My Grandma - Was Always Two Steps Ahead of Me

My mom gave me an article that my grandma cut out of The Prairie Farmer Magazine dated September 4, 1982 (I was a brand new 2nd grader at that time).  I was shocked when I saw who the article was about - Don Aslett, author of Clutter's Last Stand, The Office Clutter Cure and Weekend Makeover to name a few.  When I first started out as an organizer, I read all of the above mentioned books.  Don has a great gift for writing - he makes clutter funny and interesting and breaks down a solution in only a few simple steps. 


The Prairie Farmer September 4, 1982

Grandma apparently really loved the article as she underlined and circled many key points, including this:  ".....get rid of the junk - 70% of the stuff we keep shuffling and rearranging."  True back in 1982 and still true today.

I really think Grandma smiled down upon me when I found this article and the connection many years later.  Grandma was a smart woman and she taught me so much.   Among other things she taught me how to organize photos and how to organize a kitchen.   She taught me how to be an organizer.
My Grandma, Ethel - my mentor and my guide.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Change is uncomfortable - but gorgeous at the end.

Image
Change is uncomfortable.  It makes me uneasy.  It's unsettling.   Have you ever felt the same? Change, for me, was also necessary.  Which is totally contradictory to what I just said, right? A few weeks ago, I was talking with my coach and sharing with her that I was feeling super uncomfortable.  I was somewhat aware that I was changing, but I wasn't giving it my undivided attention.   Carol, my coach, explained to me that I was feeling was completely normal.  And I knew it - but I didn't want to necessarily deal with it.  She asked me to embrace it.  Once I did, I got even more uncomfortable.  It was one of the worst feelings I've ever experienced.  It was difficult for me to make a decision.  Who am I?  Who am I changing into?  Do my old thoughts and ideas match who I am becoming?  How is this change going to change the way I present myself, work with clients, live my life? You know what? The moment I embraced who I was becoming, is the moment that everythi
Read more

Can you see your future?

Image
I was coaching my client, Carolyn today.   She was stuck in a mindset of only seeing her present circumstances or even worse - the past.  She wasn't seeing her future .  Turns out, she never thought about it.   I asked her - W hat it would mean for your life once the paper piles are gone?  What it would mean for your life once the necessary repairs were made to the kitchen and bathroom?  What it would mean for your life once the dread, shame and weight off your shoulders was lifted?  She kept going back to how her home looked right now and the struggles she was faced.  She wasn't seeing her future.  But I was.  Carolyn is so close to having her home decluttered.  But she was still living in the past. I told her that I had a challenge for her.  I asked Carolyn if she would close her eyes and visualize what her home will look like when it is decluttered, when she can find what she needs and when the overwhelming tension has been lifted from her shoulders.  I heard a deep
Read more