Found Treasure
Does it pay to hoard? A recent news release on Yahoo drew attention to a disorganized pack rat (is their any other kind?) who made $10,000 on an old valuable magazine issue. It seemed that this 40-yr old issue of the journal Electronics was found under the floorboards of this pack rat's home, and the posting on eBay brought Intel to offer $10,000 for it. The magazine contains the original publication of a famous article for being the first to articulation of what is known as "Moore's Law." Well, you never know what you're going to find when you start going through a rat's nest, do you? I am not an advocate to hoard and live like a pack rat -- the point is, people don't know what they have if it's buried, and that's where it will stay if one doesn't clean up.
Useless Days
When you think you did a lot ... I must practice what I preach because, whenever I don't follow a to-do list, I'm lost. I do this, I do that, I do whatever I think is worth doing at the time -- but, at the end of the day, I see that some priorities slipped through the cracks. This is not a good thing. So, let this preacher say to the choir, "Make a to-do list, and do it!" It's all about accomplishment, isn't it? And, if I'm doing things that don't put forth certain goals for the day, I don't get that sense of achievement. Believe me, it's true. Well, at least posting on this blog would've been on my to-do list, if I had made one!
Order of Importances
Value of what's importantOne of the things people do when creating "a to-do list" is to prioritize their tasks. This is a good thing in that it helps a person focus on what's most important. When the list is followed as written, a person can accomplish what they set out to accomplish.On the other hand, the mental "to do" list is one that a person makes a mental note of and then tries to remember it. Even important actions can be forgotten, or loose importance, this way.For instance, my daughter is moving out of state and I thought she had most of the important things taken care of. However, I come to find out, some of those important things have not been dealt with and are now surfacing as last minute emergencies.In wondering why these were not dealt with, I find out that other activities were valued higher -- like, final farewell socializing with friends over a period of 3 days. Although this is a "nice thing" for her, it doesn't deal with the really important issues she's faced with to make this move a smooth event.So, I guess when it comes to the order of importances, we should look at what will problems will happen if something is not done within a certain time frame, who that affects, and if that is worth putting something else in higher priority.I'm off to help my daughter handle some emergencies now ... don't ask!
Stuff Withdrawals
Do People Who Let Go of Stuff,
Really Let Go?
Just when I thought my client was happy to get rid of so many things that cluttered her small apartment and clothes closet, and just when she released the items in my care to dispose of them by either selling or donating, that I find out (days later) she wants them back. The thing is, she doesn't want them back to keep (she says) -- she wants to sell them herself. So, now she's faced with having to drive here to pick up the items, organize a garage sale, and try to dispose of the unsold items afterwards. That's a lot of work for someone who didn't have time to get herself organized in the first place (and for someone who doesn't have a garage or yard). And where is she going to put all these things when she returns home with them?So, I wonder, is she really planning to get rid of the items? Is she going through stuff-withdrawals? When she mentioned to me that she got rid of things she didn't really want to get rid of, it makes me wonder what the motives really are.I only wish now that I had taken the stuff to Goodwill before she called. That way, she could just get on with her life and find out it's a lot easier to keep it simple.
When Kids Move
Children Who Move Out of State
Can Put Parents In a StateThe news of my daughter moving to NY came only a little over a week ago. The shock hasn't worn off yet, although I thought I'd have time to adjust. But no. She's making the move next week.How can she do that so quickly? I asked myself. Young kids seem to do things that most older adults are incapable of, because I, personally, could never plan a move from conception of the plan to implementation of it in that amount of time, especially to another state!I find myself panic-striken over it, and have tried to gain a sense of composure about it. Yet, I know I should be calm. Because, it seems that, within one week, she has managed to find a place to live temporarily when she arrives there, has three job interviews lined up, sold all her furniture and a bulk of her other belongings, and packed everything up to fit into a few suitcases and some boxes she'll store and have shipped later.Wow, how did she do that?! I guess it's amazing what a person can do when they follow their dream and have a purpose. It clearly shows we are capable of anything if we want it bad enough.
Disorganized Costs
Lost papers, misplaced time, added finesThe cost of disorganization surfaces when fines are incurred for late payments, late tax filings, anything that should have been dealt with by a certain time and wasn't.I recently witnessed a good case of this while sitting at traffic court waiting my turn to make a plea and get a hearing date. The number of people who had failed to appear in court and who had warrants for unpaid tickets was astounding. The fines cost them double what they would have paid for the ticket initially, and you wonder if they learned a lesson or not.Same with people filing taxes each year. Getting extensions doesn't mean you go without paying the fines; it just approves a late filing.Same with paying bills late -- late fees get attached to the late payment. One woman just told me she had plenty of money to pay her bills, but misplaces the bills and forgets to pay them. She said she was now dealing with disconnections and disconnection notices. These may sound like familiar stories to some, and I'm sorry if you relate to it so well. But, the solutions are all there to get people organized so these things don't happen. If you don't know a solution, find out. If you already know a solution and haven't applied it, try to get help to apply it.Sometimes these kind of stories make people take action. I only hope it isn't a judge forcing it.
New Blog
Can it get any better than this?I've jumped on the blogging-wagon and look out, I'm going blog-crazy here! Having just finished setting up my blog at my personal web site -- www.cyndiseidler.com/cyndiblog -- I'm gearing up to launch a series of these bloggies on various other sites in my network. I'm planning a News Blog for Organized-Living.com, as well. This will mainly consist of press releases. Then, there's success story testimonials from students that I'll set up at Professional-Organizers.com. And, makeover projects at SplendidSpaceMakeovers.com. Oh, and don't let me forget to do a brief column for the HandyGirl.com site either. Ya gotta love this blogging technology!
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