"Smart-Office Organizing" is an upbeat must-read for anyone who feels organizationally challenged!
Published by Revell, a divison of Baker Bookhouse.

How do you deal with common obstacles to maintaining a clutter-free house, including storage needs, health issues, space restrictions and even family sabotage?

What is your favorite strategy?

Happy Organizing!

Marsha Sims

www.sortitout.net

Whatever you vividly imagine, ardently desire, sincerely believe, and enthusiastically act upon... must inevitably come to pass! Paul J. Meyer. 

The key word, though, is "act". Action is the only way to make your dreams come true.

Happy Organizing!

Marsha Sims
www.sortitout.net

How to De-Clutter in 15 Minutes






As you know, I recommend that you spend at least 15 minutes every day on your organizing.  But... if you have a lot to do, will 15 minutes even make a difference?

The answer is a resounding YES!  You CAN make a difference in your home in only 15 minutes.

I found a great blog post from Better Homes & Gardens entitled "How to De-Clutter in 15 Minutes" which tells you what to do with that time.

So... the big question is... where to start?

Here are the questions to ask yourself.
1. What bothers me the most?
2. What would make me feel the best if it were done.
3. Which area has the most visibility?

Armed with the answers to those three questions, I have included excerpts from the BH&G article that tell you how to de-clutter the most prominent areas.

The next blog will tell you how to de-clutter the more hidden areas, and after that I will give you some ideas of things you can do when you only have 5 minutes to work on your clutter.

Happy Organizing!

Marsha Sims
www.sortitout.net

Declutter Your Kitchen Cabinets

If you have 5 minutes: Simply straighten the insides of your most disorganized or most frequently accessed cabinets and drawers. Bringing order to the things you use most often will make daily routines easier.

If you have 10 minutes: Spend a little time doing the organizational tasks you always think about when you?re cooking but don?t have time to do in the moment, such as relocating your cooking utensils to a drawer closer to your range.

If you have 15 minutes: Do a quick sort-and-toss. Put items you never use into a donation box, and toss gadgets that no longer work or are past their prime.

Declutter Your Clothing Closet

If you have 5 minutes: Hang up clothes that are draped over your designated drop spot, such as on a chair.

If you have 10 minutes: Reorganize the hanging bar in your closet by item type, placing all of your shirts in one section, pants in another, etc.

If you have 15 minutes: After you organize the hanging bar, target one other area, such as the top shelf or the floor of your closet. Come back as you have time, such as five minutes before hitting the hay, to organize the next section until you've worked through the whole closet.

Declutter the Bathroom

If you have 5 minutes: Put away anything on the countertops, and pull the shower curtainclosed to conceal any bathtub clutter.

If you have 10 minutes: Straighten any open displays, and relocate items that don?t belong in the bathroom.

If you have 15 minutes: Dive into the vanity cabinet and any other storage space. Toss items that are outdated or unused. Corral items by type into baskets or bins.

Declutter Your Entryway

If you have 5 minutes: Straighten up the shoes and coats.

If you have 10 minutes: Entryways, as coming-and-going spots, tend to collect more than their fair share of clutter. Do a quick cleanup, and return items to their rightful places.

If you have 15 minutes: Hang hooks or pegs to give coats and bags a home instead of the floor.

Organizing is not fun!

Organizing is boring... drudgery... hateful... miserable...  And we don't do it because it's not fun!

So, let's turn that around!


What can we do to make the unbearable, bearable?

Depending on what you like, you can find what Mary Poppins said... "In every job that must be done there is an element of fun."

How do we do that?  How do we find the fun in something we clearly don't want to do?

Here are 10 ideas to make organizing a little more, well.... bearable.

• Listen to music or a book on tape
• Sing songs (even songs you make up) while you are organizing
• Talk on  the phone while you are organizing
• Keep your favorite television show on while you are organizing
• Invite a friend over to help, then you help her
• Make a checklist to keep yourself motivated
• Take before and after pictures
• Commit to taking an action; report when you have completed it
• Hire a young person to work with you and work alongside them
• Help someone else with their organizing.  It's surprisingly motivational for you

What do you do to keep yourself motivated?  I'd love to hear your response!

Happy Organizing!

Marsha Sims

Sort-It-Out, Inc.

Learn how to get organized for (only) $27.00!

I found this article... and thought you might enjoy it as much as I did!
It is from Prevention Magazine.

