 Nothing to see here. I originally had a different plan for this week's post, but received some inspiration that took me in another direction a few days ago when I was scanning XM Radio channels. I heard, on the station I refuse to play before November 29, a snippet of "My Favorite Things." Complete with sleigh bells and a full string section - Tony Bennett's version, if memory serves. I'm not alone in wondering when it morphed into a holiday song, and of course, I Googled - there's a more extended history than I knew. So when I sat down to write this week and realized I likely won't crank another post out before Thanksgiving, I got to thinking about the season and well...here we are. Aside from whiskers on kittens, and Julie Andrews' voice, there is not much in the song that appeals to me. I'm more of a The King and I girl. But if you've read any of my holiday posts in years' past (or if you know me even slightly), you'll know I'm not big on stuff-giving. What does resonate for my list, and what could you do this year to cut back on the stress of shopping and the future soul-sucking curation of excess objects? I have some thoughts. I flirted with the idea of getting everything to rhyme in some sort of parody, but that was just working too hard for this time of year. Besides, do you know how many recorded versions there already are of this thing (I stopped counting around 210)? So here it is, My Favorite Things, 2019 Edition. With apologies to Rogers and Hammerstein, read on for my ideas on gifts and cool things to do that make me smile whenever the dog bites or the bee stings... 1. Tickets. $-$$$$. To the opera. For an Amtrak ride. To the kids' school production of A Christmas Carol, complete with rattling chains and stakes of holly through the heart. To The Rise of Skywalker, or that Beatles tribute band concert. A ticket to any sort of trip or event, for any kind of taste, is available pretty much everywhere in price ranges to fit any budget. And if you get two, maybe you'll get lucky and be invited along to make some memories. 2. REI Opt Outside. Free. You've likely heard about REI's policy of closing its doors on Black Friday, and encouraging everyone to skip the consumerism and go outside. I have always thought this was a fabulous idea. Still, even though I haven't darkened the door of a store on Black Friday in years, I've never actually "opted outside" in an intentional way. I mean, I was a Girl Scout and all, but I'm not sure anyone would accuse me of being outdoorsy. Maybe this is the year to give it a whirl. 3. Dr. Bronner's Soap. $-$$. An object, yes, but consumable and sustainable. This stuff is amazing. We've been buying it for close to 20 years now after my husband discovered it on a business trip to Austin, TX. You can use it for darn-near everything (washing dishes, bathing Fluffy), but one of the best ways is to soak in a tub with a couple of spoonfuls in the water - lavender is my favorite - and read the label. Seriously, read the label. You can check out gift options here. 4. A library card. Free. I still vividly remember the day my mother took me to the library (I'm guessing I was five) to get mine. So first, there was this cool, grown-up looking piece of cardboard I could carry around in my pocket, and second, there was this massive building full of books. Total win-win. Even if your kiddos are not huge readers, there are usually all kinds of other wonders - when our kids were small, we used to check out puppets or board games. Our son was (and still is) big on audiobooks. Plus…ssshhhh. All. that. quiet. 5. Masterclass.com. $90/class, or $15/month annually. You guys - online masterclasses on everything from writing and music to political science and barbecue, taught by experts. We're talking instructors like Gladwell, Leibovitz, Wintour, and Elfman (tip of the iceberg). If you have a lifelong learner in your family with a little time on their hands, this gift could be heaven on earth (and despite my lack of free time, I've requested it). What sort of non-stuff-accumulating ideas could you come up with for the holidays? What could we all do to make that gift-buying or event-planning stress go down like a spoonful of sugar? Oh...wait. Wrong musical. :-/ I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving, however you choose to celebrate. See you in December.
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Two weekends ago, I had the pleasure of teaming up with a gang of my NAPO* Nashville chapter mates to tackle organizing a huge room of donated items at a local elementary school. The space, a portable behind the main building, needed a little love and order. It was a chapter service project that we committed to donating our time to a few months back. Nine of us, armed with nothing more than Sharpies, plastic bins, trash bags, and label makers, began by standing in the center of the room and surveying the challenge before us. I don't think our contact at the school had the foggiest notion of what was about to happen. We defined the categories, mapped out the plan, divided into teams, and went to work. What followed was a flurry of folding, sorting, hauling, building, assembling, moving, labeling, categorizing, trashing — and in less than six hours, we had the place transformed. Aside from our labor and some donated supplies, there was no expense. The results were impressive and deeply appreciated. Working as a group, with our individual strengths and talents, we broke things down to manage what previously seemed unmanageable — organizing in action, in real life.
 If I'm being honest, I had a blast. You couldn't have enticed me away from this project even if you had offered me a free spa day on the beach with unlimited supplies of dark chocolate. Just as we put the finishing touches on a school supply cabinet, one of my colleagues came up to me and said, "Isn't this fun?! I love working with a team!" Her enthusiasm was/is contagious, and I agreed - it can be a big boost to work with others on a shared goal. Perhaps it's the extravert in me, but connecting with the people I work with and for is one of the things I love most about my profession.
