Reading time: 2 – 3 minutes

You can recycle prescription and over-the-counter pills, tablets and capsules this Saturday, April 30, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. at a site near you. Nationally, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is coordinating with state and local law enforcement agencies to remove potentially dangerous, controlled substances from our nation’s medicine cabinets. They call it the National Take-Back Initiative.

You can learn more about the Initiative and search the DEA’s database of collection locations here.  These are results for a for a 50-mile radius around my zip code, 31405.

• Southcoast Medical Group, 1326 Eisenhower Drive, Savannah, 31405
• Kroger (Berwick), 5720 Ogeechee Road, Savannah, 31405
• Wal-Mart (Pooler), 160 Pooler Parkway, Pooler, 31322
• Wal-Mart (Sandfly), 1955 East Montgomery Crossroads, Savannah, 31406
• Armstrong Atlantic State University Police HQ, 11935 Abercorn Street, Savannah, 31419
• Wal-Mart (Whitemarsh), 3725 East Highway 80, Savannah, 31410
• Rincon Police Department, 107 West 17th Street, Rincon, 31326

There were also results for Pembroke, Hinesville, Claxton, and Beaufort. Put in your zip code to find the location nearest you.

Remember, do not flush pills down toilets. It is harmful to your local environment, water supply, rivers and streams. Also, be careful how you dispose of your prescription labels (tear them off and shred them if you can), so you can avoid identity/medicine theft. The bottles themselves are recyclable in my area.

So, take a moment to zip through your medicine stash. Dump out the expired or unused pills into a container, and drop them off at one of these collection sites on Saturday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.  You’ll be glad you did!

A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it. Proverbs 22:3 (New International Version)

Recycle Unused Drugs This Saturday is a post from: Grow Your Organizing Skills

Reading time: 2 – 4 minutes

Is your makeup stash overflowing and keeping you from finding the products that you really want to use? Here are some tips to help you declutter your makeup stash to decrease the time it takes you to get ready for the day… or night.

1. Accept that you are going to be discarding items that you “paid good money for.” So you made a less than smart purchase decision. Cut your losses now, and move on.  Are you really going to recoup your investment if you just keep it hidden under the counter a little longer? You have my permission to let it go now.
2. Gather your makeup from all its hiding places (countertops, bathroom cabinets and drawers, purses, cars, etc.)
3. Discard anything that smells funny.
4. Discard anything liquid that has separated into two or more layers.
5. Discard any makeup or skin care item that is over three years old (two years is better – but I’m trying to be gentle with you )
6. Discard any mascara that is older than three months, really. Dangerous and sight-stealing infections lurk there.
7. If you’re not using an item, find someone who can/will, or discard it now. (Ask yourself these questions… Do you love the color? Do you love the texture? Do you use it? If not, move it on out of your space.)

Now, take stock of what remains.

• Put your daily use items in one basket, bin, or makeup case that will fit neatly underneath your sink.
• Put the less-than-daily use items by category into other containers under the sink or in a bathroom closet.

Each morning, just take out that one daily use container. Do your thing. Then, put it back out of sight.

Enjoy your new and streamlined makeup and skincare stash! You can do this.

“Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.” Proverbs 30:30 (New International Version)

Decluttering Your Makeup Stash is a post from: Grow Your Organizing Skills

Reading time: 2 – 4 minutes

Do you feel like you are stuck in a job or career that does not match your skills, personality, or passions? There is hope. Over the past several years, I discovered I could build a career around something that I truly loved to do anyway…organizing. How? Let me introduce you to Dan Miller’s 48 Days to the Work You Love.

(Just like yesterday’s post, I don’t get anything for passing on this great information to you. I was just so pleased with how Dan’s principles translated my passion into my dream career that I want others to feel the same freedom that I experienced.)

Dan Miller and his http://www.48days.com website have encouraged me ever since I purchased a set of workbooks/CDs seven years ago as a Christmas present to my husband. Here are some excerpts from their website.

The mission of 48 Days is to foster the process of imagining, dreaming and introspection, to help people find their calling and true path, and to translate that into meaningful, purposeful and profitable daily work. Dan believes that meaningful work blends our natural skills and abilities, our unique personality traits and our dreams and passions. He is active in helping individuals redirect careers, evaluate new income sources, and achieve balanced living. He believes that a clear sense of direction can help us become all that God designed us to be.

