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By Maryline, on September 14th, 2010%
Welcome back to Declutter Tuesday! If you missed last week’s update, you can still jump right in!
Have you made good progress in your attempt to part from your unnecessary possessions?
I was very happy to make great strides (especially in my closet!), and I even came up with two new self-management rules:
- get rid of 10 clothing items for every new item I bring in. Quite confident my shopping spurts will be appeased quickly.
- In another attempt to curb foolish spending, I’ve doomed the first day of the week No Spending Monday. Very simple, you should try it, pick a day of the week and plan around it so that you never spend a penny that day.
This week, I dove right into my handbag (don’t ask me why, but I despise the word “purse”).
(By the way? My husband is the BEST Santa I know!!! And Red Patent is the best color ever. So there.)
I shook the contents out on a table (I know I should do this more often, but … I just don’t — area of improvement highlighted here), and here is what I found:
Mostly? Clutter, of course!
And this how I sorted this mess into piles by category:
In the middle: the essentials include wallet and keys.
On the left hand side: must-have baby stuff (a snack, a diaper, and wipes), and must have me stuff.
On the right hand side: mostly garbage (receipts, coupons I never use, flyers, stickers, and miscellaneous) and a few items that just don’t belong.
The essentials and must-have items found their way back into my handbag, neatly organized. The rest just vanished for ever.
I’ve had to add another rule however:
- Take care of receipts tracking daily (I use Quicken on my desktop to manage my expenses) so I won’t collect useless receipts in my pockets or bags)
My handbag has just what I need in it now. Yay for Declutter Tuesday!
I do wonder if I will need to repeat these steps every week though. Keep you posted on that one!
In bonus today, I am sharing my tip on how to keep these annoying bar-code rewards cards organized (I am NOT hanging this crap on to my keys):
Find a small plastic sleeve (such as a luggage tag, or make your own with plastic sheet protectors); slide the cards into place with all the bar codes showing on the same side (do not hesitate to crop a large card with scissors as long as the bar code remains intact); add tape if necessary.
A quick glance on the reverse side and you can point the cashier’s scanner to the correct bar code.
Genius! You can now keep your rewards cards tucked away in your wallet, and find the one you need quickly, every time.
To join the linky, click below, and please grab the Declutter Tuesday button & place it on your related post!
Show me how much you accomplished, I love visuals!
It's so good to have you back! Share your thoughts, I LOVE comments!
By Maryline, on September 7th, 2010%
I have mentioned before that there is nothing like a support system and some accountability to help you through the obstacles, no matter what they may be.
This is why I’m going to offer you — my loyal readers and friends — the opportunity to join me in the declutter challenge every week. The bloggy world calls this a blog hop.
New Blog Hop: Declutter Tuesday
I will post here every Tuesday with progress, updates, tips and undoubtedly my own feelings regarding my experience with decluttering.
photohome_uk / steve gibson To link up, paste the following code at the end of your blog post (in HTML view):
(The first one is the blog hop button, the second will create the blog hop “linky” — aka, list of posts – that all participants will share at the end of their post)
<a href=”http://www.francoamericandream.com” target=”_blank”><img title=”DeclutterTuesday” src=”http://www.francoamericandream.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/DeclutterTuesday-150×150.png” alt=”DeclutterTuesday” width=”150″ height=”150″ /></a>
<script src=”http://www.linkytools.com/basic_linky_include.aspx?id=43468″ type=”text/javascript”></script>
Note:
- While there is no obligation for you to take part every week, if like me you are looking for durable results, you should definitely consider a regular schedule. If you miss a week here and there, I won’t hunt you down!
- Let me also add that you have until the following Monday at 11:59PM EST to link up to the current “Declutter Tuesday” post. After that, you will need get current with the latest Tuesday post (as you will be unable to link up to previous posts)
- It is suggested but not mandatory that you use the Post Title “Declutter Tuesday” so our movement can gain better visibility!
Week 1: How to approach decluttering?
First of all, be sure to read my pointers in this post.
Then be prepared to make slow progress at first. No doubt it will pull some emotional strings… But at the end of the day, “stuff” needs to move.
Here are two great tips that I’ve gathered from my wonderful readers, Adrienne & JL:
- Imagine you are moving overseas and have only 2 suitcases: what stays? what goes?
- Pick a room or an area and say: I’m getting rid of 10 things. And do it.
Reminder: “Getting rid of” means you toss, recycle or donate — it does not mean “put in storage”, or “make a pile in another room”.
Today, I used these tips to get rid of about 30 pieces of clothing that did not fit, or just looked too “tired” to even entice me to wear them!
I also donated about 20 items from the kitchen pantry to my local homeless shelter this past week, including unopened cans of formula.
I already feel so much better!
Your turn now, show me what you’ve got.
Or rather, show me how what you no longer have is freeing up your space and your mind!
By Maryline, on September 4th, 2010%
I want to help you declutter your house, your office, your car, or any other place that probably needs it.
To get started, I highly recommend this post: 5 Way to Unclutter Every Day by Matt Madeiro from Three New Leaves.
Matt’s article outlines 5 steps to successfully get rid of your junk:
- Keep what you actually use, “everything else has to go”
- No room for feelings, toss without thinking too much, take pictures as keepsakes if you must
- Recycle or freecycle
- Break the technology clutter (CDs, DVDs, etc.)
- Think twice (or more) before you buy
I’ve started with my office corner at home, and I would not call this a success. See for yourself.
 Before  After The truth is that it is incredibly hard to get rid of objects you are used to having around even though you may never see them. The longer you’ve hold on to your treasures, the harder it is…
- I’ve removed the XM radio/CD player because realistically I can get all of this from my computer; smart, aren’t I?
- I got rid of the pile on the left side of the desk, but sadly most of these items have just been filed or put away. And that bucket/crap holder sitting on the right side? Has no business there! Who am I fooling?
- I started digging through the drawers and threw out a ridiculous amount of stuff. Ridiculous as in ridiculously small. I just cannot part from the “In case I mean need this…” excuse.
- I replaced my keyboard so to some extend I broke rule #5. It was not absolutely necessary, it was an upgrade. Now I have to get rid of that other one…
At the end of the day, I cannot do this alone; I need some support and some accountability — this is where the light bulb went “ding”.
I am currently working on a new blog hop for a few of us to tackle the adversity together!
Have you tried decluttering? Was it harder than you thought? How were you able to decide what to keep?
More details to come on the blog hop, stay tuned!
Who is in?
By Maryline, on August 26th, 2010%
It all started with this web page on which I actually stumbled upon last week (as in Stumbled Upon, not just randomly encountered on my own — if you have no idea what I’m talking about it’s okay, please keep reading anyway):
 The premise This web page (www.mnmlist.com) was so enlightening. I realized I can and I want do this!
I am so ready to declutter. But first I need to admit I’ve got this slight hoarding tendency; confessing shall help me move passed it, right?
Hi, my name is Maryline, I’m 29 and I’m a pile maker. I pile high for no other reason that I like to procrastinate and I already know it’s not a good idea…
But today I’ve decided: I can’t live like this anymore! It hit home so hard that I printed it out the above page, thinking I would hang it up above my desk.
And today — just a few days later – as I was getting ready to write this post, I looked for the page, and sadly it took me a long time to find it, buried in my endless collection of receipts, magazines, unopened pieces of mail… and so I know I’m onto something here!
Let’s start decluttering!
Here are two things I will work on over the next month or so (supposedly, it takes only 21 days to form a new habit, I will add a buffer just in case my habit shows more persistence than the average):
- stop buying unnecessary things – pretty straight forward, let see how easily I can implement. The great news about having a child and a full-time job is that there is not much time for eccentric shopping sprees at TJ Max or the Outlet Mall just 25 minutes away…
- clean up my desk (i.e. throwing everything I am not attached to), my closet (part from all accessories and clothes I don’t even remember owning to start), and my bathroom cabinet, getting rid of all the suspicious leftovers (not sure why I’d even been saving them in the first place!).
Every week, I shall report on my progress, posting pictures, comments and tips.
Anyone wants to join me in this challenge? Please start documenting the “before” situation so we can track everyone’s progress!
By Maryline, on August 5th, 2010%
Yesterday, I resisted posting about a little incident at work.
I was a little upset that my boss had wanted to talk to me about my interaction with one of my coworkers, Ali.
In fact it was I who had tipped my boss something was wrong; I had told him something was going on, because I was not getting very many answers from her to my questions in our day-to-day business and I was getting a little frustrated with Ali being short and snappy, or just ignoring me. My suspicion was, Ali is so overwhelmed with work that she is shutting down and the communication is now broken between us.
So a few days later, there I was, sitting in my boss’ office and being told I need to play nicer. I need to stop bossing people around, talking down at them, and be less abrasive. This is mostly about Ali, but turns out I could be that way with other people too. WTF?
Look, I know myself pretty well.
No doubt I’m a straight-to-the-point kind of gal.
I don’t sugar coat my emails, I do say thanks and please, but I say it like it is. And when I need something? I’m going to ask you until I get what I want. I am the best at following-up. Supposedly I have an innate sense of urgency, and the bottom line is: I get the work done.
If I tend to be a little harsh it’s because I don’t hide my feelings, they are right at the surface — maybe you should have gotten the answer by now? I bet I sound just like that.
So yes, I can be a little harsh, I’ll admit. And what I was trying to say is, I have my own reasons.
My boss? He loves it. Keeps people on their toes, and the work, like I said, gets done.
My coworkers? It depends.
I’m a slacker tracker, sorry! For them it must really suck to work by my side!
Today, instead of whining, I invited Ali to have lunch with me, so we could talk this out.
And so we stepped out of the office for lunch, which I rarely ever do because work is always crazy (and with my working mom schedule not allowing me to work late in the office, I take work home often enough!).
We simply talked it out. Like adults do.
Ali made her points, I made mine, and I think we both agreed to work with each other instead of fighting over emails.
It made me realize that no matter how I feel about the work situation, we are people — with feelings, our own problems back at home, and the need to make a living to support our families.
I have no desire to make anyone miserable, and I will work on my weaknesses to better our relationship.
There is no need to get personal, it’s just… work.
By Maryline, on July 30th, 2010%
No? Well, neither did I.
Isn’t it funny how you’re just walking the dog or driving to work, and your mind is freely wandering, taking you places you just did suspect existed, until an idea is formed?
The stars are aligned, the synapses are just clicking, and tada, light bulb!
Well, I had a light bulb moment this morning! I was walking Venga after my morning run and lost control of my thoughts.
I’ve already mentioned I do fundraising for a living in a previous post, but I did not explain that I occasionally write letter copy for our non-profit clients; in English and in French. I am technically not a copywriter, but sometimes the turnaround is too short or the project is small enough that I take it on to get it over quickly — you see copywriters need so many instructions that by the end of the concept brief, I feel like I just wrote the copy myself already, so I save myself some time in the end!
The letters I write? Mailed to thousands of households in the US and Canada. There is the proof I’m a published writer.
I’ve even written copy for email broadcasts or telemarketing scripts. Big whoop, I know.
The only little hiccup is that I write for someone else and to support their agenda. I’m a ghostwriter, in short.
But the money I help raise makes me feel a little be less insignificant in the work I do despite not loving it.
Did your words ever get published, and in what context?
By Maryline, on July 28th, 2010%
Two blank days on my blogging calendar. Just like that.
I feel like an amateur tennis player who almost wins the first set against an all star champ, but ends up losing the game because I gave my all to win the first points!
Turns out, I hardly have time to blog these days, though I “think” posts all the time, I failed to “write” them! I have made peace with the fact that if I cannot blog every day, it’s okay and life goes on!
