The Simple Act of Making Your Bed

I have a new habit. A new simple as can be habit that makes me feel super organized even if my organization project is still nowhere near completion. That new simple habit is making my bed every morning. I read somewhere that making your bed every morning brings happiness. So to inspire the beginning of my new habit, I bought a new chevron comforter and started making my bed every. single. morning. It's a habit I considered implementing a few times before, however, I was evidently in need of a dose of inspiration to kick start it. It has been about two weeks now and I am amazed at how fast I get this done every morning. Less than 15 seconds. I can honestly say it makes me feel more put together & organized which does indeed lead to feelings of happiness. :) It's amazing what one simple, quick act can do! If you are not already in the habit of making your bed every morning, I say why not try it for a few weeks and see if it makes a difference in your life.

Bye Bye Old TV of Mine

Ever since I started my {super long} unorganized to organized project, I've gotten pretty good at getting rid of old stuff that doesn't serve me anymore but two weekends ago it made me quite {humorously} sad to get rid of my old tv to free up some space in my room. Perhaps, I was sad because I've had it for 18+ yrs and it still works {RCA is the way to go}, or maybe it was the vivid memory of how super duper excited I was to get it on Christmas as a young girl or maybe it was just knowing now as an adult that my parents used their hard earned cash to buy it for me just to make me happy on Christmas. I'm not sure exactly but I was filled with a bunch of emotions. It's funny how we have such strong emotional ties to some of our things. Some people can look at some of our things and think that's trash, throw it away but to us some of those things hold very special and dear memories. It may sound silly but it's so true. Emotional ties can keep us bonded to stuff we don't need.

I use to work for a moving company. We didn't move heavy stuff. We just unpacked or packed people's stuff when they moved or when they were doing renovations to their home. I would unpack people's stuff and put it away so easily, without a second thought. I would also easily pack up people stuff. My boss use to say that it was because we were not emotionally tied to their stuff like they were. Those words ring so true for me now a days. When it comes to my stuff, I get stuck getting everything organized and in its place because there are so many things I can't decide on whether I should keep or throw away or where it should go.

That's probably why it's taken me awhile to finish this organizing project but I am not giving up. I'm going to keep going and keep the bigger picture in mind: that it is okay to let go of some of my stuff because none of it can go to heaven with me anyway. That was what I kept in mind when I finally gave away my tv. It was time, time to say goodbye not just to my tv but to my emotional ties to my tv. So I said adios to this tv and donated it to Kiwanis in hopes that they will find a good home for it and not just go straight into the dumpster-I still had the remote, so there is hope that someone might make good use of it:

Said hello to this smaller tv, that a co-worker kindly gave me yesterday. It takes up much less space. Not the newest tv but perfectly new and functional for me:

Paperwork, Paperwork, & Even More Paperwork

Happy 1st Saturday of 2013! As much as I wish I had something super fun planned the first weekend of the new year, I don't. What I do have planned though {and have to remind myself of}, will bring much more peace into my life in the long run. I am continuing my unorganized to organized project by designating this weekend to sort through, ditch, and organize the piles of paperwork I have allowed to accumulate for days, months, and even years. Prayers for success. This is such a daunting task for me. Perhaps that is why I have let the piles grow so much. I have been avoiding it. This weekend I begin to take action. I dream of finishing this project by the end of this weekend but knowing my sense of time, we shall see. When {and if} this project is completed I will post pictures of my much less, beautifully, organized paperwork.

In perfect timing this morning, while getting mentally prepared to take action on this project, I stumbled across some organizing motivation from a sample on amazon of Maria Menounos’ new book The EveryGirl's Guide to Life . In the book, she devotes the first chapter to getting organized and showcases some pictures of her inspiring, organized closet.

Here are some words of organizing inspiration from her book:

“Disorganization inhibits happiness and increases stress and chances for failure.”

“Think less not more when it comes to your stuff. It’s freeing to have breathing room where you live. The more stuff you have, the more you have to clean, to distract you, to maintain, and to move.”

Her friend, Randal Malone, “concluded through his many trails and journeys, that the key to happiness is organization.”

“Many people treat their houses as giant closets, hampers, or in extreme cases, garbage cans. Bedrooms littered with clothes, desks covered with papers, bathroom counters scattered with products, and closets stuffed with everything you’ve owned since junior high school are all humongous roadblocks! Our homes are supposed to be our sanctuaries from the woes of the world. When you think of a sanctuary, do you really think of garbage and clutter?”

"Since I've become more organized, I am so much more happier."

Thank you for that much needed motivation Maria Menounos! Now off to start this project. Happy organizing!

Unorganized to Organized One Project At a TIME

I have been on a quest for almost 3 years to organize everything that I own and get to the point where I only own things that do me good-that I am completely in love with-or-that bring back good memories. The biggest inspiration to get this organization project on its way came from the book Lord, I Want to Be Whole by Stormie Omartian. Some of the quotes and bible verses from that book that I underlined and that really inspired me were:


"Things that don't build you should not be part of your life."

"You won't enjoy the peace and quality of life you desire until you clean your house thoroughly."

"I will walk within my house with a perfect heart." -Psalm 101:2

"Let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of the reverence for God." -2 Corinthians 7:1 {NIV}

"There comes a point in everyone's walk with Jesus when it's time to do some housecleaning. Some things you need to be rid of will be obvious."

"...things may not be harmful in themselves but can be destructive for you because of a negative association."

"...anything you possess that reminds you of people, incidents, or things that are not of the Lord (or make you react negatively with depression, anger, anxiety, or fear) must be eliminated."

and last but not least the bible verse that really got me thinking was

"Do not bring a detestable thing into your house or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction." -Deuteronomy 7:26 {NIV}


I have come a LONG way in this project, however, it has taken me A LOT longer than I anticipated. At first, I got upset every time I didn't finish this project by every new deadline I set for myself. I craved to bring a sense of calm and peace through living more organized and could not wait to get it accomplished. Then, over the past year, I kept getting reminders that real change takes TIME. I have not always lived a super organized life, so unwinding all the years of living otherwise will take TIME. TIME being the keyword in many areas of my life, especially in this one. I have since taking the pressure off and have started getting organized one project at a time. Last night's project included my bathroom drawer and two plastic organizers from the ever so wonderful Target: