Find Your Motivation

We all have different reasons for why we want to get organized or even to stay organized. There is no one right answer – what matters is why you want it. Do you know what your reasons are? It’s worth it to give it some thought and find as many reasons as you can. These personal reasons are what can help get you going if (or when) you falter.

Some of what I hear a lot is how overwhelmed people feel with what they’re dealing with – from piles of boxes on an unused room to the mass of papers they have to a house that has simply collected lots of things. It doesn’t matter what the size or scope is, what matters is how it feels to you. A few people are concerned about how their loved ones are feeling and reacting to the state of their home. Others are adjusting to difficult transitions in life – from the death of a spouse to downsizing (voluntarily or not) to new health issues.

Although the above are fine reasons for wanting to get and stay organized, some of them are phrased on negative terms. If we went to a list of our reasons for getting organized and saw as a reason “because I’m overwhelmed” or “because my spouse is always yelling at me” or even “because I cannot concentrate the way I used to” it’s unlikely to inspire us.

Find a way to make the reasons positive. If you’re overwhelmed, you are looking for an easier way to doing things, a way to simplify things for yourself. If a loved one is badgering you, you might be looking for a way to improve your relationship and become closer with them again. Sometimes those life transitions are challenging, yet I believe there are positive ways to view your situation. For me, it was a chance to learn new ways of doing things and I love learning.

The point is that you want to figure out the reasons that matter to you for getting organized – maybe you want more time to enjoy life. I’d suggest that you actually write them down somewhere. I don’t think you need to look at them every day, although you certainly can. The idea is that you have them to pull out when you get discouraged or falter in your efforts. It could also help if you find yourself procrastinating working on things.

When you’re feeling discouraged, you not likely to remember the real reasons why you’re trying to change things. You’re also more likely going to remember the negative reasons, which are not usually motivating! By having a list of positive and personal reasons to change, you can refer to it when you need to. You can even add to it as things occur to you – since life is a process like organizing, your motivation can shift and change too.

Knowing what your motivations are for getting organized is probably the very first step you need to take toward getting and staying organized. Just as it’s hard to remember what inspires you when you’re feeling discouraged or overwhelmed, our reasons for being more organized can get lost when we’re struggling. Those underlying reasons can re-inspire us to keep working (or start trying again). When we have a list to refer to, it’s easier to re-energize ourselves.

Preventing Slips, Trips, and Falls

June is National Safety Month, where each week has a different theme – this week’s theme is preventing slips, trips, and falls. This ties in well with organizing – as no one wants to be injured unnecessarily. When we have excess stuff around, on the floor especially, we’re putting ourselves at risk. I say this from experience since I’ve bashed my toes more than once – and not usually from clutter.

You might remember that I have issues with the term “hoarding” and certainly, the concerns of the families is not limited to the “hoarders.” We can surmise from the National Safety Council’s focus for a week on preventing slips, trips, and falls that this is something that applies to all of us – clutter or not. Heck, I’ve broken toes from a certain degree of clumsiness. And that was from major pieces of furniture being where they’d always been! (I’ll take a brief moment to promote the idea of wearing shoes where your toes are covered – and this despite being someone who loves being barefoot. ☺) If we can prevent ourselves from slipping, tripping, or falling, this is what we all want.

Whether you have lots of stuff around or not, it’s important to look around – try to notice those things that we become blind to because we’ve gotten used to them. I’ve tripped over cat accessories, even with them in plain sight. The cat toys now live in a tin, without a lid, over in a corner in our living room. It’s even cute to see the ones that get pulled out and we’re limiting the risk of tripping or twisting an ankle from stepping on them. They also get put back periodically, since if they didn’t they’d be a hazard again.

Stairs are a popular place to put things down on as they wait for their turn to be carried to the top. I do this frequently since I procrastinate making a trip upstairs until I need to. Are you aware when there are things sitting on the steps? It’s remarkably easy to become a bit blind to a constant pile. I rarely put more on the steps than can go up in one trip, and rarely ignore or procrastinate carrying them up. Items along the stairway are a dangerous hazard – it’s bad enough to trip on a flat surface, and exponentially worse on stairs.

