The Buzz Summer 2008

The Little Things Count

Have you ever heard someone say that little things are important? I have seen the relevance of this phrase in my own house. There is a space behind my laundry room that is dedicated to housing tools, hardware, extra supplies, garden materials, a snow shovel, etc. In that space sits a small metal, twelve-drawer container that holds nails and screws of all sizes, hooks, picture hangers, and other odd hardware items.

For several years whenever I needed one of those items I had to look through several drawers to find what I was looking for. In the back of my mind I kept saying to myself that it would be easier to finds things if the drawers were labeled, and yet I made no attempt to do so. That would take too much time! (What about the wasted time I spent looking into every drawer?)

One day I finally decided that the benefits were worth the effort to label the drawers. Now it turned out that I needed to do more than labeling. I had to sort and purge the items that were already in the drawers. But I persevered and did that. I put all the small nails together, all the medium nails together, all the large nails together. I continued this process until all items were sorted.

Having done the hardest part, I was excited to begin labeling the drawers. I took out my electronic label maker (an organizer's best friend) and proceeded to label each drawer.

Now each time I go to the container to find a nail or screw, I know exactly where to go. So, I suggest to you, if you have a little project that needs organizing, make time and effort to do it. Little things can make a big difference.

Recent Client Stories

I worked with a client whose mother-in-law recently passed away. She and her husband had moved to a new home so they also had lots of their own stuff to organize. She dreaded having to organize the boxes of paperwork that had accumulated from her mother-in-law's estate. She hired me to help her organize it. In three hours we sorted and purged all of the estate paperwork and set up two boxes of hanging files, one labeled personal papers, the other one, estate papers. She felt relieved and grateful that the dreaded task was completed. If you would like help or know of someone who needs help organizing personal paperwork, contact me for a free consultation.

Book Recommendation

Making Peace with the Things in Your Life by Cindy Glovinsky

This book is a must-read for everyone—organizers and anyone who has "stuff." The book is divided into four sections:

Rethinking Things
You and Your Things: Taking Inventory
Why things Keep Overwhelming You
What to Do About Things

Cindy writes in a supportive, non-judgmental tone, using humor, questionnaires, and exercises to explain why we feel so overwhelmed by our "stuff." She offers suggestions that are customized to specific organizing problems.

Out and About With Barbara

Look for tips on office organizing from Busy Bee Organizing in the July issue of Chesapeake Home magazine. The article is titled, The Home Office by Penny Fox.

Useful quote

"The difference between paper shuffling and paper management is decision-making."
—Day-to-Day Taming Calendar-2007 Hemphill Institute