Project Management with Trello

For 2023, I have decided to keep track of my projects using an app called Trello. On Trello, you set up Boards (January Projects, February Projects, etc.) and Cards (Declutter Basement, Sew quilts, Write Bible study).  

Each separate project is called a "card" and within each card, I can set up a checklist of things to do. I also like the feature that lets me select a photo as a cover for the card. It just makes the board pretty.

If we don't get the quilts finished in January (and I'm pretty sure we won't!) I can just move that Board to the February column and continue working on the project.

If you have some projects to work on this year, check out Trello for a fun way to keep track of them.

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Office Supply Cabinet

It's been a long time since I've cleaned out the office supply cabinet in our house. And what better day than today (COVID-19 Ohio shelter in place day #8) to get at it!

Whenever I have extra office supplies in other parts of the house and I'm cleaning up, they get thrown in here. As you can see, I am not very good at placing items in there carefully.

At least everything in the cabinet (except one thing) was an office supply item. The thing that was out of place was our wedding album. Why that was in there...I do not know.

I set the timer to see how long it would take me to empty, sort, dust, and put back what I wanted to keep. It took me 40 minutes. I ended up with four paper grocery bags to donate.

Ahh! That looks better. 

Just like when I'm packing my suitcase, I kept a little more than I really need, but it is a huge improvement.

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Tidying Up

I read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo last year. While I thought some of her practices were a little strange (like thanking your dishes for serving you well before donating them to Goodwill), her method of de-cluttering made sense to me.

Rather than organizing your home by area (kitchen, then living room then bedroom, etc.), she recommends organizing your things by category. This way you can see how much you have in the way of white shirts or serving spoons.

What you are supposed to do is gather all of one category (books, for instance) in one spot. Then you can better determine which ones you really want to keep. If you have books in your kitchen and books in your study and books in your bedroom, you will think you don't have very many books. But if you put all of your books in a pile in your living room, you would gasp. At least I would.

I came back to the Kon-Marie method of organizing today after Peter moved home from his dorm room after graduation, bringing with him more clothes than I thought he could possibly own. I've been doing laundry and sorting clothes all day. It wouldn't be so bad if that were all the clothes he had, but his bedroom and Daniel's old room also contained more of his clothes.

 I used the bed in Katherine's room to make piles of his polos, sweatshirts, tank tops and swimsuits.

 I used the beds in Daniel's room to make piles of his pants, shorts and short sleeve button downs

I left the dress shirts and t-shirts hanging in his closet.

I found 44 t-shirts, 22 ties, 25 pairs of shorts, 24 sweatshirts, 16 long sleeve t-shirts, and 69 pairs of socks. That's not counting pants, sweaters, underwear and other things.

How could this pile up happen? We'll never know.

But I'm hoping before he moves into his apartment in July he will be able to let go of three-fourths of his wardrobe. It will be life changing for sure.

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Dumping My Brain

I feel so much better since I dumped the contents of my brain onto a lined pad of paper. Now I don't have to try to remember it any more. It is all here in black and white.

I made a list of every errand I need to run, every project I need to complete, every loose idea I have, and everything I need to do on my computer. I guess it is sort of a master to do list. It is many pages long.

Now all I have to do is enter my brain dump into Wunderlist. I'll prioritize the list and sort it into errands, projects, computer work, etc.

Having all these things out of my brain is going to help me sleep better tonight!

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Donate Stuff

While walking Riley this morning, I ran into my next door neighbor who was hauling stuff to her curb. It wasn't trash day, so I asked her who was picking up donations today.

We routinely receive postcards in the mail telling us who is picking up donations on this day or that. Written on one of her boxes was "Donatestuff.com." I had not heard of that one yet. Kathy said the website allows you to schedule a pick up whenever you need one.

When I got home, I looked into it. I plugged in my zip code and  found out that the funds from my donations go to the City Mission.

Donate Stuff will take most anything one man can carry by himself. The next time I have some items to donate, I'm going to try donatestuff.com.

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Re-think Everything

This morning while the hot water was boiling for my Awake tea, I got the urge to clean out the kitchen junk drawer. I frequently go on organizing binges throughout the year, and I've been on one lately.

First, I emptied out everything onto the counter and sorted like items together.

Then I asked myself "why?" Why do we have three unused cell phones in the junk drawer?

And why do we have 30 pens and pencils? Do we really need that many?

Then I put back only the items we really use. Except I still overdid it on the pens.

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Life Without It

I've been getting ready for a garage sale - a garage sale I really don't want to have. I'm doing it for Katherine. She thinks it is easy money. For her, it is.

As I go through the house trying to decide what should go and what should stay, I ask myself this question: Can I imagine life without this? If the answer is "yes", it goes.

Here are a few things I dropped into the pile today:

A blow-up full-size canoe that Don purchased at least 15 years ago. It's still inside the wrapping.
Scanner - the one with the dust beneath the glass that won't come off.
Longaberger magazine basket.
Four glass vases that came with flowers while I was recovering from surgery.
Decorative pillows that don't go with anything.
Three extra suitcases that nobody wants.

I thought about putting Riley in the pile, but I can't imagine life without him.

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Fast and Furious Organizing

When I'm stressed out, I clean and organize. This book, The Fast and Furious 5 Step Organizing Solution by Susan Pinsky, has some of the best de-cluttering advice I've ever read. The author won't let you make any excuses for holding onto unnecessary things. Her definition for clutter is: anything you want but don't need.

In order to use her method, you must be willing to let go of:

1. Things you are holding onto because you might need them someday.
2. Things you keep because they are still in the package or they were very expensive when you purchased them.
3. Gifts you received but don't use.
4. Mementos and family heirlooms that are just taking up space.

Her golden rule is: your inventory must conform to your storage space. In other words, if you assign one dresser drawer for sweaters, you may only keep the amount of sweaters that fit in that drawer. If you have five book shelves, you may keep only the number of books that will fit on those shelves. All else must exit your home.

Tips to keep clutter from re-entering your home once you have organized:

1. Avoid taking items just because they are free.
2. Only buy what you absolutely need.
3. Don't window shop.
4. Don't go to garage sales.
5. Don't store other people's belongings in your house.
6. Don't bulk shop.

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To Do List

I finally found a good way to keep my To Do List organized. I love this method. It works for me, and maybe it will work for you if you don't already have your own system.

I purchased a Greenroom Clipfolio at Target. It is a portfolio and clipboard all in one.

On the inside I keep a Master To Do list. This list has everything single thing I can think of that needs to be done.  I write the list on the paper pad inside the Clipfolio. The list is in no particular order. The pocket on the left side of the folio holds Daily Docket sheets which can be downloaded from Simplemom.com.

Attached to the outside of the folio on the clipboard is my Daily Docket for the day. This is my daily to do list. The night before, I look through my Master To Do list and select the items that need to be done the next day.  As I transfer them to the Daily Docket, I cross them off the Master To Do list. The form also has space to write down what I'm planning for dinner, what I'm going to write about on my blog, an inspirational quote or Bible verse for the day, etc.

All my To Do's are in one place. Any pieces of paper that go with the To Do's are in my To Do basket in the cupboard.

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Managing Mail

My mail is sometimes piled high on my desk, but I try to keep it organized. The method I use to sort it is pretty simple. Take the pile that's about to tip over onto the floor and ask yourself which container the piece of paper should belong in.

Junk Mail - Half of our mail ends up in the trash can. I don't even open it. Junk mail is pretty easy to spot.

Bills - Don and I made a deal when we first got married. I would spend the money, and he would pay the bills. It has worked out quite well. Checks and balances in action. All bills go directly into his mail container. I don't even open them.

Magazines - These go directly into my reading pile in the family room. Once a week, I take a couple of hours to relax and read them. I'm rather fond of magazines. I get great ideas from them. Reading all those articles helps me be a better writer. I rip out the articles I want to save, then the magazine is immediately recycled or passed on.

Catalogs - Fortunately, we don't get as many of these as we used to. I only save the ones I really want to look at. Online shopping is much more efficient. Recycle promptly.

Keepers - This is real mail...envelopes other than bills that are worth opening. Wedding invitations, graduation party invitations, money in the mail, good coupons, appointment reminders, cards and letters from friends, school information, insurance reports, baby announcements, etc. This type of mail gets sorted into one of three baskets in my cupboard: File, To Do and Calendar. Items I want to save but need no action go into the File Basket. Items that need action get entered onto my Master To Do List and go into the To Do Basket. Items that have a date associated with them get entered into my calendar then put in the Calendar Basket so I can refer to the details  later.

I think I've covered everything. That's how I manage my mail.

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The Joy of Cleaning and Organizing

I walked into Peter's room yesterday morning to get the sheets from his bed. That's all I was going to do. All of the sudden I was bit by the cleaning and organizing bug. I went into a frenzy, and didn't stop until 2:30 in the afternoon.

It truly brings me joy to clean and organize. I love to sort through things and get rid of the non-essential items. This is tricky when doing it for another person. I didn't get rid of anything Peter owned unless it was clearly trash. I made a pile in another room for him to go through and let me know what he wanted to keep and what he didn't want anymore.

Mostly, I sorted and grouped. I put all his golf books together and all his golf balls together. Because of the librarian in me, I organized his books into fiction and non-fiction. I didn't go so far as to put them in alphabetical order by author. At least not in a teenage boy's room.

I left his bulletin board intact, but I replaced a bulky coat rack behind his door with a strip of wood with hooks I found at Target. I replaced the photo of him from when he was four years old with some current pictures.

It was fun. I know it won't stay this way for long, but it gave me great satisfaction. Anyone out there need someone to come over and clean and organize?

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Closet Time

It's time to clean out the closet. Spring/summer clothes out and fall/winter clothes in. It's also time to weed (I borrowed that term from my librarian vocabulary) the wardrobe. It's so hard to let go. Even if I didn't wear that shirt all season, I still like the way it looks on the hanger.

I came across an article recently that I think will revolutionize my closet. It was an interview with actress Jamie Lee Curtis. She is an organizing machine. She said to imagine you are going on a two week vacation. Take everything out of your closet that you will pack. Obviously you will pick your favorite outfits. Everything that does not come out of the closet gets donated to friends, family and charitable organizations. Or if you want to make some money, sold at a consignment store. Do this twice a year (a pretend summer vacation and a pretend winter vacation).

Now the hard part...don't add anything new without taking something out. Suitcases are only so big. And if you travel with Don, you only get a carry-on bag (but that's another story).

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