Copy
musings on lifestyle redesign


the life [simplified] letter
Catherine McCann, Author

Welcome

Thank you so much for subscribing to this letter series. It is a privilege to write for you.

Subscriptions

Not a subscriber? You can subscribe here. It's free!

Privacy

I will never sell (or lend) this subscriber list. See my privacy policy.

Photo Credit: Jim Dobie



September 13, 2012

Dear <<First Name>>:

Welcome to another edition of the
life [simplified] letter.

News

Learning in order to teach


This week I’m going back to university. This time though I’m the professor. I’ve been asked to teach three lectures for a colleague in a management course for fourth year pharmacy students. Business management and pharmacy just happen to be my two areas of formal training.

I’m excited about the opportunity to teach again. Besides writing, teaching is a huge passion of mine. I’ll need to do some work to learn the material and to be prepared to give the lectures. In other words, I’m learning in order to teach, which pretty much sums up my life these days.

By the way, last week I had a request for a photo of my new au naturel hair style. As it turns out I’m getting some new photos done by my good friend and photographer Jim Dobie for my website and for this letter. So stay tuned for the big reveal!


Spring Cleaning in the Fall

A feel-good sense of accomplishment

Have a place for everything and keep the thing somewhere else; this is not a piece of advice, it is merely a custom. ~ Mark Twain

This week, I’ve been doing my spring cleaning. Yes, I know it is fall, but I do my thorough house cleaning in the fall. I’m too busy in the spring with my garden and other yard work. A large part of spring cleaning for me is organizing closets, cupboards and drawers around the house.

Where do I start? Well, I tend to start with the area of the house that is giving me the most pain. A cupboard where I can’t find what I’m looking for, a drawer too cluttered to see into, or a closet that is too packed with stuff to be useful.

Using my broom closet as an example, here is my process once I decide what area to tackle.

Empty the Space
I haul out everything from the closet. I don’t even make an effort to sort stuff. My goal is to just empty out the space completely.

Clean the Space
Next I clean the closet from top to bottom. I use my own home-made cleaners and I wipe down all the surfaces and I wash the floor. I also make sure I clean in the spaces that never see the light of day as they are usually the most dusty.

Take an Inventory
Once I’ve cleaned out the closet, I take an inventory of what was stored in there.  When I say I do an inventory - I literally do an inventory. I list every item that is in that closet. I realize that doing an inventory seems radical but I find when I force myself to inventory my stuff, I become much more aware of how much stuff I have. Storing things usually means hiding things away. The things I have hiding away become "out of sight, out of mind" and I forget I what I have.

Establish a Theme
Once I know what I have in my inventory, I establish a theme for how I use the space. I learned about this method from Julie Morgenstern in her book, Organizing From the Inside Out. By using this method, I have defined a theme for every area of my house including the broom closet. When I think about a theme for different areas of my house, I sometimes surprise myself about how I actually use a space and how I’ve set it up. There are times when the space isn’t conducive to how I really use it. For example, I store bulk household supplies in the broom closet. I keep all my cleaners in this closet. I store my broom (surprised?) and my vacuum here, too.  Essentially, everything that I need to stock and clean my house is stored here. So by determining my theme, in this case a zone for storing cleaning and household supplies, I know what I’ll keep in the closet and what I’ll move to another location.

Reducing What Goes Back
Now that I acknowledge how I use the space and what I need to store there, I start to sort the piles and eliminate stuff that doesn’t fit my theme. To make it easier, I have a bag for recycling, a box for the eco-centre, a box for donation, and a bag for trash. If an item needs a new home, I put it there. As I work through the piles of stuff, I adjust my written inventory accordingly. I do keep the inventory as a reminder of what I’ve squirrelled away in the closet.

Organizing the Space
A place for everything and everything in its place, is a pretty good rule of thumb. I figure out how to put the items I’m keeping back into the space. I pay attention to what I use frequently so that I can put those items to the front of the storage space. I label items or containers so I know what’s in them.

Admire the Results
It’s important to me to stand back and admire my results. It’s hard work mentally and physically to clean and organize a space so I want to remind myself of the good job I’ve done. It feels really good actually.


Done. I repeat as necessary. I only do one area a day. I don’t try to do too much at once because I get tired and don’t want to finish the project. So I pace myself. Besides, it’s not like the ongoing need to clean and organize my house is going to change anytime soon.


Your life [simplified]

Do you have any tips for spring cleaning activities?

Please share your ideas with me.

Have a great week!

Cheers,
Catherine

P.S. Check out
my letter archives if you are interested in reading back issues.

If you have been forwarded this email from a friend and have enjoyed the content,
subscribe here to get your own letter.
life [simplified] is written and produced by Catherine McCann, writer, consultant, micro-entrepreneur, spouse, and Chow Chow parent.



I would love to hear from you. Please email me at catherine@cvmccann.com.
Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp