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Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Order inspires confidence

If you are visiting my blog from Renee's blog, please accept my warm welcome. 

Getting and staying organized is a challenge for so many women today.  Life has changed around us, and we are struggling to keep up.  Staying organized means constantly adapting your skills.  What worked five years ago, probably doesn't work now.  But we resist change, and so we suffer in frustration.  We feel overwhelmed and do nothing.


Most people are motivated to change by one of two things.  First - the pain of staying the way they are is worse than making a change.   Second - the promise of what you will gain is better than what you have now. 

Pain is the stronger motivator to start.  Which is why we wait till we can't fit in our jeans before deciding to get serious about losing weight.   I know I'll feel better if I lose 20 pounds, but that promise isn't always enough to stop me from a second helping.  But pain only keeps us going till we can zip our jeans.  We need a positive motivator to finish strong. 

When those two motivating factors (pain & promise) join hands, then you've got a recipe for success. 

I think you've already gotten to the point of pain, now you need a strong enough motivator to tackle those problems spots in your life.  Here's one you might not have considered.

Order inspires confidence.  

Order is a gentle way to establish who is in charge.  You don't have to shout to establish your authority, you do so by quietly bringing things under your control. 

As you do so, you inspire confidence in others.  Your husband begins to trust that you can find what he needs.  Your kids trust that you won't forget to bring cupcakes to school.  Your sister trusts that you'll bring that book you promised to the next family gathering.  Your employer trusts that you'll get to an important meeting on time. 

Why does this work?  Because you start to have confidence in yourself. 

So if you are a woman who feels out of control, then I suggest you start by bringing one small part of your life under your control.  Maybe it's your kitchen counter.  Maybe it's your bedside table.  Or closet.  Establish some order and show that closet who is in charge. 

This is a process.  Bringing order to your life happens in small steps.  So embrace your pain and promise motivators and get started.

I've spent some time reading all the comments on Renee's blog about organizing challenges. Since most of those deal with papers, I'm going to address tips on managing paper for the next week or so.  Hopefully I can help offer you practical ways to regain control over paper.

I also want to join Renee in a giveaway.  So I'm giving away a cool vintage-looking magazine holder from my online business http://www.roselanecottage.com/.  To enter to win, please post a comment about what type of paper gives you the most grief.  What's in your piles????   I'd also I've love it if you'd subscribe to my blog. 
But that's not necessary. 

Thanks for visiting today, and hopefully we can get organized together.

In His Love,
Glynnis

P.S.  I'll announce a winner on Friday Monday (due to a delay in Renee's schedule of posting).  Please make sure you leave a way for me to reach you.

41 comments:

  1. I have trouble with my kids crafts, schoolwork and information they bring home. Recently I cleaned out my sons artwork & school work that has been piling up from 3k-Kindergarten. I now have a small collection but I don't know how to store it. Any ideas?
    Mary - mboswell98@bellsouth.net

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  2. Statements - from the bank, 401K, etc. They send so many and I'm not sure what to keep or what to pitch. And I know I could get them electronically, but then my email is messier than my desk.

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  3. I just get overwhelmed with the paperwork from my husbands home business. I help him with the accounting and billing. I just can't seem to organize it so that the invoices and bills don't pile up. It seems I always have a pile somewhere.

    Deb V

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  4. The order forms from school! They never stop coming - I thought that once the beginning of the year settled down I'd be done with them but NO! I have order forms for directorys, sports apparel, meals, etc. It's crazy!

    Anne Marie

    ncmkgal@aol.com

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  5. Bank statements, mortgage statements, and all the other papers that I feel that I need to keep...thanks for the tips! erin.balderas@yahoo.com

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  6. My husband's bills. Sometimes he opens but doesn't pay them immediately and sometimes he does. I never know. We work opposite schedules so it is difficult to communicate during the week. Therefore, the stack of mail sits in an opened pile on the kitchen counter.

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  7. Paper from mail - bills, important papers, unimportant papers. It is hard to know what to store. mheard11@frontier.com

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  8. Clutter!! So much but the worse ones--knit patterns and recipes, inspirational articles are a close third. Am trying to get control but stil have a ways to go.