This week’s topic for the National Safety Month interestingly coincided with my finishing a book, Digging Out: Helping your loved one manage clutter, hoarding, & compulsive acquiring by Michael A. Tompkins, Ph.D. & Tamara L. Hartl, Ph.D. As a “hoarding” book, it takes a different approach – it focuses on helping your loved one make the home as safe (and comfortable) as possible. It examines what I’ve already talked about – stairs and floors being clear of loose items. They also address other serious hazards – such as papers on or near the stove.

Keep in mind any areas that seem to cause problems – I moved a chest from the foot of the bed since I banged my toes more than once in the middle of the night, to another room. In the spirit of this week’s safety theme, look around your home and office with fresh eyes and see if there are ways to improve safety.

Reusable Bag Organizer & Bags

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Floral Tote Buddy bag organizer

Pros:

compact storage for your reusable bags
convenient for storage and transporting
sturdy materials
made of 100% recyclable non-woven polypropylene
works with any reusable bags
bags are large, sturdy, and easily cleaned
bags are square-bottomed (this is important to me)
bags come with a plastic removable bottom to keep them even

Cons:

slight smell, which wears off with time
has a logo, if that matters to you

Review:

Most of the things I review are items I received because I went to the NAPO conference. This is no exception, but this is something I purchased there. It was a spur of the moment purchase – I was walking around conference with a large box another vendor had given me, and was struggling with having hands – or rather lack of hands. The Tote Buddy was offering their product – their bag organizer with 3 regular bags and 1 floral bag for $20-. I found a table nearby, put my armful of things down, took my money out, and went over and bought the set. I’ll honestly say that I wouldn’t have spent the money if I hadn’t been desperate!

This did not reflect my interest in their product; it was more a reflection of how frugal I can be. As well, it was something more to worry about getting home after conference. The truth is that I cannot say I’ve been frustrated with my reusable bags, they live in one of the bags, and I often remember to grab them before I head to the store. I received FlyLady reusable bags a couple of years ago as a gift – they’re the ones I take: 3 lovely purple, square-bottomed bags and 1 black insulated square-bottomed bag for refrigerator/freezer items. The thing about these is that a couple of them have started to unravel at the edges, but they still work. Yet now that I have the Tote Buddy, I do really appreciate how much easier it is to grab my bags and carry them.

As with so many new bags, there’s a smell – last year’s bag smell was worse – and as usual, the smell does fade with time. I usually wait to talk about the negatives, but in this case, this is really the only one. This product is exactly what it proclaims to be – an eco-friendly v to organize your reusable bags, and it’s stylish too.

The Tote Buddy’s bags are larger and have a much sturdier feel to them. The bags are orange, not my personal favorite color, but are bright and pretty. I’m also not a big floral person, so I got my bag organizer in black. This also has a sturdy feel to it.

I didn’t show my husband right away these bags and organizer, but as he was helping me put things away, he noticed. His comment was pretty much – “Wow, I like these.” I showed him how the organizer worked and he liked that too. He was pleased with how sturdy they feel.

I also like the idea of using a binder clip to clip my list and any coupons (rarely) to the bag organizer, which sits well in the front basket of the cart. They say that the bag organizer holds up to 10 reusable bags – although mine seems a little full with 7 bags. For me, this works fine since I rarely need more than 6 at a time. I also prone to keeping it clean looking, but not wanting to fill it until it’s bulging.

The other day one of my cats vomited liquid all over the floor, where unbeknownst to me, it was running across the floor – right to where a bag was sitting before it was unloaded. First, I was shocked at how far it had run, was our floor that uneven? Second, I was a little miffed, kitty vomit on my relatively new bags – but it amazingly wiped off and left no mark – woohoo! Now that’s a product. Now, I just need to continue working at getting the bag organizer back into my car, or at least remember to grab it before heading out for shopping. 🙂

Here’s a video they did from YouTube.

Note: All my reviews are done without consideration for the company (sorry!) – as unbiased as possible! I don’t receive anything from any of them and most don’t know I’m even reviewing their products.

Getting Things to Their Home

I was working with a client, and I told her to toss her clothes toward the laundry basket. “Um, huh?” you might be thinking to yourself. The point I was making was that we don’t need to be stodgy and particular about how we do something. We can try to have fun with what we need to do – not unlike my entire blog post about “Make It Fun.”

When we’re looking at people not getting things to where they belong – there’s two situations we might be in:

we’re leaving things wherever we’re at when we’re finished with them or
we’re getting them close by, or near their “home.”

Therefore, in dealing with things that don’t move from where they were last used – we can toss things towards where they belong. Of course, you’re not going to throw your CDs at the shelf! The other way is to start baskets/bins of things that belong in other rooms. I’ll admit that I will often drop that bin off in the other room where it will sit ignored for a few days sometimes. At least it’s in the right room, if not it’s “home.”

The situation I described was with a pre-teen girl and I talked about acting like it was basketball. The truth is I’m not into sports and neither was she, but it’s intended as a way to get the items closer to where they belong – making it easier. She had been dropping her clothes on the floor and leaving them there, which isn’t unusual. Yet trying to make a game of getting the clothes closer to the laundry basket makes it interesting. To some extent, it’s also about retraining ourselves to new habits.

Often, I’ll do similar things with paper trash – throwing them towards the basket. I find myself curious about how close, or not, I’ll be. Or whether if I bounce it off the wall just so, will it make it in.

Sometimes we know what we need to do – that item needs to go there, but we still don’t quite get to happen. Right now, I’m not talking about the things we’re undecided on or are still active. You’ve made a home of various things, yet there are still piles. Is there a way to make it more fun – like tossing them?

Unfortunately, we still need some discipline. If you toss things towards a basket – you’ll still need to take some time to put the things where they into the basket. If you move things into the room where they belong, you still need to take some time to put them away within the room.

This is the time when your perceptions of time are likely to be exaggerated – it will take much less time than you anticipate to put them away. Could you time yourself to see how fast you can put all the desk supplies away (once you’ve got them all piled on the desk)? Or set your timer for 10 minutes and put everything away that you can before it goes off?

It takes time and practice to make sure things make it back into their “homes” after you’ve used them. I know my suitcases are notorious for sitting out after a trip – yet we can find ways to improve our behavior in returning things to where they belong. After you’ve identified where you falter – are things left where they “fall” or do they make it partway? From here, you can begin to find ways to get them the rest of the way home.

Google Docs

You might remember my first introduction to cloud computing was a client who used Google Calendar. My first business e-mail was a Gmail account and as I was looking around, I saw Google offering Docs. So, as I was building this business, I used Google Docs as a way to share ideas and collaborate with others. Google also offers spreadsheets, presentations, drawings, and forms, though I’ve not used any of these yet. All you need to use Google Docs is a Gmail account, which you can get free.

I’ll be honest; I don’t use Google Docs much these days. When I was collaborating more, it was a great way to share ideas. I still use it when I need to grab some text for various things – like when I post ads to Craigslist or someone wants a bio. Part of this is that I’ve not bothered to get many of the files onto my computer and it’s simple and easy to get it from Google Docs.

Google Docs Screenshot

I appreciate the simplicity of the layout – you can see that along the left side are the options for creating new documents and uploading files. Below this are more categories and then folders that I created so my overall file list was easier to navigate. The center shows the complete list (based on the selection – in this case, “all items”) of my files. This includes files I’ve viewed from other’s shared collections – I was surprised to see “Heartbreaker Valentines.pdf” there. This was something I looked at and never realized it was part of Google Docs! The right side is something relatively new – where it provides some additional information on the file that’s highlighted from the middle.

I like how they’ve set up the collaborating options – since you can create files that are public, anyone with a link to the file, or private. Even when you decide to keep the settings as private, you can still share the file with others and controlling whether you want them to be able to edit the file or to just view it. When you share a file, the person you’re sharing it with does not need a Gmail account – which I think is wonderful.

With how I’ve tended to use Google Docs, I’ve never needed or wanted many editing or formatting features –for my purposes, they have what I need. I’ve heard there’s some struggles with creating and editing tables with Google Docs. I find the editing tools easy to find and use – and without many the additional options I rarely use even with MS Word. I also like that they frequently save your work as you go – mostly seamlessly – but include a “save now” button so you can also save it when you need.

As with all cloud computing, it’s accessible whenever you have an Internet connection. I’ve found the accessibility to questionable with other devices – Google Docs has only recently been improving their functionality (in my opinion) for smart phones and other devices, like the iPad. Just the other day I was using my iPad to access Google Docs and I kept getting an error message – while other applications that need the Internet were running perfectly. I’m pleased they’ve been improving their mobile accessibility, and am hopeful it will become useful. At this point, I avoid doing it if possible.

Google Docs is free and easy to use. I love the idea that anywhere I am with some time on my hands and an Internet connection I could sign in and be productive. Is this something that would benefit you and your life?