If you will indulge me, I will let you know how this happened!
I have sacrificed quite a bit of sleep to get this blog going over the past three weeks, and I am so excited to have reached over 1,000 page views (yay!). Bu this week my sacrifice went to my friends, in particulat two of my dearest girlfriends who have just given birth to three babies in total.
On another note, my company is going through a reorg and we are being told great changes are ahead. What I see is that more work will continue to be done by a too small number of people. I will however admit, I am a little out of it this week — I have not felt very concerned or interested because newborns are far more intriguing, and seeing my friends go through this life changing experience has been a real treat.
On yet another note, I have notified the family we share our nanny with that upon her departure in less than 4 weeks, I am looking to find a home day care for T instead of hiring a new nanny to come work out of my house for both their child and mine.
The dad got so upset, he was taking it very personally. I’m afraid he may never talk to me again! I explained it had nothing to with them — I just can’t handle a day care at my house, that’s not what I signed up for; beside T will really benefit from hanging out with more children, and a bit older too.
There are two contenders thus far, out of which one is already getting me a little worried. Might as well say I have only one prospect right now.
Finding child care can be such a hassle! Without word of mouth, reputable home day cares are really hard to find — when a spot opens, it gets filled from the next child on the waiting list.
When I am so tired that I can’t keep my eyes open, I know blogging can wait. Tonight, I was able to keep my eyes open long enough, but I’m nearing the end.
I will need to refocus and plan my next posts a bit better, another thing I learned!
Off to bed or else I’m never going to make it to my 6AM run.
I’m curious to hear what others are finding is “getting in the way of blogging”. Please share your experiences in the comment section below!
By Maryline, on July 20th, 2010%
Rather than venting over work, all it takes is a little humor. Notice how I did not attach the name of any coworker to each of the “tips” below…
10 – Choose a fancy background with an intricate font. And make it as hard as possible to decipher your message!
9 – Lack courtesy … and share your misery. No greeting, no thank you. Or better, include “Thank you” or “Regards” in your signature. Now, that’s fancy.
8 – Forgo the signature, always. Why would your coworkers, vendors, and clients want to get to you?
7 – Write like you text, a lot. Acronyms and ALL CAPS are big favorites. Don’t bother capitalizing the beginning of your sentences, not worth it.
6 – Venture off-topic. Responding to an email while addressing a totally different matter is loads of fun. But be sure to leave the subject line intact.
5 – Don’t send the attachments. Very reliable test to verify your audience is paying attention.
4 – Write a lot more than necessary. In multiple emails, if possible. Don’t you love wasting people’s time?
3 – Make sure your attachments are NEVER printer-friendly. Paper is recyclable after all!
2 – Indulge with misspellings. Practice makes perfect, you’ll see, so don’t worry about the spell-check.
1 – Abuse the Urgent attribute. The red exclamation point looks quite the part. Don’t you wish Outlook offered more clipart options to personalize your messages?
Would you like to share your coworkers’ most annoying email habit? Please leave a comment!
By Maryline, on July 15th, 2010%
I have decent days at work that go by fast enough that I don’t worry about it too much. Plus, I already know I’m patiently working on a better plan (though it might take several years to reach my goal, at least I have one and I’m more determined than ever).
Some other days just go on and on, and the degree of annoyance (I’m going to call this the office temperature from now on) steadily builds up with every conversation with an angry, frustrated or stressed client who decides your day should suck, too. Today was one of these days.
And this last conference call… The drop of water that makes the vase overflow. While poorly translated, I am really fond of this French expression. (In its original form: La goutte d’eau qui fait déborder le vase!)
Talk about procrastinators. I can’t stand listening to a client dissect and discuss every assumption of a deliverable we handed to them months ago, because of course now, they’re in a rush. And you’ve been on the phone for 1 hour and 39 minutes, it’s almost 5 and you’re going to be late getting home to take care of your baby!