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  9. Wow...I have so many piles of paper! The worst ones are my bill statements (that I keep in case we get audited by IRS) and my children's school papers. I feel so bad about throwing the school papers away...like it makes me a bad mother or something. Like I'm ever going to look at them (well, some I may as I have 2 other children going to the same school as my oldest in a few years) but I need them! LOL!

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  10. Our poor kitchen counter is piled high with mail, always. We seperate it into piles for me, piles for my husband, and more recently piles for my son. (He is starting to get mail from colleges trying to get his attention). The problem is we don't get around to looking at our mail, so my kitchen counter is always cluttered. It drives me crazy! The funny part is, by the time we get around to going through our mail we throw most of it in the recycling bill anyway. Go figure!

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  11. My kitchen counter gets all of my bills, magazines, paystubs, junk mail, coupons, you name it, it's there! It used to go on the coffee table (nice place, huh?) but my 10 month old likes to tear it up so it got moved out of his reach!

    The funny part about my pile is that I am an office manager and my desk is always neat and orderly! Ha!

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  12. Everything from mail to kids papers that end up on the kitchen bar. Try to keep the bar cleaned off so kids can do their homework, but it just doesn't to stay that way. We've learned that you can't throw kids school papers away, until you have seen their grades for the 6 wks period due to posting grade errors. Then the kids leave their collection of pencils on the bar and all their scratch paper. It turns into the catch all.
    tcarson8@yahoo.com

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  13. The mail is my worst enemy! I allow it to pile up and then when I actually go throught it I find past due bills! YIKES! My lack of ogranization causes so much stress in my home. My poor husband tries to be as patient as possible, but there comes a point when he can't take the chaos anymore...I need to get my house under control!!!

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  14. Hi Glynnis. I am visiting from Renee's blog ... and have been encouraged this week by the suggestions you both have offered. The paper challenge I have is with ALL the special school/church/music/sports memories I have saved for our children over the years that I 'planned' to put into scrapbooks for them. And our sons are now 22 and 16 .... so that is a LOT of paper .... and I don't know where to start. Our oldest is getting married next year and I would love to have his completed by then, so any advice you have would be so appreciated.
    Sharon
    pstelfer@tcc.on.ca

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  15. Thank you so much for your blog, I am also visiting from Renee and I am overwhelmed by paperwork. I have three boxes that are overflowing at the moment filled with receipts, bill copies, checkbook duplicates, all the mail that I wasn't sure if I should keep or not. I also have a basket that has several address books that need to be consolidated and the pencils and rulers and stapler and paper cutter that need to be put in the drawer but the drawers are full of junk... I need help! Thank you for your encouragement, maybe I could get better one drawer at a time :D HUGS!!!

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  16. Kid papers are my biggest problem. I have 3 teens and they have a ton of papers & forms etc.
    I to came from Renee's blog-can't wait to explore yours.

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  17. Random kitchen mail and recipes. I have places for it all but don't usually take the time to get it there right away and then it builds up. Yick!

    lehrerin@charter.net

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  18. Receipts, statements, kids' stuff, my class papers, etc. In other words, A LOT! :)

    I would love help with organization!

    Prayers and blessings,
    Rebecca
    tiggerdaisy@gmail.com

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  19. Bills and school papers give me the most grief!

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  20. Mail! What to keep and what to toss!

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  21. mail... especially bills and bank statements!

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  22. I homeschool my children and have YET to get organized on what to keep and what to let go. I need order and thanks to you and Renee I started working on that this week!

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  23. I have trouble with piles of paper, all kinds of paper--mail, insurance forms, doctor receipts, pictures, magazines, recipes, what to keep of my 20 year old son (please--20 yrs. worth, do I need help or what), medical history; spiritual articles. I'll stop or I will get overwhelmed.

    Donna

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  24. Papers have completely overtaken my life. I have 3 children-6, 10, and 12- And I have piles of paper all over the place. Ohh... and what about all of the birthday cards that they've received in trader joes bags in the closets!! HELP! Thanks for all of yours and Renees encouragement! Erin
    erinborden@gmail.com

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  25. I love the changes. I love being organized. I often go through my piles. I guess my worst paper are "my bills and receipts" and my "cooking magazines". I don't like to get rid of bills and receipts for tax purposes or later questions. This has only ever paid off for me once or twice...so I guess I could get rid of some of that paper. As for the cooking magazines...I think "I'll use those recipes some day. I really just need to go through and take out the recipes I do use and get rid of the rest of the magazines...maybe I'll get motivated soon to do something. Thanks for the good ideas.

    woodswaif@bellsouth.net

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  26. Bills, school papers, junk mail, you name it!!! if it is paper--it clutters and piles in my house!!! I have tried so many different things to try to get control and just can't seem to keep up with it!!! So glad I found you!!

