Category Archives: Busy

How to Get Your Outdoors Ready for Spring

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KBB_plantpot_watering_canEvery spring there is always, always, always someone who- without fail- will bust out the shorts way too early. In Canada, that’s always a sure sign of spring- our winters are stereotypically long and cold and once the snow melts, we’re craving warm and sunny weather the same way we crave poutine.

Inevitably, this means as soon as the ground thaws we’re chomping at the bit to clean up our patios and yards and here we have this down to a strategy. It’s hard to know for sure when winter had decided to have its last blast (once, I saw it snow in May) so we’re cautious, and we watch, and wait, and plan. (I talk a little bit more about my own personal outdoor strategy here.)

For me, this usually means taking an inventory of all of my gardening supplies, and making lists as to what I need, and the projects that I need to get done. From here, it’s easy to create a budget and an estimated timeline for getting the space ready for the outdoor season. I like to coordinate this with a big clean-up of my outdoor space, although you might want to break up this task over several days or weeks depending on the size and nature of your space. It might be best to wait for drier, warmer weather to start on any big building or gardening projects.

I’m known around the office as having a little bit of a green thumb, and I honestly think it’s because if I don’t know something about a plant, I’ll look it up. Knowledge is power, and when it comes to gardening you can save a lot of time and effort by keeping yourself informed about the nature of your climate zone, the type of soil you have, and how much light and water your garden receives. It’s easy then to choose flowers and plants that you know will thrive in your garden’s natural conditions, and then takes a lot of the guesswork out for you.

When buying plants I make sure to take notes on the type of care the plant requires and I keep these notes updated throughout the season so next year I look at what worked for me, and what I could improve on. Unless you love experimenting with plants like I do, you might want to skip this step but it’s a practice that I hope will help with my future gardening skills. Part of the fun is learning something new about it every day, and watching the beautiful results.

Last but not least, make sure you’ve replaced, repaired or cleaned all of your doormats or indoor/outdoor rugs. Even though the weather might not be warm enough yet for planting, it creates a sense of excitement to get your transition spaces (like doorways, porches, decks, walkways and mud rooms) prepped and ready for the season.

Once the prep work is done all you have to do it wait, and watch, and dream, and get ready. Even more buds will start appearing on the trees and the grass will get greener. Soon it will be time to start gardening and cleaning the patio furniture and before you know it we’ll be laughing our way through long summer evenings with friends, enjoying the results of long, hard work with beautiful plants and outdoor spaces.

Soon. Soon.

KBwB-BFlower-50Got any plans for your garden that you’d love to share? Drop me a line at keepingbusyb@gmail.com or comment below. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Maybe I’ll get some more inspiration for my porch!

I’ve been feeling all spring-y and talking a lot about gardening lately. For my current favorite gardening reads, click here. If you want to see this awesome porch o’ mine (and I am in no way biased) click here.

Beat that Burnout

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KBB_batteriesSome recent medical issues of mine caused me to rethink a lot of the way I work and how I handle stress. In other words, I needed to recharge my batteries.

In a world where we seem to judge each other in terms of the hours we put into a project, I think we’ve created a work culture that promotes working longer hours for fewer, less rewarding outcomes. As a society we’re stressed out, less focused and worst of all, less satisfied. At least, I know I was. This leads to what I like to call burnout.

The problem with living in that kind of work culture is that we self-perpetuate the myth that if we just work longer and harder we’ll be more rewarded. What exactly are we awarding ourselves with if we’re tired and stressed out all the time? When did money and job titles becoming more important than sleeping? Sitting down to a meal with your family? Getting exercise?

Obviously, feeling burned out is sometimes unavoidable- major life events, seasonal extracurricular and work activities, personal crises – these are natural occurrences in the ebb and flow of life. It’s still okay to feel inadequate, or ill-equipped during these experiences. What’s most important is taking care of yourself, and harnessing the help of others around you during this time.

One of the solutions I have discovered that has been one of the most surprisingly beneficial to my own issues has been communication. No one should have to suffer alone. You’d be amazed to discover how many people are willing to offer their help or support during your time of difficulty. At the very least they are better able to understand your absence, lack of focus, or your appearance of disinterest. Professionally speaking, you may want to share this information with a select few at your workplace depending on the nature of your issue.

If you protect yourself by seeking the help you need early enough, you may be able to delegate certain projects to co-workers, or delay certain deadlines. Sympathetic bosses may offer opportunities for cut-backs or short-cuts. Take these when are you are able. Your responsibility at this time should be to yourself.

Personally speaking, learn when to say no to social commitments and be select about the personal projects you take on. Give your time and attention to the things that are of immediate priority- personal hygiene, adequate sleep, eating nutritionally, getting enough exercise and giving yourself the mental space to breathe and recuperate. You may want to check in with your doctor at this time to make sure there are no medical issues that could contribute to your stress, or level of burnout. Vitamin deficiencies, sleeping disorders or thyroid issues could all lead towards feelings of malaise. Keeping hydrated by drinking lots of water can also help, as well as taking a multi-vitamin if your diet requires.

Type A people like myself will argue that they are superhuman and can do anything; most of us can if we put our minds to it. But our first responsibility is to ourselves, and to our own personal well-being. Learning how manage that in a crisis is the first step to empowering ourselves to work smarter instead of harder, and enjoying the benefits of a happy and fulfilling life, no matter what the world throws at us.

KBwB-BFlower-50What’s your best advice on dealing with a crisis? Is there something that’s worked for you in the past? Sharing is caring and I’d love for you to share yours below, or with me at keepingbusyb@gmail.com so that I might share them in a future post. No one should have to suffer through a crisis alone! We’re all here to help.

If you’re looking for more ways to find some balance in your life, I’m trying to figure it all out too here.

5 Organizing Dilemmas That Have Me Puzzled

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KBB_organizing_dilemmasIn my social circle I am known as a “fixer”- people often come to me for advice when they’re struggling either personally or professionally (one of the many reasons I ended up getting into the freelance business).

So it’s pretty frustrating for me when I come across any organizing dilemma- as few and far between as they may be- because it challenges my belief that almost anything can be organized. I’m not one to strive for a perfectly organized home but I do believe in finding solutions that ease and comfort to your lifestyle. One of the keys to good organization is finding a place for everything in your home, but there are still a few challenges I face when organizing my home that I’m afraid to admit have me stumped.

1) Batteries- Storing a fresh pack seems like an easy enough task, but where do you store the dead ones that are waiting for disposal? (In Toronto, dead batteries must be dropped off to a facility to be recycled specially. There are drop-off containers in most stores where batteries are sold, like electronics and office supply stores.) How do you not mix up the two? I honestly can’t decide on the best place to store them.

2) Hangers- What do you do with hangers not in use in your closet? Seeing a closet of empty hangers drives me up the wall. I try to stash the ones that I’m not using on a shelf towards the back of my closet, but keeping up this practice requires a lot of maintenance and honestly makes me feel a little anal. (Stop nodding your head yes.)

3) Food storage containers- I’m sure the parents and lovers of leftovers everywhere have the same lament- how do you store them? Where do you store them? How on Earth do you keep track of the lids?!? There’s nothing worse than scooping up your food in a stray container only to find its missing the lid. Tell me this has happened to you, too.

4) Dirty cloths and rags- I try to use these as much as possible instead of paper towels, but I wish I had a dedicated separate place to store the soiled ones while they await laundering. With a tiny kitchen and no dedicated laundry space, however, this dream of a space for super dirty laundry seems like a dream that’s pie in the sky.

5) Photo negatives- This move to the digital age has allowed the sharing and storage of photos to become easier, but now that film has fallen out of favor I’m torn as to what to do with my old negatives. With (most) of the original photos in tact and scanned as a digital back-up to my computer, do I really need to keep these? Am I doing it out of nostalgia? Paranoia? Negatives are just another item on a long list of things I like to hoard.

There’s an old saying about shoemaker’s children not having any shoes, and the same can principles can be applied to an organizer’s home. Despite being able to tackle problems in other people’s home with ease, it can be difficult to gain insight into your own challenges when certain obstacles seem permanently stuck in your way. Is it lack of space? Awkward configurations? Maybe you’re like me and have trouble letting go, or could be the fear of making any change that prevents you from finding a solution. Either way, if your barriers are physical or mental, it’s comforting to know that even the most talented organizers (ahem) have their own unique hang-ups that can also be solved by a glance from a fresh pair of eyes.