However…
Let me say this: I’m thankful for these torrid days as they remind me this career is definitely not for me — no matter how much money I get paid.
Come to think of it, nobody — hmm, sadly, almost nobody — would ever sell their children no matter the tradeoff. That’s how I feel about work: why would anyone make the sacrifice of their own sanity?
Why not take the route that can make us happier, and even maybe, make us a better person?
I’m now convinced it’s never too late to look for, and find, your true calling.
Just like it’s never too late to get back in shape, and that will be my last point today. Too many people give up due to life circumstances or their age – and soon enough, they have a “good reason”.
Take one of my coworkers: the other day, she was just telling me how she went to college on a sport scholarship, was really athletic and enjoyed running almost every day; then she got married, had kids, lost focus and soon resigned herself to be “out of shape”.
Because she’s in her late forties, she thinks this is it.
Easy for me to disagree because I’m quite a bit younger and only have only one child (!) but again, I think it’s never too late. I can only think that she’d feel better about herself and would be more energized if she really wanted it badly.
How can it be too late when you have the other half of your life to live?
Unfortunately, she’s either lacking motivation or support, or both. She needs to make this a priority in her mind, and she can make it happen.
I was talking about our “calling” earlier; for proof that talent served by strong determination and hard work does pay off, I recommend you read the inspiring story of Dara Torres in Life is Just a Number.
By Maryline, on July 10th, 2010%
I can think of four people in my immediate circle of friends and family who have taken a bold move to do what they most wanted to do. It does not work every time but it’s worth trying.
My dad: born and raised in the Paris area, a well-educated family; his dad an artist, his mom running a business previously owned by my great-grand-father. Until recenlty one of the oldest book stores of Versailles, with a concentration in antique and fine art books. Sadly it shut down a few years ago — but it is very well remembered by the locals, and I have fond memories of working there during the Holidays.
School was not my dad’s forte. He dropped out of high school and went on to follow practical training to become… a shepperd. He then moved to the South of France, worked very hard in different farms, which he loved; then met my mom (a graphic designer in advertising from the Paris area), swept her off her feet and took her along with him on his journey. A few years later they got married, and eventually became the owners of their very own farm. My dad’s ultimate dream.
That’s what he had always really wanted to do. He loved it. For 20 years, he barely made any money, just enough to support his family of three children, until it became too difficult and the farm was sold. It was time to move on.
My husband: no doubt I find him incredibly stubborn, but on the flip side he’s got such determination and enthusiasm for the things he loves! Before I met him, he had been working for many years in sales. But prior to that he had opened and operated for a couple of years his very own ski shop in upstate NY with his brother, right out of high school. He never bothered going to college, despite the short life of his first adventure as an entrepreneur.
And that sales job just presented itself. He learned a lot, made good money and a good reputation for himself. But he had another agenda. After selling his house, my song-writer of a husband travelled the country on a music tour for two years, with his guitare in one hand, and all of his savings in the other. He met fantastic people, played in many fun places, had a really good time, and tried very hard to make it happen… until he ran out of money.
I know he’s got no regrets because he gave it a real shot, and the memories of this adventure will stay with him forever.
Two close friends — husbands of very dear girlfriends of mine actually. There experiences are quite similar — though I may not know all the details and will be happy to edit later if necessary.
One was a successful investment specialist in the Boston area; a finance guy with solid education. It took him a few years to realize this role did not satisfy him. He’s now in the construction field in a smaller town. And while he works very hard, he does not make nearly as much money. But that is secondary to really liking what he does.
The other was a miserable sales guy that simply hated his job. I cannot imagine how many others are out there. He and his wife worked it out; he went on to get the education he needed to pursue his dream career, took a huge pay cut, and became a fireman. And that makes him happier than any other job.
Neither of them would put a price tag on happiness, as long as the basis were covered. (It’s okay for the wife to be the breadwinner, hello 21st century!)
Where does that leave me? Working hard at figuring out what I really want to do. I am ready to make many sacrifices to reach that goal. And I’m patient.
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