I Organize You

We all can feel overwhelmed.
After a good, productive day’s work you come home and you get hit with piles of laundry, desk covered in papers, dishes on the counter and no milk in the frig. AAaaaaahhhhhh!!!!!
Even you, the most calm, cool and collected person, are entitled to SNAP.

Maybe you don’t scream and you just give up.
Resolve yourself to “this is the way it is.”
Well, you should never settle. You deserve more.

Ellen was feeling overwhelmed in her home office.
“I just left it as is so you can see the mess.”

PERFECT! I love messy rooms.
This allows me to really see what’s happening.

Ellen began by describing to me what each pile was for in the room, how she uses the area to work and what she would like to see her office to function. With that info, we began to dive into the papers, sort out the dated items and get Ellen’s office into shape.

Ellen could not believe how much better her office felt. She had a plan on how to use her office more efficiently.
“This is just what I needed,” she said to me.

Ellen worked along side me to learn about how to better use her space. She utilized my organizing know-how to get the most out of her project and now LOVES her office.

Where could you use a little bit of help?

All I’m saying is, “Dang!”

What can you lift over your head while painted gold?

As I pulled into Cherry Hill Village, I immediately thought,

“this is the coolest neighborhood!”
It reminded me of what I thought old neighborhoods use to look like. Not one home was the same.
Big porches with swings on them.
Huge neighborhood parks.
A downright, friendly place to call home.

“Beth” asked me to come help get her garage in order. She had some great storage space, just was not utilizing it. Beth moved in about 5 years ago, then aquired more items from family members. Her car fit into the garage, but the rest of the space was stacked with stuff.

Where do you start with a project like this?
With the box that is right before you.
Beth and I began sorting out her boxes: Christmas, donations, garden supplies, sports gear and, yes, trash. Once Beth could see what all she had, then we could come up with a plan to store all her needed items.

In the end, Beth was left with a load of items for donation and another for recycling. She also had a small sorting project to do on her own. That being the boxes left in this picture. These contained some personal items. I did not just leave Beth with the task. Her job was to get this stuff sorted by the next week prior to trash day.

I followed up with Beth to make sure she stayed on track. YEAH! She got it done and loves pulling into her organized garage. Beth said her organizing experience was “Just Ducky!”

Beth, glad I could help you out and thanks for bringing me to your wonderful neighborhood.

What’s cool about your neighborhood?

My boys are with their father and I am off on a road trip with a my man.

Our direction is north, with a loose plan of our adventure through Canada to Michigan’s UP (upper peninsula to the entire world outside Michigan), returning home at some point.

Everyone have fun and be safe…..I leave you with this picture:

I was chatting with a friend on the phone as I headed for my pedicure. Pulled into a divey little bar to turn my car around.

Can’t figure out what is funnier:
1. FU
2. Frigid Units
3. “Living Stream”

…….Kinda makes me want to stop go inside and find out what Frigid Units is all about……then again maybe I don’t……..

Where did your latest road trip lead you?

Summertime fun has resulted in a bit of a slow down in my posting.

All is well.
Boys are fantastic.
Business is hopping.

My mom gave me a plaque the other day which is perfect. It says:

“One shoe can change your life,”
~Cinderella
Love this quote!
Cinderella was a hard working chick, kicked down much of her life with dreams of meeting prince charming. Once she tried on a shoe, her life blossomed and her dreams began to come true.

My goal has not been to find my prince charming. Though for the first time in my life I do feel like a princess: cared for, respected, appreciated.

Every day my intention is to make the day the best possible, do what is right for others and have fun…..lots of fun.

5 yrs ago I was completely lost and destroyed. Looking at how far I have come is stunning and exciting to imagine what will be accomplished in the future.

If you are struggling in some way in your life,
you are just one action away from triumph.

Stay strong.
Believe in yourself.
Success is right before you.

What step have you taken to better your life?

If you have not seen Kung Fu Panda, you are truly missing out on a great movie. My boys and I went about a month ago and LOVED IT.

We were nearly blinded by its pure awesomeness!!

Several lines of the movie caught my attention. I commend Dreamworks for making such a positive movie for the whole family to enjoy, and for throwing in great little messages.

One of my favorites:

“To make something special you just have to believe it is special”
~Mr. Ping to Po
There is no secret ingredient.
How great is that?

Better yet as I battle the bad guys in my son’s Nintendo DS game dying over and over. Jacob says to me:

“Mom do you believe you will win?”
“Buddy, that is awesome. Yes I do.”

Bad guys were then destroyed swiftly.

Belief. Faith. Trust.
Whichever you choose, make the most of the day.

What is special to you right now?

I love helping people feel better
about their space.
Home.
Office.
Garage.
Basement.
Junk drawer.

If there is an area in home or business that is causing you to say “UGH,” then perhaps you should act on it.