KBwB-BFlower-50You’ve heard my organizing confessions; now I want to hear yours! Write to me at keepingbusyb[a]gmail.com or comment below and let me know what’s been on your mind. Or maybe you’ve got a solution to one of my dilemmas. In that case, you’re my new best friend.

Sometimes I talk about other ways I like to organize too. You can find them all here on the Busy section of my blog.

 

How to Make Up For Lost Time

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Life happens. Interruptions occur. Things get in the way. Despite our best intentions, most of us have had to deal with backlog in one way or another, but once you have a case of backlog it can start spreading like the plague. The more time you spend trying to catch up on the work that you’ve missed means you’re missing out on even more new work coming your way or worse; you’re so caught up with tasks that need your constant attention that you let your older projects slide until it becomes a bigger problem- you miss a deadline, you let down a colleague, or even lose a client.

The key to dealing with any kind of back log is to figure out a way to deal with your workload as efficiently as possible without getting overwhelmed.

At the beginning of any project, I recommend writing down all the tasks that are involved. The same can be applied to your backlog. Make a list of all your projects that are on your plate.

Working on a project is fruitless if you do not have all the materials or information needed for its completion. Organize all the necessary paperwork, gather your materials, and contact those involved for any additional information you don’t have. It’s better to know exactly what you’re dealing with then discover you’re missing a crucial piece of the puzzle while in the middle of a project. If you’re waiting for other people to get back to you on something, accept that this task is temporarily out of your hands and focus on the things that only you control.

Now that you have a better picture of the things you need to work on, prioritize what you need to work on based on urgency. Is a project or colleague at risk if you don’t deliver something on time? Have you made a commitment to something you cannot back out of? Are you responsible for another person’s health, safety or well-being? All of these tasks need your attention first.

Next, see what you can juggle.  Are there tasks that you can delegate to others, such as personal assistants, subordinates, caregivers or secretaries? Is there a co-worker who can pick up that shift or take on that extra work for you? If there’s anything on your list that no longer holds your interest, has no direct benefit to you personally or professionally, or is a commitment that is bigger than you are willing and/or able to take on, consider deleting it.

Finally, decide what you can put off. This is officially your back-log and can only be processed once your other, more urgent tasks are completed. Even if it still seems enormous, you can forge ahead with the confidence that the most important aspects of your life are under control.

Like any other large project, it’s always best to break it down into small chunks. Try breaking down tasks based on category, or action (like “Meeting Notes to Type” or “Reports to Review”). Make room in your schedule for dedicated back-log processing time, paying attention to energy levels throughout the day. If you find yourself procrastinating, make your processing time a special date with yourself and take your work to a coffee shop, or reward yourself with a small gift or special treat. If you’re having trouble finding the time, try and find hidden chunks of time in your schedule to catch up on reading or other easily portable tasks, such as commuting or waiting for a flight.

Making up for lost time and getting down to dealing with your backlog is a task that’s often overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. Remember I did it, and I was the girl who was accused of running a law firm out of her tiny apartment. I shudder to think about the months I spent dealing with all of that backlog, but the sheer amount of space I gained (and the peace of mind it gave me) was well worth the battle.

KBwB-BFlower-50Want more advice on how to deal with workflow? I make it my life’s work to figure out other people work. I share all my ideas on productivity, scheduling and organizing all in the Busy section of my blog.

Do you need to catch up on your clutter? Find out all about how I purged my apartment here, and all the papers I would not recommend getting rid of here. Cleaning out your closet? I did that too.

Still having trouble breaking down your enormous to-do list? Read my suggestions on how to best tackle it here. Or read this post to find out how I re-organized my to-do lists so I could actually get things done.

 

How Do You Know When It’s Time for a Makeover?

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Change is something that I usually approach kicking and screaming. I wouldn’t necessarily say that I am a creature of habit, but I am the type of person that likes to take the time to plan things out. The decision to make a change usually comes from hours of careful research, surveying practically everyone I know, and a couple of hours of procrastination which I usually write-off as time to “soul-search”.

