Staying Accountable

Hello gentle readers!

I went after the piles in my kitchen. I actually finished on Saturday morning. I have a box packed and ready to go out tomorrow for donation pick up. I sorted a big box of papers and put away a BUNCH of art supplies. I sorted decorative papers into collage packs to share as "goodie bags" at an upcoming retreat. Still to be sorted: A large container of project samples, instructions and supplies.

I once again found the top of my kitchen table:

I want to find a place to keep the extra leaf for my table. I don't want to put it back in my table, because that just creates a larger flat space that tempts me to set stuff down. As organizer Peter Walsh says, "Flat spaces are not for storage."

Speaking of Peter Walsh, he's teamed up with Office Max to present a new line or organization products. I signed-up for an online seminar (free) and received these samples for free:

The best tip for me from this seminar: Instead of post-it notes everywhere, I now keep a journal at my desk for notes, reminders, etc. This is working out well for me.

I keep reminding myself that I don't have to be perfectly organized. Every day that I make any effort is a step in the right direction. Yay me!

And something really strange happened yesterday. I was walking through my pantry area and thought, "I'd like to organize these shelves." Wow! Was that really my brain talking?!? Yay! I sense an internal shift and it is exciting.

Blessings,

Kelly

Building Faith in Myself

Hello gentle readers!



Day by day I am building faith in myself. I am beginning to trust myself to follow-through. In a personal growth class we were talking this week about the difference between "false hopes" and "healthy hopes." Our instructor said that healthy hopes are based on history.



If I "hope" to keep my studio and office clean and organizers AND I take action day-by-day towards that goal, then I have healthy hope.


If I "hope" to keep my spaces clean and organized but take no action, then I have false hope. It is false hope that makes the heart sick.

This is one reason that I outed myself about the piles in my kitchen space. I undermine my faith in myself every day that I walk by that stuff without taking care of it. I want to build faith in myself. I want to build a history of taking action. I want to have healthy hope.

What are you hoping for? Is it a healthy hope? What action can you take today to begin to build a history upon which to base your hope?

Yesterday I went into my art studio and created a project for an upcoming retreat. I must be breaking through my creative block...

Here is the mess I created:

Here is the project I created:

Here is the clean space I created:

And my studio is all ready to use for my next project!

Here's to a spirit of healthy hope!! Yay me!

Hugs,

Kelly

Time to Come Clean

Hello gentle readers!



It is time for me to check in.


We went to the ocean this weekend. When we got home I went into my office and dropped a bunch of stuff on my desk. This is what it looked like when I went in Monday morning:

Well, yuck. My flowers are dead, the work surface is covered and I had no room to write my morning pages. I like coming in to a clean desk in the morning. It is wonderful, I feel like I'm getting a fresh start every day. When I come in to a cluttered work space I feel overwhelmed before I even get started.

Yesterday I worked at the computer wayyyy too long. I was past ready to stop. I just wanted to get out of my office. However, no matter how tired I was, I knew that I wanted to come in and find a clean desk in the morning. So, I cleaned up my desk top...you might say I "tucked it in" for the night. Here's the pic:

Now, I need accountability for something else. No, let me put it this way: I WANT (gulp) accountability. (Its funny how using the word "want" instead of the word "need" makes such a difference to my perspective. Try it sometime.)

I have a big pile of stuff in my kitchen that I want to get sorted, given away and cleaned out. It has been sitting there since O 9-1-1. I walk past it over and over again.

I think, "If you cleaned out two rooms in your house in three days, surely you can get this stuff sorted and dealt with. What's going on with you?!?" If nothing else, I want to get rid of it so that I stop passing judgment on my self every time I walk past it.

And so, dear readers, I put myself before you once again. I want to take care of this by the end of this week. I will post pictures of the space when I have it clean.

I'm thinking there may be a few guidelines here for me to consider:

* Flat areas are not for storage.

* If I don't know where to keep it, I probably don't need it.

* If I'm going to give something away, get it out of the house right away.

Thank you for sharing my journey.

Blessings,

Kelly