Productivity” on the App Store and you will get over 100 results. You could spend all day reading reviews or visiting websites…