Since planning can be such a long process for me it’s natural for me to feel reluctant about any type of change. Organizing my space is no exception. I put a lot of thought into my furniture placement and organizing systems so the prospect of changing anything seems daunting. I won’t do it unless I feel like it’s absolutely necessary.

I had this friend in high school who used to rearrange her room constantly. It drove me up the wall. I never understood why she spent her weekends fiddling with arrangements that I thought were already pretty and functional. “Yeah, but I was just getting so sick of it,” she would complain to me. “It just wasn’t working for me.”

It was kind of a revelation for me. I never gave anything in my life a makeover because I felt that making any change to a system I had so carefully and lovingly developed could be interpreted as a failure. In a way it was- I failed myself any time I ignored a way to improve my life because I wanted to avoid putting in the work of a do-over. I hated how it plagued me with uncertainty- what if something goes wrong? What if I go completely off-track?

Maybe it will. Or maybe it won’t. But it’s a silly thing to avoid change for change’s sake if it might have the potential to make your life better.

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I decided to rearrange my bookshelf for the millionth time this past weekend (for my on my philosophy on an ever-changing bookshelf, click here). I was holding onto books that I had already read and wouldn’t again; papers were misfiled; and I couldn’t find anything. It was time to let go of my worry and make a change. I think it actually turned out pretty well. I was looking for something last night and I knew its exact location right away. That in and of itself is pretty amazing.

I don’t recommend making changes on a whim- if I did the same thing, I would have painted my place at least twelve more times after moving in. But I do encourage you to let go of the status quo and challenge yourself to make life easier and more efficient for you. The moment things start to go haywire is a sign that things need to change. You wouldn’t buy your least favorite flavor of ice cream at the store. Why would you put up with something less than marvelous in your home?

The secret to knowing when you’re ready for a makeover is you. You already know when you need to make the change. Trust yourself. Admit when something isn’t working. Don’t be afraid of hard work, or making the wrong decision. The makeovers that you undertake in your home, at your office- even the ones you perform on yourself- are not due to your stupidity, and they are not a sign of failure. It’s a sign that you’re invested in yourself, that having a happier, more fulfilled is important to you, and there’s no one that can take away that feeling.

And if you’re feeling anxious about it, just remind yourself of all the lovely feels you will feel once your makeover is done and you text everyone you know a picture of your rainbow bookshelf.

At least, that’s how I think it should be done.

KBwB-BFlower-50Do you have a project that you’ve recently undertaken, or a makeover that you’ve recently been completed? I need to see before-and-after pics, stat! Share them below or send them my way at keepingbusyb@gmail.com. I’m always looking for more motivation to get projects going.

If you know it’s time for a makeover in your life and you don’t know where to start, check out all of my organizing-type posts here. Are the tasks feeling insurmountable? All you need is a rainy afternoon or a snowy evening to get started.

 

 

What is a Project Anyway?

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Remember how when we were younger we had to do science projects? I don’t know what they looked like in your school, but in my elementary school each student was expected to submit a project to the school-wide science fair. Every year like clockwork we would line up in the office to collect our white cardboard presentation boards and then we had two weeks to complete a science project- in whichever way we chose to interpret the task. The only requirement was that we had to use the presentation board.

Looking back on it, I loved how we as students had the freedom to explore our own interests and develop a project based on skills that were unique to us. Some kids loved building models of planes, or making exploding rockets because they loved the hands-on experience of creating. I remember working on a colorful project about how rainbows are created, and how light controls the way we see color. Tell me you’re not surprised.

The problem with such a free-form assignment is that it skews your perception of what a project actually is. I used to feel that as long as I was able to give a specific name to a job ( like designing a brochure for my sister), it wasn’t actually a project, it was more like a to-do. What I didn’t realize was that the term “project” didn’t always have to describe some giant, long-term, complicated task like the science projects we used to do in elementary school. Even a job that might appear small or uncomplicated, like baking a cake for your boss’ birthday, is actually a multi-step process that involves things like choosing a recipe, buying ingredients, and cleaning the kitchen- all before you’ve even started to measure out your ingredients. That’s a project too.