Posted on Saturday, 10.20.12

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MENTAL HEALTH

4 moves to feel happier

 

PREVENTION MAGAZINE

Just as you strengthen muscles by using them, you can tone your positive personality traits, such as optimism. Adults who spent time exercising character strengths improved them — and their overall sense of well-being — better than a control group, according to a new study from the University of Zurich.

Try these moves, based on the activities study participants completed. No sneakers required:

The Reach-Out (improves gratitude): Write a letter or an email to someone who has supported you or gone out of her way for you recently, and let her know that it mattered. Expressing gratitude can elicit positive emotions, which play a key role in boosting your mood, researchers say.

The Joint Effort (improves enthusiasm): Lacking motivation to do the things you really want to do? Surround yourself with an energetic crowd — at a sporting event, an uplifting seminar, or even an aerobics class. Enthusiasm can be contagious and habit forming.

The Door Opener (improves optimism): Think about a situation in which you lost out on something, whether the cause was bad luck or bad timing. Write it down, then identify a door that opened because of that closed one. This move helps you look on the bright side.

The Deeper Dig (improves curiosity): Rather than simply wondering about a topic of interest, probe further. Read an article or go to an exhibit. Journal about your experience or recap it on Facebook. Learning — and sharing — knowledge fosters curiosity.

*****************************************************************************************************************************

How to use these exercises to improve your organizing:

The Reach-Out  -  Positive emotions are contagious.  if you feel positive in one area, that can spill out to another area... and another.  Use this "exercise" when you can't make decisions, or when you feel sad about the state of your organizing.

The Joint Effort  -  Use this exercise when you can't make yourself get started.  Get someone around you who can help you organize, or at least help to lift your mood.  Go help someone else organize, and use the joint effort to bring more enthusiasm into your life.  Caution.  Keep away from negative people!  This only works with the joint effort brings you up... not down!

The Door Opener  -  Remember to always get the most "visual bang" in your organizing.  Okay, you tried something that didn't work.  Look at the bright side.  So, you gave something away that you wish you still had.  Look at the bright side.  Now identify a positive thing that occurred because of a a mistake you may have made.

The Deeper Dig  -  Help someone else get organized, and you will be strengthening organizing muscles that you can use to help yourself get organized.  Learn organizing techniques.  Go to youtube and search for "how to organize a ________."  The more you know, the more you can use to help others as well as yourself.

Happy Organizing!

Marsha Sims

Sort-It-Out, Inc.

Learn how to get organized for (only) $27.00!

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/10/20/3057422_4-moves-to-feel-happier.html#storylink=cpy

Emotional Clarity

I heard this phrase today, and it struck a chord with me. This is what we need; emotional clarity.

Why do we not clean up when we know we should?  Is it the papers or the "stuff?"  No!  It's our emotions. We know what we want to do, but our emotions won't let us do it.

Why do we not tackle the project that we know will enhance our lives?  Is it the actual work?  No.  It's our emotions.

Why do we sit and sulk and not do what we are supposed to do?  Is it the task?  No.  It's our emotions. We do not have emotional clarity.

Confucius
said, "the key to ALL unhappiness is comparison."  Are we comparing ourselves to others? Or even to our other selves in past times?  ("When I was young I was never disorganized," etc.)

Maybe we are afraid.  Afraid we will fail at the task, or afraid that once we succeed, we will fail at the next level.  ("What will I do if everything is already done?  Will I be bored? Who will my friends be if my house is more normal?  What will we talk about, if not my chaos?") And we know all along that the only thing that conquers fear is action.

No matter how emotional you are... whether you are happy or sad, whether you are thinking about all of the work you are not doing, or thinking about how things will be when you are done... emotions alone will not clear up our clutter.  We need our emotions in check so that we can take the first step.  Emotional clarity will help us to start moving forward, and will keep us on the path to organization.

Marsha Sims

Subscribe to Clutter-Free Forever by Email

www.sortitout.net

Organizing is boring... drudgery... hateful... miserable...  And we don't do it because it's not fun!

So, let's turn that around!

What can we do to make the unbearable, bearable?

Depending on what you like, you can find out for yourself what Mary Poppins said... "In every job that must be done there is an element of fun."

How do we do that?  How do we find the fun in something we clearly don't want to do?

Here are 10 ideas to make organizing a little more, well.... bearable.

