How Reading Inspiring Words Help Us Navigate Our Daily Live
My daughter-in-law Amy and I purchased coffee from a Honolulu coffee shop during our vacation there a couple of years ago. She noticed the quotes on the back of the sugar packets, so we stood there and read them while waiting on my coffee. Three of my favorite sugar packet quotes are:
“Strength is not the absence of weakness but how we wrestle with our weaknesses.”
“Success is when we turn our stumbling blocks into building blocks.”
“Time is an orchard; every moment is ripe with opportunity.”
These inspiring thoughts were written by poet-philosopher Noah benShea for rough patches and opportunities most all of us surely experience on our life journey, throughout our country, especially now while living through COVID19, political and human unrest, wild fires, flooding, and hurricanes, etc. Read more uplifting and motivating words from Noah benShea’s Ten Truths to Get You Through Tough Times.
Decisions: Health Matters
I have had health issues that took me several months or longer to work through, as some of you might have experienced or had family or friends that applies to. What does that have to do with organizing, you might ask?
In addition to my own organizing business jobs, I also work for Carolyn Rowe's company The Move Maker--packing and unpacking for her clients who are often older and have health issues. Frequently, the state of their health necessitates that a caretaker or family member makes decisions about what to keep and what to move to their next and usually much smaller home...sometimes on short notice.
Every time I work in a home filled with years worth of memorabilia, artwork, books, papers, photos, collectibles, and clothes, etc., it reminds me to take a look at my own home and reduce my belongings to only those items that I truly need, use, and value...while I'm healthy and able to make those decisions.
Adult Children’s School Memorabilia? How to Help it Leave Your Home
Some life events occur which prompts you to downsize your possessions in order to live more simply. You decide to start with your adult son’s childhood-through-college items since he moved out several years ago. Most of the items you saved have sentimental value to you. Do the objects have the same importance to your son?
1. I first gathered up all of his possessions...left behind when he moved out...from the attic, closets, and shelves.
2. When I sorted his collectibles, five categories emerged: stuffed animals and baby quilts fashioned by family members; special toys and children’s books; other books; school-related papers such as certificates of achievement and report cards, etc.; and photos and his baby book.
3. Next, I purchased five Sterilite containers for those five categories and placed the items in each container by category.
4. The filled containers stacked neatly into one corner of a spare closet until I delivered them to my son after he and his small family moved into a town home that was roomier than their previous apartment.
5. My minimalist son looked through each container and quickly decided what to keep for his young son and himself; the rest became a donation.
Some children seem to have a much easier time letting go of mementos we hold onto for them for years and years, for sentimental or other reasons, while other children have a greater emotional attachment and keep most all of their belongings acquired from babyhood to the present.
Live: In the Present
This quote caught my attention this morning before physical therapy:
There is a reason why your car has a big windshield and a small rear view mirror. You are supposed to keep your eyes on where you are going, and just occasionally check out where you have been... otherwise you are going to crash. Willie Jolley, A Setback is a Setup for a Comeback...