Organizing Your Kitchen

Is your kitchen where people congregate when they visit? We’ve probably all seen our fair share of TV shows and movies where people gather at the kitchen table and talk – hence the idea of the kitchen being the heart of a home. Then there’s the other side where the kitchen is only peripheral to socializing. Whatever the case may be for you, having an organized kitchen only makes life easier – simplifying preparing food, storing food, and cleaning up.

The idea of organizing your kitchen might be daunting; there are so many different aspects of it. If (or hopefully when) you decide to organize your kitchen, here are some steps you can take to make it easier. As you begin to sort through your kitchen items, think about the kitchen work triangle.

The kitchen work triangle typically focuses on the cleaning/preparation area, the cooking area, and the refrigerator, as the cold storage area. These are the areas where you spend most of your time and if you can simplify the process of moving between these areas – the easier your time in the kitchen will become. This may not be the time to actually rearrange things, but a good time to think about if there are better ways of placing things.

First, break it into distinct steps – don’t pull everything out all at once. Depending on the size of your kitchen and the items you have, decide on pots and pans only. Pull all of those out and see what you have. In our small kitchen, we could pull all the dishes out and not be overwhelmed, but this will depend on your specific situation. The idea is to break the groups into manageable sections – you need to decide that for yourself – and try to err on the side of too little, so you won’t become overwhelmed with all that you’ve pulled out in one fell swoop.

Some idea of distinct groups

dishes
glasses and mugs
pots and pans
baking pans
plastic containers
silverware
utensils

We often use only 20% of what we own and this applies to our kitchen things too. As you look at the duplicates or close to duplicates, consider whether one thing actually functions for other items. If you have 5 frying pans – all different sizes – are there two or three that use almost exclusively? How many do you need – what’s the largest party you’ve had? Going from there, you can potentially eliminate the rest of the dishes.

As is usual for me – I am not telling you that if you don’t use something all the time that you need to get rid of it. It’s completely appropriate to keep things you only use once a year – for me that would be the cookie cutters! There’s only your conscience to guide you as you evaluate your things. If you recognize what you use infrequently, you can then find a place to store it that won’t take up valuable space.

The second step will depend on the time you have and the size of your kitchen and number of things, which is then to put them back into the cupboards and drawers. It can feel counterintuitive to put things back in if you’re going to be rearranging some of the groups. This is when you need to be realistic (this can be challenging) and avoid rushing or doing too much at once. Even if you’re just putting them back in temporarily, it’ll be easier when you are more prepared to rearrange. As you decide where the things are going, you want their placement to be easy to access for pulling them out as well as putting them away.

Corner cabinet shelf

Baskets for under the shelf

Under the cabinet cup storage - sliding or not

This is also the time to consider whether some cabinet accessories might help your organization. Ideally, you want to keep things simple, so don’t stack plates and pans too high. In our kitchen, these tools don’t work since the height and depth are minimal. Some items to consider are: shelving (like the corner shelf), under the shelf baskets, or cup storage. Deciding on accessories will come preferably after you’ve sorted and purged what you want.

In an average to small kitchen, pulling out a different group one at a time can still be accomplished in a four-hour time frame. It doesn’t need to be overwhelming, yet it’s still important to work with each group independently. I believe that there’s always room for improvement – my husband and I have been talking about going through our kitchen and look for ways to improve the organization and work triangle.

Pendaflex I-Organize Storage Binder

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

That bit of red is part of the new binder technology.

Pros

new technology for securing items into binder
selection of accessories for use in binder
the fasteners secure behind accessories when not in binder
sturdy materials
customizable for your needs
strap to close binder

Cons

shaped like a traditional binder
only two sizes of binders
hard to find locally to look at and handle in person

Review:

At some point after the 2010 NAPO conference, this arrived in the mail for me – a Pendaflex Storage Binder with several accessories. I was excited, as I’d admired this binder at the conference. Initially what caught my attention was the different technology they used for securing things into the binder. They did away with those rings and put in “channel slots” with a release lever at the bottom. It makes it easy to use and your fingers aren’t at risk of getting pinched.

There are 8 different styles of accessories that work with the binder, and this is critical due to the way the binder functions. They are all made of poly material. The clipboard is the most interesting and unique to me – as it clips into the binder while still being sturdy enough to use independently. They offer the more traditional media file, envelope with string closure, a file folder with elastic closures, and a single and a double (“twin”) pocket. They also offer a display book and a project pocket – neither of which came with my binder.