I’m not trying to ruin your life by pointing out that simple tasks might actually take more than one step in order to be completed. What I do encourage is adopting the science fair approach, and keeping an open mind when it comes to defining a project. Any action that requires more than one step, more than one person, or more than one resource is a project, no matter how big or small. It’s up to you, however, to interpret how you carry it out, whether it be erupting volcanoes or coloring rainbows.

KBwB-BFlower-50I’d love to hear more about what a project means to you. Comment below or drop me a line at keepingbusyb@gmail.com. Maybe we can trade science fair project ideas. For more tips on managing your workflow, click here.

Not going to lie- I was greatly influenced by David Allen and his GTD methodology when writing this post. I don’t know him at all, but I admire his work, and my thoughts about it are totally my own. For more on what he does, click here. If you’re interested, stay tuned to the blog tomorrow when I’ll be talking about his greatest influence on my workflow! See you then. 🙂

 

The Holy List

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KBB_recycled_paperIn a world where there’s a push to go paperless, it’s easy to want to get rid of your paper-based system entirely. Going digital keeps things safe and well-preserved, and hopefully makes them easier to archive and access (providing you have a good digital filing system in place!)

As attractive as gaining the extra space might be, there are still some documents that you should keep on hand that I consider part of “The Holy List” a.k.a. “The List of Things Ye Shall Not Purge”. For someone like me who relies on a hybrid paper/digital system, there are certain documents that forever will remain in paper format. But if you’re really desperate to go digital here are some of the things that you should at least consider keeping on hand.

  • Any important documents associated with life events such as birth, death, and marriage certificates
  • Household/auto/medical/travel insurance policies, certificates, assessments, etc.
  • Deeds, leases, rental agreements, etc. for all of the properties that you rent, own or lease
  • Degrees, certifications, diplomas, awards, report cards, school transcripts, or important test scores such as the SATs or LSATs
  • Original contract agreements for household and workplace employees, vendors, service providers and major clients
  • Tax documents and assessments (you are required by law to hold onto these documents for a certain number of years; check with your local government as the rules change depending on where you live)
  • End-of-life documents such as wills, Power of Attorney forms, funeral arrangements,etc. (It may be helpful for your loved ones to have a list of bank accounts, pension numbers, etc. to help ease the process and obtain some peace of mind.)

Notice that I didn’t include keepsakes on my list- I leave these up to your individual judgment. What makes a memory meaningful is subjective from one person to the next, and the way a person chooses to keep, store and access their memories is entirely up to them. I don’t believe in holding onto absolutely everything because I have found that I enjoy re-visiting my memories more when I can access them more easily, which for me means confining them to a couple of boxes on my bookshelf. For some people, it might mean scanning everything into a computer. As long as things are organized in a way that feels right to you, and it isn’t jeopardizing the health, safety or well-being of yourself or any others in your environment, go for it! Please just remember to let go of anything unnecessary, meaningless or painful to you now. Your memories deserve better than that!

It can be easy to get caught up in the power of The Purge (I totally identify with it here), and with The Holy List you can’t really go wrong. Trust your instincts. If you won’t use it again, shred it. If it’s something that’s going to come back to bite you in the butt, keep it, or at least make sure you have an additional digital version handy just in case.

Sticking to a strict list of documents that I should keep has definitely made a difference in my life, and subsequently increased the amount of room I had on my bookshelf, so you know what that means. I can’t say for sure whether or not this was my plan all along but my story is that the added space was a surprise, and I’m sticking to it.

KBwB-BFlower-50Haven’t started a Purge of your own yet? Don’t delay and start your journey here. Looking for other ways to organize your space and make more room on your bookshelf? I yak on about my favorite solutions here. If there’s something that should be on my list that I forgot, call me on it below! I’d love to hear your suggestions.

The Power of the Purge

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Psst! I’m so happy that this post was re-blogged on Zone Pie Online. For all the readers who’ve discovered my blog from there, welcome! Many thanks to Antonilla Monroe from Zone Pie Online for taking the time to share.

A couple of years back, I went completely insane.