The workbook I first read was 48 Days to the Work You Love. I also purchased a customized Career Profile report. These two things confirmed and affirmed many things for me. And, they held a few great surprises. All of that information helped me shape where I am today in my career – one that fits me like a glove. Everyday, I get to wake up and do what I love to do and what I was made to do. (Hint: don’t take as long to implement your dreams as I did. )

‘“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”’ Jeremiah 29:11 (New International Version)

Organizing a Career Change is a post from: Grow Your Organizing Skills

Reading time: 2 – 4 minutes

Tired of having to do crisis cleaning every time you want to have guests over? Or worse, are you’re living a lifestyle of CHAOS (Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome)? Cheer up! There’s reason to hope! I would like to introduce you to The Fly Lady, Marla Cilley.

(I don’t get anything for passing on this great information to you. I was just so pleased with how her principles have changed my way of thinking about decluttering and cleaning, I just want others to feel the same freedom that I experienced.)

The Fly Lady (named so because of her love of Fly Fishing) operates a free website at www.FlyLady.net with some of the freshest approaches to decluttering and regular cleaning around. She has been in CHAOS herself, and she shares exactly how she moved from cluttered and depressed to FLYing (Finally Loving Yourself).

Sheer encouragement. Love it!

To keep her website free, she sells carefully vetted cleaning products, her books, and other items in her online store. I have many of the cleaning products, and they all work exactly as she describes. Great stuff.

If you sign up for her email list, you will get MANY emails each day. As your professional organizer, I recommend that you set up your email Inbox to pull all those into a FlyLady folder, and read them as you can. Otherwise, you may just get frustrated with them and remove yourself from the list. Read the one email with that day’s Mission and complete it to help get you started on your cleaning.

There is a TON of amazing information on her website. Don’t be overwhelmed.

1. Sign up for the daily emails.
2. Take a look at the Beginning Baby Steps section – one task a day

Soon you’ll be on your way to freedom. And, before you know it, you’ll never suffer from CHAOS again! You can do this.

“And I’ll stride freely through wide open spaces as I look for your truth and your wisdom…” Psalm 119:45 (The Message)

Organizing Your Cleaning Schedule is a post from: Grow Your Organizing Skills

Reading time: 2 – 4 minutes

My energy level is lower than usual today. I am thinking back over my schedule to see what might have gotten my energy train off its tracks:

• two days since I exercised
• four nights of about 25% less sleep than usual
• high-fat-but-very-tasty fast food breakfast sandwich this morning

Yep, that’ll do it! Why do we sabotage ourselves with poor choices when we KNOW better? Well, many of us know better. If you don’t know better, the Keys to Health are really simple :

• Regular Exercise – cardio, weight bearing, and flexibility
• Great Fuel – eat a variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and whole grains; supplement with vitamins
• Real Downtime – 8 hours of sleep to give your body time to repair itself

Just like decluttering and organizing, the Keys to Health are simple. But, for many of us, consistent implementation is not easy. Here are some implementation tips:

1. Pick an area of focus (exercise, fuel, or downtime)
2. Pick a task in that area of focus (30 minutes cardio three times a week, trade soda for water once a day, in bed by 10 p.m.)
3. Put the task on your schedule (paper calendar, Blackberry, iPhone…) for a week, including a reminder
4. Just do it
5. Reward yourself (with something healthy)
6. Evaluate how you felt and adjust if necessary (different time, different exercise, etc.)
7. Schedule the task (or revised task) for Week 2
8. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. (Add a new task each week.)

Pretty soon, you’ll wake up one morning, and you’ll have a whole set of great health habits that are “just what you do.” You can do this.

“…Long life to you! Good health to you and your household! And good health to all that is yours!” 1 Samuel 25:6 (New International Version)

Organizing Your Energy Level is a post from: Grow Your Organizing Skills

Reading time: 3 – 5 minutes

Not so long ago, I had been frustrated that my day came to its end, yet I felt l must have missed the point of it. Why wasn’t I able to accomplish those things that were my priorities?

I was juggling and juggling, and all the balls were still in the air. But, how was all this juggling really helping me get to where I wanted to be?