Michelle was feeling that way about her home office. Back in May she had me help her breathe again in her office (that story here).

We accomplished a lot on that day, though Michelle had plans for more. I was delighted to get an email from her with a picture of what she had done to complete the project.

“Thought I’d send you an update – bought my shelving unit and now life is mah-velous. Never thought I’d purchase anything at ikea, but it is perfect for all of my paper needs. Its 6’x6’, and solid as a rock. My goal is to get more black boxes and label them for all of the individual items.

Thanks a bunch!!” ~Michelle

I am so excited Michelle took on this task
and completed her project on her own.
WAY TO GO!!

How have you inspired someone?

Happy Birthday Matthew!!

I can’t believe he is 10 years old. As I have always done, I find a moment on this day and write my birthday boy a note. When my boys turn 18 years old, they will each have 18 letters from me to them.

Another tradition my boys and I have is we make our own birthday cake. In the past they have been elaborate for a homemade cake: dinosaur village, monster truck show, volcano oozes over animals and a swamp monster destroying a city. We are quite imaginative in our home.

This year Matthew just wanted a simple white frosted cake. I suggested the sprinkles to make it festive. But I had a surprise: Trick Candles.

All the kids thought it was great since they kinda sparked a bit. When Matthew blew them out and they relit, I thought they would all pee their pants from laughter. It was HYSTERICAL!!

With the smoke alarms ready to go off, we got the candles out and dined on a very tasty cake. Matthew’s deemed his party one of the best ever. Today was all about him.

I look at him and I am in awe at the amazing young man he has become. This morning Matthew said to me, “the love you give me is better than any stuff.” Jacob agreed. Big group hug.

I am the luckiest mom in the world tonight.
Thank you Matthew…..Happy birthday my superman!

How does your family make you feel lucky?

Man it’s a hot one,
Like 7 inches from the midday sun

Santana with Rob Thomas “Smooth” was running through my head as “Tracy” and I began working on her garage.

It was a beautiful 90 degF with about 110% humidity summer day in Michigan. I love summer heat and would much rather sweat like a pig than freeze my little tushie off.

Onto Tracy’s garage ……..
We decided to pull nearly everything out of her garage.

As we did this piles were created:
- kids stuff
- bikes
- garden/landscaping
- tools
- junk (gotta have a junk pile)
- home decor

By pulling everything out of the garage Tracy was able to see, and find, everything she had. She swept out the floor as I installed some wall storage hooks and racks to get things up off the floor.

Then we set up a storage areas for kids stuff and garden/landscaping items. The tools were sorted and organized into the tool cabinet and benches. The home decor items were put away. And the junk ……. well, that got curbed to the road.

In just over 4 hours, Tracy’s garage was transformed
from a “disaster zone” to “WOW!”


With time and energy left, we moved onto the basement and were able to get her son’s band area tidied up a bit and came up with a game plan for the overall basement organization.

Man, it was a hot day. Tracy was pleased with her new garage. Her kids were shocked at what we accomplished. “Can you do my bedroom?” her daughter asked me.

Do you prefer to work the heat of summer or the chill of winter?

After helping “Charlie” with his garage, he asked me to help his wife get her new apartment ready. I purchased new bedroom furniture, bedding and shower items for “Sandra,” then returned to help get all her items put away.

During lunch, Charlie’s wife began telling a bit about his life.

Charlie’s father was a physicist who was in the US Defense Department working on weapons of mass destruction. Due to his father’s responsibilities, Charlie spent his entire childhood under the care of the secret service. Bouncing from home to home, with a new last name each time he moved. WOW!

Sandra continued to tell how he ran off and joined the Marines at age 16. Ranking a Major in the US Marine Corps, Charlie fought in the Battle of Iwo Jima. She continued on with stories about their travels and hobbies.
I was in awe!!

Charlie gazed at his wife with such a loving look in his eyes. It was amazing to see a man care so very much about his wife. Not by anything he said or did, just his eyes. Stunning.

Sandra mentioned her back ached a bit. Charlie, speaking very slowly from the effects of his stroke, “Would you like me to arrange for a massage?”

In a flash, Sandra snapped back:
“Oh so now your gonna do something for me.
What the hell would I want anything from you? Your useless.”

Charlie simply pursed his lips, nodded to me, his eyes broken.

“Sandra, why don’t you eat your lunch so we can finish unpacking your room?” I stated in attempt to skirt what just happened.

Charlie went off for a haircut. Sandra and I went to her new room to get her items unpacked.

Charlie is an amazing man. He has told me he will always love his wife despite what her dementia is doing to her. My respect for Charlie grows with each meeting I have with him.
Hmmm … funny, I randomly chose Charlie’s nickname.
He is more than a good man. Charlie is a great man.

Sometimes what you learn from a stranger is priceless.

What have you learned from someone?