Those of you who know me may debate that this happened some time ago, so let me clarify: I got sick and tired of the way that I organized things. I had just moved into the apartment where I currently live and was feeling pretty proud of myself for doing such a good job downsizing. But despite my efforts I constantly found myself rearranging and reorganizing in an attempt to cut down on the clutter.

One day a neighbor dropped by and saw my apartment for the first time. Gazing around at the massive, overstuffed bookcases that lined the walls he chuckled, “Are you operating a law office out of here or something?”

For the record, I was not but I had to admit that he had a point: my apartment was intimidating (and possibly a fire hazard). I was spending more time refining and micro-managing my system than I did on actual, productive work because of the sheer amount of stuff I had. It was unnecessary and distracting, so something had to be done.

What followed was a period of time in my life that I like to refer to as The Purge, where I made a commitment to myself to delete all of the clutter that was slowly threatening to choke me. Papers, clothes, pots and pans- even furniture and some of my beloved books- nothing was exempt from the process. It took months before I felt like my apartment was coming back together, but the difference it made on my breathing space took effect almost immediately.

Reflecting on the process is easier than it actually was when I was going through it. I had to harden my heart and let go of a lot of things that I had held onto for years because I ultimately decided those things didn’t have a place in my life anymore. Letting go a lot of stuff also meant letting go of an attitude that I had adopted long ago; that somehow owning a lot of things like papers and books was indicative that I was a well-educated, cultured person (whatever that means) and suggested a lifestyle that was rich and abundant.

It’s funny how we get certain ideas into our heads about how we want our lives to look to others. Not keeping every single draft of every little thing I’ve ever written doesn’t change what I do. Not owning a lot of books doesn’t mean that I don’t love to read. (I still own a lot of books.)

I don’t even feel like I’ve lost anything, because what I gained was so much more valuable to me in the long-term- an simpler, more comfortable lifestyle where things are easier to find, my apartment is easier to clean, and I have more room to store the things I treasure  the most and are indicative of the lifestyle I choose for myself instead of hoarding the things that represent what I think my life should be.

If you’re starting to feel like your possessions are owning you, I highly recommend it conducting a Purge of your own, whatever that looks like to you. Even focusing on just one particular area, like an overstuffed filing cabinet or crowded kitchen cupboard, can feel like an entire makeover. It’s not just about the free space and clean look you get once the process is complete; it’s about the peace of mind that comes afterwards and the control it gives you over your own life.

And if we’re going to be really honest here…we all own way too much stuff anyways.

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Have you conducted a Purge of your own and felt its power? Tell me all about it by dropping me a line at keepingbusyb@gmail.com or by commenting below. In the mood to start getting organized? I’ve got some suggestions here as to how you can get started.

 

Delightfully Organized Digital Photos

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Psst! I’m so happy that this post was re-blogged on Nostalgic Image Photo News. For all the readers who’ve discovered my blog from there, welcome! Many thanks to Dawn Ainsworth from Nostalgic Images for taking the time to share.

10,000 photos.

Yes, you read that correctly. That’s the number of photos I deleted off of my hard drive when I initially started organizing my digital photo collection. It’s amazing how much we take our digital storage space for granted. It doesn’t seem like a lot on a massive hard drive (after all, it takes up no physical space to us) but unloading 10,000 photos still felt like unloading some kind of psycho-RAM. It freed up all sorts of space on my hard drive for more things that I love, made my computer run faster, and most importantly, it brought me one step closer to having a beautifully organized digital photo collection that I can treasure and share with my family and friends.

The argument for an organized digital photo collection is compelling, but the task itself appears pretty daunting. Unless you rarely take photos, this will not be the type of task that can be completed in just one afternoon. Plan on spreading out your project into bite-sized chunks that can be carried out over a period of time, depending on how much you have available.

Before you do anything, make sure you have some method of backing up your files- discs, thumb drives, external hard drives, clouds, whatever. You should always, always, always have an alternate means of backing up any kind of precious digital data in the event that is somehow lost. Data recovery can be costly and is not always 100% guaranteed. Don’t worry about making it look pretty- you can always replace your old files with your pretty, organized ones later.