Where exactly did I want to be? To find out, I took a fresh look at my Goals binder. I revisit it each time I get stuck or overwhelmed.

It always reminds me of Stephen Covey’s “Big Rock” story in his bestseller, First Things First. Here’s my version of it.

A lecturer was addressing his audience. He placed a wide-mouth gallon jar on the table in front of him. Next to the jar was a pile of fist-sized rocks. He filled the jar with the big rocks, until he could fit no more. He asked the audience, “Is the jar full?” Everyone responded, “Yes.”

He then pulled a bucket of gravel from under the table and poured the gravel into the jar. The gravel fit into the spaces between the rocks. He again asked, “Is the jar full?” “Probably not,” was the audience’s reply.

He retrieved a bowl of sand and dumped the sand into the jar. The sand filled the spaces not taken by the rocks or the gravel. Once more, he asked, “Is the jar full?” “No,” everyone agreed.

Finally, he reached for a pitcher of water and poured water into the jar until it was filled to the top. The lecturer looked at the audience and asked, “What did you learn?”

One man replied, “No matter how full your schedule is, you can always fit more into it.” “No.” the lecturer responded.

The point of this illustration is, “If you don’t put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get them in at all!”

For me, I had to get clear again on what my Big Rocks were now (yes, some of them change) and make sure that I was putting them in my daily schedule first.

First… now that got me thinking about why I wasn’t accomplishing some of my priorities.  I realized some of my frustration came from self-imposed, unrealistic rules for my Big Rocks.

For example, exercise was a Big Rock, but, I almost never completed this task. Here’s my Unrealistic Rule: “I must exercise first thing in the morning.” Rationalization: I want to sweat only once and then take one shower a day. Excuse: after waking up “too late to exercise,” my rule convinced me that I must shower, get on with my day, and forget exercise until tomorrow (when the cycle repeated itself).

So, I’ve been trying something new, and it’s working. I decided to focus on three Big Rocks. Whenever I get going, I start with Rock #1, whatever time it is. When finished, I move on to Rock #2. If there is an interruption, that’s okay, I’ll get right back to it as soon as I can, until it is completed. Then, I begin on Rock #3.

Yes, daily priorities shift for emergencies and unanticipated opportunities. But, six days out of seven, I have completed those three Big Rocks! Hallelujah!

What are your Big Rocks? Eliminate any self-imposed, unrealistic rules that are keeping you from completing your priorities. Knock the Big Rocks out one by one. And, relax and enjoy the fruits of your labor. You can do this.

“You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours.” Psalm 128:2 (New International Version)

Organizing Your Time is a post from: Grow Your Organizing Skills

Reading time: 4 – 6 minutes

Have you ever started on an organizing project, pulled everything out into a working space, expended great effort and time going through your items… only to get stopped mid-project (time constraint or other commitments)… have to shove it all back in its original space half organized, get frustrated, and completely lose your interest in continuing the project?

I have a suggestion for you. I know it sounds like it would barely make a dent, but consider whether or not you could pull out one drawer at a time? One shelf at a time? One box from the attic/basement at a time? Think Baby Steps.

Without Baby Steps, you might get caught in All-or-Nothing Thinking. Many of us tend to think about our organizing projects in two categories: (1) All-Thinking: grand, elaborate plans to declutter and organize a spare bedroom in one day – a room that has been a catch-all room for over 10 years, where we can’t even open the door anymore, because there’s so much stuff on the other side; or (2) Nothing-Thinking: no hope of ever making a dent in the same room just described , so we just give up on it.

I struggle with All-or-Nothing-Thinking, too. For years, it kept me from finishing projects of all kinds. I would bite off more than I could chew, get flustered, and abandon the project, thinking “see, I knew this wouldn’t work.”

A good example is my struggle with maintaining my health. In the past, I have been really good at dieting. Numerous times, using a protein-shake only diet (no real food) for 12-16 weeks (this is really unhealthy by the way), I have lost 50-60 pounds each time. Every time, there I was 50 pounds lighter and feeling great! But then, real food was “available” to me again.

Off the diet, I would not limit my food choices almost at all (All-Thinking). On the diet, I limited my food choices too severely (Nothing-Thinking). How could I end the yo-yo dieting?