• Listen to music or a book on tape
• Sing songs (even songs you make up) while you are organizing
• Talk on  the phone while you are organizing
• Keep your favorite television show on while you are organizing
• Invite a friend over to help, then you help her
• Make a checklist to keep yourself motivated
• Take before and after pictures
• Commit to taking an action; report when you have completed it
• Hire a young person to work with you and work alongside them
• Help someone else with their organizing.  It's surprisingly motivational for you

What do you do to keep yourself motivated?  I'd love to hear your response!

Happy Organizing!

Marsha Sims

Subscribe to Clutter-Free Forever by Email

www.sortitout.net

Wall of Inadequacy - a poem by Marsha Sims

Do I need another cup of coffee?

Or, do I just continue to stare at my wall

  of inadequacy?

I am unable to move.

Physically I suppose I could move.

Emotionally, I am trapped.

To the right are piles of clothes

   the children did not pick up.

I watch them step out of clothes

   and leave them.  Step out of shoes

   and leave them.

I have not the energy or the strength to say,

   “pick them up.”

Thinking about it causes the despair to

   creep back in.  So I refuse to think.

   I blindly pick them up and put them

   in another pile.

To the left are piles of papers

   I did not have the energy to read.

I watch it pile up and up and I

   leave it.  “Someday” I will handle it.

   “Someday” never comes.

I have not the energy or the strength to

Handle the daily barrage of papers

   in my world.

Thinking about it causes the despair

   to creep back in.  So I refuse to think.

   I blindly pick up the days mail

   and put it in another pile.

In front of me is a kitchen

   piled with dirty dishes.  Everyone ate.

   no one moved a thing.

I watch it pile up for days at a time.

   Sometimes three days or four days

   before I can drag in there and wash them.

   Sometimes the food molds on the plates

   and the stench makes me want to vomit.

I have not the energy or the strength to

   clean my house.  I am unable to move.

Thinking about it causes the despair

   to creep back in.  So I refuse to think.

   I blindly stumble into the kitchen

    and get another cup of coffee.

I don’t feel depressed ever day.

Some days I laugh … or I sing

Some days I create beautiful things.

   and I notice a flower… or a child…

   or a breeze

But those days are too few.  Because

   my world is too painful.

Thinking about it causes the despair

   to creep back in.  So I refuse to think.

   I blindly shut out my thoughts.  I

   close off my feelings.

And I stare at my wall of inadequacy.

© 2001 Marsha Sims

Keep organizing supplies available.

The most annoying thing that can happen to you is to (finally) begin the process of working on a project... especially one that you've been putting off, and discover that you don’t have all the tools you need to work on it.

The most common problem I find among people who claim they are “disorganized,” is that “everything is everywhere.”  There is no pattern, or logic to where things are placed.  Thus, there is no pattern or logic to the process of attempting to find things that are mis-placed.  Anything could literally be anywhere.

How does this happen?  It happens daily, by just putting things here “just for now.”  It happens because no thought was put into deciding where things should go, they just go anywhere.  It happens because the original plan gets buried by the moment.  How else could papers end up in the linen closet?  How else could airline tickets end up lost in the pages of a book?  (This really happened!)

The way to make sure supplies are always available when you need them is to think first about where you will be when you need them.  For example, do you need a pencil or pen, and paper by each telephone?  Do you need a stapler and paper clips by your desk? 

Think about where you are when you need something... and think about what you need where you are.  Then, make a plan to allow room for what you need where you need it. 

I once worked with a woman who had eleven staplers.  Why?  Because every time she needed a stapler she couldn't find one, so she would go out and buy another one.  When we really analyzed where she used a stapler, she ended up needing four of them (but not eleven).   Once we placed a stapler in each of these places,  there was always one available when she needed it.

Happy and successful organizing!

Marsha Sims

Get Organized for (only) $27 - Click Here to find out how!

  

"There are 2 types of people in this world: Those who produce results, and those who have reasons." Author Unknown

When I first read that quote, my first reaction was:

"OUCH!"

Of course, then I went into denial, and gave myself all of the "reasons" this doesn't apply to me.  Then I remembered what I used to tell my sons when they were young.  "A "reason" is a fancy word for an excuse."  Ouch again.  It still comes back to stare at me... right in my face.

Am I making excuses?
Are you making excuses?

Why is your organizing not done?  What is your "reason?"  Is it really a reason?  Or is it an excuse?

Why do you say you want to be organized, yet you dedicate NO time to it?  Or, you make false starts and stops?  Or you tell yourself you are overwhelmed, when the truth (in our heart-of-hearts) is that we really just don't want to do it.  We REALLY don't want to do it!  We'd rather do ANYTHING ELSE in the world than tackle that pile, or move those clothes off of the sofa!