The most organized system is an intuitive one, so it’s important to consider how you will peruse your photo collection once it’s been completely organized. You may want to group your photos by date, by subject matter, by event, or a combination of all of the above. It’s best to start with a strategy in mind so that the way your current and future photos are stored is simple, convenient and consistent. Disregard any advice that doesn’t fit into your methodology. Don’t have a mind for numbers? Sort your photos in folders according to subject matter. Try to be specific and concise as possible with your sorting strategy. A search through a folder of photos marked simply “Grandma” can seem daunting, but a folder named “Grandma’s 80th Birthday Party” is explanatory enough that you can find the photo you’re looking for- even if the files inside are not meticulously labeled.

Start by sorting through your most recent photos first (they’re the freshest in your mind!) and use them to establish a method of uploading all of your photos on your computer and filing them on a regular basis. Resist the urge to dump new photos in a general photo until you get around to filing them later! Remember those 10,000 photos?

Yeah, I’m never doing that again.

KBwB-BFlower-50Have an organizing dilemma or a brilliant organizing solution? Share it with me at keepingbusyb@gmail.com or on Twitter. For a constantly growing list of organization inspiration and other ways to keep busy, click here. And if you’re looking for some serious eye-candy, my Pinterest addiction has me filling boards with houses too pretty for their own good.

10 Things to Do on a Snowy Evening

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  1. Give your boots some love. Good maintenance is key in extending the life of your expensive footwear. Shower some extra attention on your boots every once in awhile by wiping them free of snow and salt residue and cleaning with a leather cleaner and/or a spray protector. Store boots in a well-ventilated area with low foot traffic and wait 24 hours before wearing again. (For more tips on this process, click here.)
  2. Start a scrapbook. A creative project that organizes your memorabilia can be both productive and fun and it’s a great way to store your memories in a way that they’re accessible and can be treasured more often. Not into scrapbooking? Create a shadow box, organize a photo album, or create a book online instead.
  3. Dream of summer and plan your garden. Just like a hairdresser needs to plan out a cut before he or she even picks up the scissors, those of us who are fortunate to have green spaces must do advance planning in order to enjoy them. Determine what needs to be done and what improvements you’d like to make to your yard or garden and plan accordingly. Do your research and plan a budget to avoid any unexpected expenses.
  4. Make a Someday/Maybe list. I think wintertime is the perfect time to sit indoors and daydream, don’t you? Take an evening, grab a journal, pour yourself a glass of wine and make your list- books to read, movies to see, music to listen to, restaurants to try, countries to visit, certifications to be earned. The possibilities are endless.
  5. Put together a Command Central binder. If you haven’t done so already, you must. The start of a new year is a perfect excuse to get your organizing system under control and I think there’s no better way to manage it than by using one of these. (I explain how to put one together here.)
  6. Have you done a Yearly Review yet? It’s not too late. Figure out how to do one here and get a firm grasp of what you really want for the year up ahead.
  7. Get your shine on. After all of the glitz and glamour of those holiday parties it’s a good idea to clean and store jewelry pieces carefully for the next round of special occasions. Put on a great playlist, grab your tools and give those goods some elbow grease!
  8. Thank the ones you love. I still believe in the power of a well-written thank you note. It’s a great way to keep in touch and shows people your appreciation and care. Didn’t send out Christmas cards? Sending out non-denominational New Years cards also seems to have become a thing. There’s no reason not to correspond now!
  9. Organize those tax receipts now. Don’t wait until the weather is nicer and you actually want to go outside. Use this period of hibernation as a productive way to get things done!
  10. Pick a drawer, any drawer. That’s it. Dump it, clean it, organize it and make a vow to yourself that you will never, ever let it get disorganized again (or at the very least for another year, until you have another snowy evening on which to organize it again).

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I’ve shared with you some of the ways that I spend my snowy evenings- now I’m interested in hearing how you spend yours! Drop me a line at keepingbusyb@gmail.com or contribute by commenting below. Are you looking for other productive boredom busters? I’ve got plenty of thoughts on organizing here. Looking for something a little more creative? When I’m not busying myself with some project or another I’m reading or whipping up something in the kitchen. Read all about it here and here.