If you've ever run a road race, you may have experienced an energy from being out with hundreds of other runners. Sometimes it's overt, like when someone encourages you along the way, but often it's very subtle. Maybe it's just knowing you're not out there all alone battling your way to a finish line. When our chapter members worked on the school space, we were all contributing our expertise and ability, and spreading the responsibility definitely made the work progress quickly. But I suspect the success of the project was related to much more than that. None of us had ever worked together before, but we fell right into a groove. More than once, I looked up from arranging pencils and backpacks to see organizers asking one another for feedback, sharing ideas, and even just chatting amiably. We were better together that day. This positive result is one reason why I think everyone, if they can, should connect with someone in some way on their organizing adventures. I don't necessarily mean professional assistance, although certainly that can make a huge difference. I mean anything from having a friend over to be a body double or help sort, to throwing a full-on organizing party with your family. It may sound nuts to you to put "organizing" and "party" in the same sentence (much the way my concept of an organizing vacation might have seemed odd). But it puts me in mind of barn-raisings or quilting bees or other types of collective efforts to tackle a big, complicated job. It's not just the practical separation of tasks, but the good vibes that can flow between us making something vast and uncomfortable less daunting. Sometimes clients will say something to me like,
And I'm thinking, YES!! Do that! What if you thought of those customers at Starbucks as being part of your personal productivity team? Your friend as a member of your Organizing Board of Directors? Why not use the knowledge that connection makes a difference to your best advantage? Teamwork can take many forms, and I'm sure there's some psychological principle out there to explain why the energies of other people spur us on and help us to succeed. For me, it's enough to know that it can work. Who all could be on your organizing team? p.s. And yes, sometimes the team stuff doesn't always go as smoothly as our service project did. We'll take a look at that in the next post. *National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals. Here's who worked on the project: College Hunks Hauling Junk and Moving Nashville Simple Systemic Spaces Project Organize 615 Organizing Ease Clearing The Way Home Tailored Living of Nashville Samantha Pointer Enterprises Plus wonderful new member Miriam Johnston! If you have a Facebook profile, do you ever check out the “Memories” section to see what you were up to in the past? I get a kick out of how many times I wrote something years ago about getting myself organized. Those posts went up a long time before I ever stumbled across the professional organizing industry, so it’s some seriously spooky foreshadowing. This morning I had to laugh when this one popped up:  You see, I’ve spent the past week organizing in my own home, and just last night, I was - you guessed it - filing and shredding. I also worked on my closet, my office, part of the garage, and some long-neglected but really functional drawers and cabinets. I caught up on errands that I had chosen to put off for weeks. I even spent time looking over my schedule for the rest of 2019, trimming away some overcommitment and setting better boundaries. I looked forward to this organizing time for weeks. In fact (and you may think I’m a little cracked), I purposely scheduled it as a sort of mini-vacation. Forget Spring Cleaning, this was all Fall Organizing, despite it hovering around a soul-sucking 97 degrees every day. It was a perfect way for me to recharge - less expensive than the beach, with no sunburn or sand in my shoes. When I reflected on it, I noticed a few things:
Sure, I got stuck on an item or two, lost myself in quite a few memories, and the ridiculous heat kept me from doing as much outside as I wanted. Occasionally I was tempted to dig into something others might count as more interesting that sorting and arranging. But I knew (intuitively? from years of experience?) how much better I would feel choosing the organizing over Netflix*. I also came across this Facebook Memory, which helped to put it all into a more realistic perspective:  Oh, the days before we knew all about creating those perfect, visual, clickable posts. No, I didn't get it all done, but I count the whole week as a win. It also reminded me that this organizing stuff actually is something I’m decent at, which is comforting. Even professionals have their doubts at times, and I’ve spent the better part of two years engaging in some goals that are not so second-nature, not so comfortable. And while discomfort most definitely leads to growth, I was so ready to lay it all down for a while. To push the pause button on all that personal expansion, curl up with the label maker and some donation boxes, and go for some good old self-care. Because improving your organization is an act of taking care of yourself. Think of it like a little metaphorical cucumber face mask for your spaces - clearing out those impurities and leaving a brighter, smoother surface behind. Sometimes, when you’ve spent a long time trying to work on or figure out something difficult or outside of your comfort zone, it’s nice to come “home.” To come home to an activity that feels like putting on your favorite pair of jeans, or that perfect, soft, hole-y sweatshirt. You may not have the luxury of being able to take a whole week to go through your t-shirt drawers or files from 2004, and you may not find organizing as relaxing an activity as I do. But what if you took even just an hour or two to indulge in organizing something all for yourself? Something that would help you to breathe easier? A clear-out that would make you smile when you finished? How comfortable would that be?  *For the record, I did check out a fair number of podcasts.
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AuthorSara Skillen - Certified Professional Organizer®, Certified Organizer Coach®, wife, mom, and serial list-maker. Learning to trust my intuition more every day. Shall we work together? Archives
November 2019
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Content copyright 2013-2019, SkillSet Coaching & Organizing. All rights reserved. SkillSet Coaching & Organizing is a division of SkillSet Enterprises, LLC. Photos of Sara by Mary Rice Photography.
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