PERSONAL LOSS and AUTOMATIC

Never underestimate the inevitability of gradualness.

Sandra Felton, THE ORGANIZER LADY®
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Contents of New Ideas for Today

1. Message of the Day - PERSONAL LOSS
2. Did You Know?
3. Habit of the Day
4. Family Reminder of the Day
5. Quote of the Day
6. Question of The Day
7. From the Trenches - AUTOMATIC
8. More Info

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1. Message of the Day

Personal Loss and Accumulated Clutter

Sometimes messiness gets worse after a personal loss. Often it is a loved one. Sometimes it is after a fire or a  financial reversal.

The person may have been quite tidy before or may have tended to be a little messy. Now, however, the house goes from a little messy to disastrous.

The problem is usually because they begin to resist getting rid of anything. Having suffered a loss that was out of their control, they now go overboard to make sure they have any and every thing they may ever want or need in the future.

Nobody can keep an overabundance of things and still maintain a nice home. You will wear yourself out if you try to do it and you will sink into despair if you don't.

The tragedy is that by keeping an abundance of individual items so you can hold on to everything you might need in the future, you lose the one large and very valuable item that you really need on a daily basis, a charming and supportive home.
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2. Did You Know?

For your information. If you are interested, in a professional organizer who likes to work with folks who struggle with organizing, check out the web site for the Institute for Challenging Disorganization
http://www.challengingdisorganization.org/

For a referral to a professional organizer in your area go to http://www.napo.net which is the website for the National Association of Professional Organizers.
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3. Habit of the Day

JUST DO IT - Do not wait till you feel like it. Just move your body through the motions like a robot if that is all you can do. Face the fact that some things do not inspire. It is nice to want to. But do not wait for the humor to hit you. Just do it.
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4. Family Reminder of the Day

In our family, we put what we need the next day by the front door the night before.

In our family, we don't drop our things when we come in the door. 
We take them and put them where they belong.
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5. Quote of the Day

Every minute you procrastinate putting it up is a cluttered minute.

(See FROM THE TRENCHES below.)
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6. Question of The Day

If you could add another family reminder, what would it be?

Send your suggestion to the address below
felton.messies@gmail.com
with the heading New Family Reminder.

Tell us by posting on Friends-of-The-Organizer-Lady.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Friends-of-The-Organizer-Lady
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7. From the Trenches

AUTOMATIC BEHAVIOR

As for the "30 Second Rule", and "Do It Now", etc. It works! When I see that a piece of trash, a piece of the wrapper for a band-aid(!), has missed the trash can and landed on the floor beside it, I immediately bend over and pick it up. Before I changed my attitude, I would have thought "I'll get that, later". 
Except that later never seemed to arrive and even if it did, that one tiny piece of trash on the floor would have multiplied into an unsightly mess and it sure would take more than a second or two to clean up. For me, it's all a part of cleaning up after myself, putting things where they belong when I'm done with them. That habit is making a very big difference. You can do this. You just need time to build good habits.

Remember when you were learning how to drive a car? In my case, I wondered why they bothered putting a radio in a car, because you'd never take your hands off the wheel! Now, you get in the car, fasten your seat belt, check mirrors and gas, start up, and away you go. And, you don't have to stop and think about HOW to do any of that or even IF you SHOULD do any of that. You just do it, automatically. That did not happen the first time you tried or even the first lots of times.

I think we waste too much precious time arguing with ourselves! Whining to ourselves. Complaining to ourselves. Justifying inaction to ourselves. Honestly, can you imagine how long it would take us to get the car into the street if we argued/whined/complained that we had to check for gas (why do I always have to get the gas? Whine. My dh (ds,dd) should do it. Whine. LOL

We need to practice our good habits over and over until we just do them without thinking about them. Then, we can just get the jobs done and move on ith other parts of our lives. Fifteen minutes at a time. Babysteps.

FLO
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8. More Info

Kiss Clutter Good-Bye! 

Try the NEW and IMPROVED KEEP IT SUPER SIMPLE Flipper!

The K.I.S.S. Flipper has fresh ideas on how to move through your home, day by day, room by room, with simple choices for maintenance and organizing. It will gently guide you through the process of creating clear and shining surfaces throughout out your home!

With the New K.I.S.S. Flipper all you have to do to is FLIP through the spiral-bound, sequentially numbered full-color job idea cards. No more sliding rds into sleeves; the New K.I.S.S. Flipper is ready to use out of the package. When you are ready to begin, make a few simple choices each day from one ard and you will be on your way to a clutter-free and well maintained home.

$26.95  Now $20.00 US postage included 

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This is a simple program. We stick with the basics as they are presented in these messages. Keep reading. Keep adding one part of the program at a time.

Repetition is important.
Forward to friends if desired but not to other sites.
Read this whole posting or only what you can take in today, then delete it if it arrives by email.

Don't forget the daily reminders!!!
Click here to print a copy of the daily Reminders and How-To's
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MESSIES ANONYMOUS SLOGAN

Please memorize this slogan and post it on your wall.

The secret to success is making very small, yet very consistent, changes.

Or to make it short; Baby steps, baby steps in the right direction.

103 © Sandra Felton 2010

The Organizer Lady® is a registered trademark of
Sandra Felton, founder of Messies Anonymous.