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Spring into an Organized Life and Save By Linda Chu
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ow that the clocks have sprung ahead, signalling a change of seasons, our minds are shifting to warmer, sunnier days to come. An exciting prospect—if it weren’t for all those disorganized piles cluttering our path.
Eight in 10 Canadians are disorganized, especially those with children in the household. While the majority of disorganized Canadians have attempted to become more organized, their efforts have largely been unsuccessful. Unfortunately, disorganized living can be costly—not just in terms of money, but also time and space. Here are a few tips to get more organized and save on all three. 1. Start with the area in your home causing you the most grief. Most likely, this area is the catch-all for all those unfinished tasks and items that did not have a home. 2. Identify items in your piles based on categories and outstanding actions. This might mean seasonal decorations, kids’ artwork/memories, or to-do’s like bills to pay, consignment, and laundry. 3. Purge, purge, purge. Be clear about your goals for each room in your home. If space is an issue, you may have to let go of some items in order to make room for your intentions. 4. Determine how often you need to access your possessions. Frequency of access plays an important role when developing an organizing system.
5. Choose containers and systems that are conducive to how often you need to access your possessions and information. Archive taxes must be kept but not accessed daily, unlike bills to pay. Remember that your piles did not collect overnight, so to tackle an entire room in one go may be too overwhelming. Instead, consider my “15 Minute Sort, 15 Second Touch” approach to create momentum. Set your timer for 15 minutes. Touch everything in your disorganized room and within 15 seconds, make a decision as to which category or action this item belongs to. After your alarm signals 15 minutes, stop and reward yourself. Just don’t reward yourself by going out and buying more stuff…
Linda Chu is a professional organizer, productivity consultant and founder of Out of Chaos, an organizing company that effects change by giving people the tools and knowledge to get organized at work and at home, using customized solutions to manage their space, time, information and piles. Linda served as President of Professional Organizers in Canada and founded the BC Lower Mainland Chapter of the same association. For more information, visit www.outofchaos.ca.
wcm profile cont’d What would you describe as some of the biggest rewards of your work/family? It’s always about the people. For work, I get to meet some fascinating people and hear their stories, and have a chance to try to share those stories with others. Hopefully, if I do my job well, we can all understand each other a bit better. It’s a job where you’re always learning, and I work with some great folks. For family, I am amazed every single day by my daughter and the love we all feel for her— and she for us. It is so incredibly fun to watch her grow and change, and become a family together. It’s all one big adventure. Plus, seeing my sweetie and my gal at the end of a long day...those are the best smiles ever. Do you manage to take time-out for yourself? If so, what does that entail? Does watching recordings of Top Chef while folding laundry in the middle of the night count? Actually, I’m pretty lucky, because I do get a wee bit of time to myself. Still, I wish I could be in two (or three) places at once because it never feels like enough AND I still long to spend more time with my family. But I try to get out with friends once in a while, plus I play on a couple of ice hockey teams. And I’ve been known to do some midnight baking.
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Any must-haves? Until a few months ago, I would have said the Ergo baby carrier. Maxine went EVERYWHERE in it, including a month-long trip through Malaysia and Indonesia when she was 10 months old. It was the best piece of baby gear ever...until she started walking. We still use it (it’s the easiest way to get around in a crowd), just not everyday. I recommend it to all expecting parents. And I eat a shocking amount of chocolate. Tell us one or two of the most important life lessons you have learned through being a mom/broadcast journalist. The number one lesson: It’s not about you. Works in both cases. Number two: Appreciate everything. Anything else you’d like us to know about you? I can’t say enough about my extended family. Maxine’s grandparents on both sides help us enormously with childcare and general love and support. I can’t begin to express how my already huge love for my family has deepened. I love my parents even more now, not because of who they are to me, but because of who they are to my daughter. Finally, I remember when Maxine was very small, and was feeling those first surges of truly boundless love that you get as you hold this magical being who has suddenly come into your life. I looked at my mom and asked in disbelief, “Did you used to feel this way about me?” And she just smiled and said “I still do.” It’s good to know, for so many reasons.