(I hear many of you saying, well, lady, just eat less and exercise more. But, Michael Thurmond says I can eat more and exercise less! I like that plan better. J)

Though the Nothing-Thinking diet always worked in terms of weight loss, I always went back to my All-Thinking non-diet food plan, which resulted in the weight returning faster and faster each time and adding on more pounds to boot. Conclusion? I am really bad at maintenance.

Or, am I? Maybe I am really bad at dieting, too. Or, maybe there’s a better way altogether. What’s between All-Thinking and Nothing-Thinking?

Baby Steps. Aha!

So, I’m trying something different. Several months ago, I decided I would switch from Diet Coke as my primary liquid refreshment (6-10 cans a day) to water (and an occasional soft drink if I wanted one). I really didn’t like water. Never have. But, slowly, day-by-day, my taste buds changed. I enjoy the water. And now, the Diet Coke tastes funny. And, sugared drinks almost taste like syrup.

Next, I committed to eating a quick breakfast each morning that did not involve the McDonalds drive-thru. J And, after several weeks, I have added oatmeal and ONE protein shake (not total meal replacements) successfully. My metabolism is stoked, and I think more clearly over the course of my morning.

Now, I’m working on exercise. Today is Day 2 of 30 minutes on the treadmill each day. And, as they say, my dogs are barking. (My feet hurt.) But, I feel really good that I am taking another Baby Step – a small, positive motion in the direction of my goal… health.

I plan to keep adding healthy habits. And, months from now, maybe even a year or two from now, I expect to be at a healthy weight, eating healthy foods, getting regular exercise… and I will know how to maintain it. The same Baby Steps behavior that got me there will keep me there. I won’t have to switch from Nothing-Thinking to All-Thinking or vice versa ever again.

Now, the healthy plan above is theoretical stuff to me. It sounds like a good plan. But, I don’t have any personal, long-term experience with its success. But, these Baby Steps principles, when applied to organizing, are absolutely tried-and-true stuff to me. I’ve seen it and done it, over and over again. And, I know it works.

Decluttering and organizing works best the same Baby Steps way. Work in small, bite-sized projects one at a time over time.

Take that spare bedroom. First, you’ll be able to open the door. Then, you’ll be able to see some of the floor. Then, you’ll clear off a dresser. Then, you’ll clear off the bed. Then you’ll be able to see the closet floor. Then you’ll have room in the closet. Then, that room will be finished.

And, you will know that the same Baby Steps behavior that got you there will keep you there. And, you will be successful at maintenance. You can do this.

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13 (New King James Version)

All-or-Nothing Organizing is a post from: Grow Your Organizing Skills

Reading time: 2 – 3 minutes

Work Walking: I desperately need to get into a regular exercise routine. I have a nice treadmill. I love to spend time on the laptop learning, posting, friending, tweeting, linking, etc. So, what did I have to lose? …. Wait for it…. POUNDS!

I have found recent inspiration from two very cool Professional Organizers, Geralin Thomas (Twitpic) and Lorie Marrero (blogpost), and I decided to try out Work Walking for myself. I composed this blogpost to you from the set up in the pictures shown below.

I located the most stable “tabletop” I could find – my now 16-year-old son’s growth chart that was hiding in the closet (narrow but worked for a first try). Lorie’s 2008 blogpost recommended a towel underneath for stability and to make sure that your “emergency stop” lead would still work properly with your setup. And, like Lorie, I found that 2 MPH is a good pace for my initial steps and work. And, now, I’m Work Walking! Feels good. Guilt-free. Productive. And, I’m working toward my health goals instead of away from them (e.g. laptop from couch or desktop from office chair).

(Yes, I know that should be water, not a Diet Coke. Baby steps…) Please, please be careful. Try this at your own risk. I’ll report back in to let you know how it’s going.

Thanks to Lorie and Geralin for giving permission to use their information in this blogpost. For a 2010 tech update to Lorie’s 2008 blogpost above, click here. And, Geralin provided this link to a multitude of other pictures of Work Walking setup ideas.

So, what do YOU think about Work Walking?

Treadmills, Laptops and Social Media is a post from: Grow Your Organizing Skills