I understand.  I've been there.

Here's what I've learned.  Once I developed my "organizing muscles," it no longer hurt to go through piles and make decisions.  Of course, I didn't enjoy doing it, but it was no longer painful.  But, the only way to develop those muscles is to exercise them.

Then as I continued, exercising my organizing muscles, I discovered it had an element of fun to it.  Sometimes I'd even find myself humming along as I folded clothes or shredded papers.  It wasn't fun, but it had that small element.

Did organizing ever become actual fun for me?  No.  But it is fun to be able to invite company over, or  be able to open the door when the UPS guy knocks.  It is fun for my sons to be able to bring their friends home.   And it is fun to be able to go into my file cabinet and find something I need.

Maybe we should look at what we want (an organized life), and not focus on what we don't want (to do the organizing).  It's not easy or fun today, but it's not impossible.  Hold onto the fact that others have done it... and get strength from their struggle.

So today...

Give your organizing 15 minutes.  And do the same tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow.

You know I'm in your corner!

Marsha Sims
marshasims1@gmail.com
Get Organized for (only) $27 - click here to find out how.

“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” -Helen Keller

I'm back!
It was a well-needed respite.
In the meantime, I've done a lot of things that needed to be done.

For one thing, I've made a few decisions.

1) The decision to do a blog post every morning was overly ambitious.  I see that now.  So, I've decided to be more realistic.  I want to send the blog out every Monday, and possibly one or two in between.  But I think I can commit to Mondays.  (We'll see!)

2) When I first decided to send out the blog, I wanted to send something short and inspirational every day.  Kind of like the TUT (Thoughts are Things) daily post.  It turned into a long, outpouring from my heart.  I loved writing to you, and from the feedback I received, you were loving receiving it.  For that I'm thankful.  I don't know how I'm going to structure the posts.  I'll keep trying things... something will fit.

3) I don't know how to work this program so that I can receive comments.  I'm going to try and fix that, or find a service that's more interactive.  The feedback helps.  But here's the amazing surprise.  2,153 people have read the blog!  Isn't that amazing?!!!  When I found out, I was so humbled that I made a commitment to start again.  For those of you who have read it / are reading it... Thank you!!!

4) I've decided to start each blog post with a quote.  So, if you have a favorite (preferably inspirational) quote that you'd  like for me to use, I'd love to receive it!  Please send it to me at: marshasims@sortitout.net.

5) You may know that I've created a program that's $27 per month. If you are struggling financially but still need to get organized, you may want to know about it.  Please feel free to check it out on my website: www.sortitout.net.

Now for the post:

“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” -Helen Keller

When we look around in our homes and feel a sense of despair and hopelessness, from that standpoint it's virtually impossible to organize.

We can't see possibilities.  We can't visualize.  We can't muster up the enthusiasm and ideas we need to get started.  We can barely put things in the correct areas.

In order to organize, we need to feel a sense of optimism.  But how do we achieve a sense of optimism, when we are looking into a sea of clutter and disorganization?

Two ways:

1) We have to organize from a "clean" perspective.  That's why I recommend using boxes temporarily to create a sense of order.  We're not organizing, we're simply creating the environment that will allow us to feel better enough that we can organize.  When your home looks neat, you'll feel inspired.  When it looks "junky," you'll feel demoralized.

But... what if you already have boxes from the last time you tried to organize, and the time before?  Well... that doesn't mean that boxing up things was the wrong thing to do.  It just means that you didn't follow through and empty the boxes once you had a neat environment.  You didn't do the next step.

I'll tell you the next step in a future post, but for now, boxes will allow you to create the environment that will allow you to think better and feel better, so that you can begin organizing.

2) "Act as if..."  Act as if your home were neat and organized.  If your table was completely cleared off, would you lay something on it?  No, you wouldn't, because you wouldn't want to mess it up.  If your clothes were all hung up neatly in the closet, would you take off your outfit and crumple it on the floor in a pile?  No, you wouldn't, because you wouldn't want to mess it up.  If your kitchen counters were clean and tidy, would you bring in the mail and pile it on the counter?  Again, you wouldn't.

If you "act as if," meaning to put yourself in the mindset of already having an organized home, you will start to change your behavior.  Acting as if will give you a sense of hope, and will give you the confidence to start thinking about how you want to live, and what you want for yourself.

The first step in organizing is to visualize.  What better way to visualize than by feeling optimistic, hopeful, and confident!

Try these ideas, and let me know how they work for you!

Happy organizing!

Marsha
marshasims@sortitout.net

What do you do when you hit a wall? I wanted to write to you yesterday, and the day before. I wanted to say something encouraging,  give you a technique to organize... help you on your journey.  But I couldn't.

I stared at the blank page, and I just couldn't.

Has this ever happened to you?  You wanted to do something.  Clear off a surface.  Write a report.  Put those papers in the file folder.  Hang up some clothes.  Wash dishes.  Exercise.  ... but you just couldn't.  

Why is it that we have something to do, and we just get immobilized?  

Is it laziness?  I don't think so.  We certainly beat ourselves enough about that possibility.  Is it fear? Possibly, but I think it's more than that.  I think we simply get stuck... and sometimes we can't do things.  Maybe it's even human nature (or at the very least, our human nature).

So, what should we do about it?

Keep trying.  Set a timer... file one paper.  Call a buddy.  Or... walk away for a minute and do something good for yourself.  Come back to it from a fresh, feel-good perspective.

What did I do when I hit the wall?  I went and made myself a chocolate smoothie (yum!) and I tried to think of nice things about myself.  And I reminded myself that even though I couldn't write for a day or so, that doesn't make me a bad person. I'm still the same Marsha, with the same big gentle heart, who wants to help everyone!

Action:

Take some time to celebrate the wonderfulness of you.  Journal, meditate, go outside and look at nature.  Hug a tree.  Breathe.

Re-approach your clutter from a feel-good position.

And have a terrific day!

Marsha Sims

Subscribe to Clutter-Free Forever by Email

www.sortitout.net

Pulled in too many directions.

What do you do when everyone wants your attention, and you have too many places to go at the same time?  How do you decide who or what to spend your time with? Often I have two or more meetings that are being held on the same date.  I can't do it all... no matter how much I want to!

Enter priorities.  You have to make a decision based on your priorities, and/or your goals.

Can't decide which coat to wear?  Prioritize.  What is the image you are trying to project?
Can't decide which meeting to attend?  Prioritize.

Action:

Try listing out all of the things you  have to do.  Decide which ones are the right ones to do this week.  Put them  in order on your list, and get started.

Have a terrific day!

Marsha Sims

Subscribe to Clutter-Free Forever by Email

www.sortitout.net

Before you walk out of your office for the evening, turn around and look at it.  Really look at it.  Not like you’ll see it in the morning, but like other people will see it.

There are people who will not open their door when company comes.  Why?  It is because the knock on the door forces them to see what the person at the door will see when they open it.  Don’t they see it all the time?  No.  They sort of see it.  They see it sometimes.  But for the most part, they overlook it.  They are busy dealing with the everyday activities of life — and after awhile don’t really “see” it.

The solution is to work on your clutter in small chunks, and not allow it to “grow”  back (because it will).

On day one, start with a manageable amount of straightening up.  On day two, work at your organizing  during your allotted time period,  minus 5 minutes.  Take that 5 minutes to be sure that what you did yesterday is still done.  On day 3, same thing.  Work on your organizing until the last 5 minutes.  Use the last 5 minutes to make sure that your previous days work hasn't come undone. Repeat.

Continue in this pattern until all the work is done.  But never stop taking the last 5 minutes to notice.  If you continue in this way it may take awhile to correct it, but once corrected, the problem will go away... 5 minutes a day.

Action:

Use the last 5 minutes of your workday to straighten up.  This will allow it to look nice when you walk back in the next day.

Have a terrific day!

Marsha Sims

Subscribe to Clutter-Free Forever by Email

www.sortitout.net

When a lot is going on and everything seems chaotic, maybe the problem is that you are trying to focus on everything at once.  This almost never achieves the desired result!

In order to begin to make sense of everything, you have to create a starting point.  What would you like to fix first?  Think of it like this:  What bothers you the most, or what would make you feel the best if it were done?

Once you decide what you want to accomplish first, you can begin to create a plan and a strategy to start, and then keep going.

First things first.  If something is working for you, don't fix it.  We only want to fix the problem areas.  Later, if you want, you can upgrade the things that are working.  Example: you may want to go from a paper calendar to an electronic calendar.

There are some things that can't be fixed (for example, if you have four children in a 2 bedroom house, you just have to work around it.) Just acknowledge those,and focus on the things you can do something about.