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  27. My paper woes? Scraps of paper with notes jotted down,loose homeschool papers.

    I've tried and am still trying to find ways of organizing our office/school space.

    Thank you for this contest!

    My email: kela@amarthaheart.com

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  28. I'm so glad I found your blog and am looking forward to your inspiration! I need to learn to manage my piles and piles and piles of bills and papers! I don't know what to pitch and what to not...so I keep them all just in case!

    Chandra.DeGroff@gmail.com

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  29. Hello!! This blog is such a blessing and I couldn't have found it at a more perfect time!!! I am overwhelmed with my paper clutter!!!! School informational flyers for four children/teenagers from three different schools,high school sports and pop warner handouts for 3 different teams, not to mention the bills and coupons,and ads that come in the mail! O ya, all of my church notes that I can't get rid of but also can't fit in my bible case anymore for lack of room. Organized, I am inspired to be!!! Thank you for your organizing tips!!! God Bless. Rene F. Rfthequeen@yahoo.com

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  30. Mail! Coupons! Random papers & notes! Recipes I print out! And then there's all the stuff of my husband's that I have NO IDEA what to do with!!!

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  31. School papers!!! I have 4 kids at 2 different schools in 3 different grades and they are always sending home papers to sign and send back! I have to admit that sometimes (ok quiet a few times) I have had to ask for a new page because I may have accidentally thrown the original out! eek!
    Jodi -- tinkerbell@inetlink.ca

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  32. You name it I have a problem with it right now....children's school papers, coupons, bills, work notes, and I could go on and on. I just found your blog and am very anxious to explore and hopefully find some treasures along the way! Thanks!
    ssunnyrn@yahoo.com

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  33. Newspapers and magazines are a problem plus all those pictures that the grandkids make for me.

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  34. I'm drowning in mail, bills, old sale papers, and those VIPs (very important papers) that need to be filed (tax returns, etc). And on top of all that, I've recently started with a direct sales business and am overwhelmed by keeping all the receipts and invoices and paperwork I have to keep for it. Looking forward to the exploring the oasis of your blog in my cluttered and confused household.

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  35. My problems papers are my kid's papers from school. I have a 4th grader and a 2nd grader and they bring home lots of papers. Any suggestions would be great!

    melodiesofmercy@bellsouth.net

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  36. the mail, ads, coupons. I have piles everywhere.

    Darla.Leatherman@usmc.org

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  37. I ventured over from Renee's blog so thanks for the welcome!! :)
    Definately, school papers and bills are the two biggest clutter items for me on the kitchen counter!

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  38. Mail and kids papers are my biggest problems. They seem to multiply when I'm not looking!
    Lori
    mltwinnie@aol.com

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  39. I have two types of papers: bills and school info. They are in two giant piles. I need a bill system and am working to set everything online now. I've been paying some online and some by phone and some by mail. ugh!

    Thanks Glynnis! Love the encouragement found here. :)

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  40. I had never thought about it before, but you are so right. Order DOES inspire confidence. A clean and organized kitchen makes me feel so much more in control of my day whereas a disaster of a kitchen makes me feel defeated before I have even started!

    I really am enjoying your blog, Glynnis! And I am so glad Renee has gotten in on the organizing fun. It's good to know I'm not the only one needing help. :)

    My biggest paper problem comes from bills and mail!
    Thanks for your help and for the giveaway.
    Blessings,
    K

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  41. Paper--Yikes! I have it. I have homework papers needing to be done. One child has homework each night and another has a homework pack, where we do some each night. Then there is the take home info from school. Then there are teacher's notes and then artwork. Not to mention my notes that I make for my online business. Then there are bills and mail/correspondence. I get so overwhelmed that I just get sloppy. I would love to have more tools to get organized. Thanks. Blessings to your family!

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