Pendaflex Clipboard

Each accessory has a piece of plastic on one side for slipping into those channel slots, and when they are being used outside of the binder, they bend behind and can be held there. This makes them look like your basic accessory – clipboard, document pocket, document envelope, etc. This is a wonderful feature for offering those accessories for multiple purposes and not limiting them to use only with the binder.

I’ve talked before about how normal binders are just OK to me, I dislike how their shape affects their utility when not in use, whether upright or on their side, it doesn’t make them conducive for stacking or keeping on a shelf. These binders are shaped in the same way. I do appreciate the elastic closure they’ve included and if you prefer not to use it, you don’t have to.

These binders come in only two sizes. In some ways, this might not be a detriment; it forces all of us to limit how stuffed we might be tempted to fill it. It certainly won’t stymie us with choices, as there are two choices for the binder – the presentation or the storage style. Of course, there are all the different accessory pieces we can choose. The binder has 8 channel slots, so you can fit your choice of 8 accessory pieces.

I realize that the world is moving more and more to online shopping, but I really prefer the ability to see and feel products before I decide to spend my money on it. These do not seem to be available locally – OfficeDepot offers them on their website, but only for delivery.

PlanetSafe Planners

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Undated 30 day calendar planner

Pros:

customizable
adjustable; easy to rearrange (with post-it notes)
environmentally friendly
reusable (depending on style used)
great for visual people
thin and sturdy

Cons:

restricted to home- not possible to carry around
limited space on some calendar squares
not reusable, with some styles

Review:

This is another product that I discovered through the NAPO expo, at last year’s conference (and this year’s too) – PlanetSafe Planners. I love the idea that you use a dry erase marker on the calendar, how easy and clean to change things. As well, they enable using post-it notes for other areas, again so easy to rearrange and move things. The flexibility and ease of using their planners is exceptional.

My husband and I might be unique; we have no calendar in the house to record events. We have our Google calendars synced, and these are always with us. Without kids or any other reasons, we’ve found no reason for a wall calendar to tell us about our appointments. Nevertheless, I think this can be a superb calendar for some people – as long as you need that household calendar. The only condition is that you use it and don’t rely exclusively on what (if anything) you carry with you.

Considering what my schedule often looks like, the squares look too small for extensive schedules, and then trying to add in other people’s schedules too seems unrealistic. Thus would depend heavily on how much you need to keep track of. If I only put in rough hours of when I’d be otherwise occupied, there’s potentially enough room for several people’s obligations.

I think I might be a little odd – for I found myself resisting the idea of this environmental calendar that I’d need to replace every year – and how “environmental” that it is. Then again, it’s not paper. Although reading about their development, these calendars are a 100% green product after struggling to find a natural adhesive. They also offer options for undated calendar options.

Although for myself I’m not interested in their calendars, I am tempted by some of the goal planners- the idea that my husband and I could have a very visible post-it note planner for our joint goals, for the house and other plans. This is one the strengths of PlanetSafe Planners – they are a great visual – with the different color post-it’s, you’re unlikely to miss it!

Yearly goals with post-it notes

In some ways, the intriguing part of their planners is how a number of them also focus on goals and tasks – having a space included separate from the calendar for these items. It would be very rewarding to take down the post-it notes after completing tasks. The limited, yet not small area would encourage people to NOT over schedule.

PlanetSafe Planner 30 day calendar and tasks

30 day calendar with task or customizable section

From my limited perspective here in the Midwest, it’s sad that this company is not better known. Although there are some limitations to some of their products, they are worth keeping in mind to help you plan – depending on the contexts relevant to your life.

Note Taking for Virtually Everything

If you’ve been following me for a little while, you might have noticed a recurring mention of elephants. Yes, I like elephants. Now what does that have to do with anything I would share with you? Well, when I was browsing various smart phone apps, I saw an elephant. When I decided to find out more, I discovered Evernote and started using it.

I’m a slightly skeptical consumer, so after creating an account (free) with Evernote, I only used it on my phone and via the Internet. I put off downloading the desktop version and used Evernote for only limited things. Yet, I loved how I could use my phone to make notes, copy webpages, and bookmark sites, while waiting for my appointment to start. I also had the grocery list and other task lists always accessible – since my phone is always with me.

Of course, I asked my husband if he’d heard of it – and he hadn’t, but he checked it out and uses it regularly. More than me of late. He even decided on the premium service, quite reasonable at $45 a year (or $5 a month) with some nice additional benefits. I’m considering upgrading eventually too. One of the features he uses and appreciates is how Evernote gives you an e-mail address so that you can just e-mail notes into your account.

They also offer the ability to share your notebooks or just notes with others. This is one of the first things I read about – a parent of a special needs child using Evernote to coordinate information between the doctor’s office and school, by having an account where certain people were given permission to access and modify (when appropriate) all the notes related to the care of her child. I might need to start sharing Evernote notebooks with clients on the various research I do for them!

I appreciate the layers of potential organization with Evernote, as you can create notebooks to gather like items together and that you can create tags as well for each item you add. Although I’ve not needed to try it out, Evernote says that everything is searchable, so if you’re struggling to find something you could probably find it even if you only remembered some obscure word.

I’ve been a bit frustrated, as one of my shopping lists has become problematic – in that it doesn’t want to load properly – on any of the devices. I just need to delete and make a new note. I’ve heard of problems with formatting issues between devices. Yet, I believe that Evernote will work to resolve any issues. The range of how to access Evernote is quite impressive; just about any device now has a platform to access it – and it syncs once you have an Internet connection again. There are some limitations with some devices – like my smart phone and Evernote don’t always work well without Internet or modifying notes on the iPad, again without Internet can be problematic.

I’m excited to explore Evernote even more, and especially since I’ve finally downloaded the desktop version for my computer. From what I’ve seen the benefits far outweigh the few struggles they have and the improvements come regularly. There are so many possibilities and ways to have Evernote work to benefit you – as an individual, to fit your needs. This is the ultimate goal for anything you use.

Evaluating System Breakdowns

Life is always changing – it’s not a static environment. I addressed this not long ago in the We Must Always Change. This is one of the reasons that our organizing is never actually finished. You can create good systems and maintain the organization for any number of years, yet it’s likely that there will be pieces that can be improved after some time. Our situations and approach change as we move through life. This can be daunting to many people – “you mean I’m never really done?” Truthfully, no.

This can actually be an uplifting thing. Really and truly. It opens up possibilities and can create space before your eyes. Unfortunately we often need to look at things with “new” eyes, ready to see opportunities we’ve previously missed. We also need to make sure if doesn’t mutate into a reason for self-flagellation.

I’m the first to admit that I’ve created systems for myself that end up falling flat on their faces. It’s usually not obvious right away. Only after a number of weeks or months does it hit me that that new way of doing something is just not working. Sometimes it’s about how my husband uses the items. Other times, I’m dealing with something new to me – like when I started scrapbooking, I had all these various things, and there are just so many ways of organizing them. I struggled to find a complete system that worked – and had to fight chastising myself for the lack of total success.

It’s too easy – and I see this too frequently – for us to recognize only the negative. We are glaringly aware of our failures and gloss over the pieces that do work. When you’re looking at systems that have broken down, you need to search out the ways it does work for you. Those scrapbooking supplies may not have completely worked, but there were always ways that it did work. There are ways your systems are working – you need to figure those out.

However small those pieces might be, the successes are clues for you about what does work for you. You can examine those and see if any of those principles can apply to the rest of the system. Do the successful pieces work because they’re easy to access – like putting away new scrapbooking things? Do they work because they’re close at hand when you’re doing it – like sorting mail by the trash? Leaving behind the idea of “good” and “bad” – we’re more likely to succeed at things when it’s relatively easy. Are there ways to make pieces easier for you?

This is when you need to not rush blindly ahead, you need to take time to think about and evaluate what you need. Take time to plan, figure out what goals you need to meet. It can feel like planning is a waste of time, yet according to Dr. Donald E. Wetmore, “1 hour planning will save 10 hours doing.” Each time I re-did the craft supplies, I waited to give myself time to think about what wasn’t working and come up with what I needed to modify. Only after I figured that out did I dig and starry changing things.

It can be daunting that our best intentions didn’t end up working out the way we thought they would, yet it can be an opportunity to make things exponentially better. It also reinforces how change is not only just a part of life, but also part of the journey and growth integral to living. When we apply that to our organizational systems, it means that we can improve our efficiency and productivity too.