Action:

Write three lists:

1. Already working (anything that's working - you want to start with the positive)

2. Things that can't be fixed (you don't want to waste time on things that can't be fixed right now)

3. The things you'd like to work on.

This helps you establish the scope of the problem, and gives you perspective.

Have a terrific day!

Marsha Sims

Subscribe to Clutter-Free Forever by Email

www.sortitout.net

If you are keeping more than you need or want, you have to ask yourself, why?  What is that I'm doing (or not doing) that keeps clutter in my world?  Maybe it's not what you are doing, per se.  Maybe it's the questions you are not asking to challenge yourself as to why you are keeping things?

Action:

When you find yourself keeping things "just for now," or you have boxes stacked up with things to go through later...

Ask yourself the following questions.

Why am I keeping this?

Do I have a place to keep it?

Is this something I really want?

Do I actually use it?

Does it still look attractive?
Is it still functional?

Is it now obsolete?
Is it damaged?  If so, am I really going to fix it? How? When?

Is it worth paying to store it?

If I was looking for this and I couldn’t find it, what would I do?
Does it have significant sentimental value?
How will I feel if it  isn’t in my world any longer?
Who would care if I got rid of it? Does that really matter?
What’s the worst thing that could happen if I let it go?

(excerpt from 5 Days to a Clutter-Free House, Chapter 5, “What do I do now with the stuff in the boxes, pp. 118—119, by Sandra Felton and Marsha Sims)

Rules of Storage

1. Containerize it.

 Put things in an appropriate container

 and be sure to label it

2. Store it.

Store things at or near the place where

they will be used.

3. Where to  put it?

Put things used more frequently at a reachable

height. 

Store things used less frequently up high or down

low

Put things that are rarely or never used in an outer 

or distant storage place

(excerpt from 5 Days to a Clutter-Free House, Chapter 5, “What do I do now with the stuff in the boxes, pp. 118—119, by Sandra Felton and Marsha Sims)

Action:

Using the above guide, find a place for everything, and put everything in it's place.

*

Have a terrific day!

Marsha Sims

Subscribe to Clutter-Free Forever by Email

www.sortitout.net

Today I worked in my closet.  A friend sat with me and helped me let go of my old possessions... clothes that have been with me through tough times, and fun times.  Clothes that brought back memories of days gone by.  Clothes that were there for me when no one else was.  You understand what I mean.  YOU get the picture!

Some clothes I had to let go of sadly, and I said a silent good-bye.  Some I let go of gladly, and had no problems whisking them onward to (hopefully) a new owner who will appreciate them.  Some still had tags.

It was a long and tiring day, but I feel cleansed.  I feel like I have a new lease on my wardrobe life... because now I can make room for new friends and new memories... New experiences, new laughter, a new journey.

It's hard to let go.  I know... I'm with you!  But when we do, we feel the openness and freedom that comes with the space we long for.

Action:

Go into your closet and pull out 7 articles of clothing that you no longer wear, and give them to charity.  Do this every day for a week.  You will feel so much better at the end of the week!  (7 X 7 = 49 items to give away!)

Have a terrific day!

Marsha Sims

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I'm frustrated as I feel that I don't get much credit for how hard I am trying to do all of this organizing in my home.  I feel like I am doing more and better that I EVER have, and yet my husband doesn't appreciate it.
 'Seems like I never do enough, am enough, accomplish enough, blah, blah, blah.  I'm so tired of it.   He's frustrated with me about that.

This reminds me of a woman I knew who weighed 280 lbs.  She started trying to lose weight and her husband got worse by the pound.  He would criticize her, bring home ice cream and cookies and offer them to her, and was never ever ever supportive!  The more weight she lost, the meaner and more insensitive he got.  He never appreciated it, even when she explained that she was doing it for her health.

Often I have people to call or write to me with this type of complaint.  The husband is insensitive, the kid's don't care, other family member not only don't appreciate it but sometimes sabotage it and make things worse.  What should they do?  How should they handle it?

You have to organize because it's something YOU want.  The kids won't care until you care.  Hubby (or wife, or mom & dad) may or may  not care. YOU have to want it for you.  If you are expecting someone else besides yourself to appreciate it, you will be disappointed.  So... get selfish, and do this for YOU.  Then YOU will live in a beautiful, organized home, so YOU will be happy!

I wish you all the best!

Have a terrific day!

Marsha Sims

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