Cards and Letters and Photos, Oh My!

If you are a sentimental dinosaur like me, you probably like to save special letters and photos of loved ones. For years I've had a plastic bag of cards and letters stashed in a storage box.

This year I'm determined to sort the pile. I already keep Christmas cards in a special bag with holiday photos so I can display with my Christmas decorations. Following the simple steps below can help you take your special memories and make them accessible.

Step 1: Decide how much time you have.

I am willing to spend an afternoon sorting the cards and letters. Since I am reading the cards in order to decide what to keep, I find myself weepingly sentimental. This means that I need to take breaks. Since I can easily put the cards back in storage if I feel overwhelmed, time and Kleenex are my two best friends.

Step 2: Decide why you want to keep the cards/letters.

I like keeping cards and letters because they are fun to read. This means that I want access to them easily. A cardboard hatbox from Ross will suit my needs. I can create dividers between the cards and letters. I may even keep a photo of the letter writer with the letter itself.

Photos:

For the past year, I've been sorting my photos. These are actual pictures from negatives, not digital.
I removed the pictures from the photo albums and instead will organize them into photo boxes.
Categories are Friends, Family, Special Events, and Me, My Self and I. (My brother Steev said you can't have too many photos of yourself.)

From here I can create DVD's of photos to give as gifts. I'm looking forward to sending my nieces and nephews photos of their fathers when they were kids!

Organize while Decorating!

Since I went to the Lighted Boat Parade in Morro Bay, I was able to rally for Christmas decorating. I had intended on being a decorating Scrooge since I spent the past two months reorganizing. Though I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Christmas, I do not always love, love, love rearranging my entire apartment.

As I pulled out the box of decorations from my storage loft, I decided to take the time to reorganize. Usually, I do this after Christmas. Boxing Day in Canada, December 26, is set aside to honor this time of out with the old, in with the new. But I needed to lift my spirit so I could celebrate the season with creation, not obligation.

Here are a few tips that I used to keep the task light and fun.

1. I organized in my p.j’s.
2. I had a yummy cup of tea for mini-breaks and listened to a
Christmas cassette mix that I created in 1999.
3. I only selected boxes that I could sort and repack in a couple of hours.
I left a box filled with old letters and cards for later…like next lifetime. Maybe.
(This is supposed to be fun, not traumatic.)
4. Clear plastic bags, baggies and twist-ties are an organizer’s best friend.
5. Set aside a bag for items you are going to donate.
I keep a basket on a table in my closet for small give-aways like books.
This makes it easy to keep the stuff energy moving as I do weekly errands.

This year I only decorated two specific areas in my cabin. This saved space and guarantees that everything Christmas will be put back in the decoration box. My favorite “new” decoration is a festive bag filled with last year's Xmas cards, photos of my Christmas past, and a box of brand new cards that I will mail....maybe.

Taking time to move my energy gives me the external and internal space to move through the season.

May your holiday be filled with light, love and plenty of cheer!

Xmas in the Corner

Though I LOVE LOVE LOVE Christmas, I do not always love love love rearranging my entire apartment. Since I've spent the past two months reorganizing and decorating so I am not willing to rearrange yet again.

This year I isolated Christmas to the art corner of my apartment. This saves space and guarantees that I won't have any leftover items at the end of the season that I forgot to pack.

I hung my stocking, added a festive bag filled with last year's Xmas cards, photos of my Christmas pasts, and the box of brand new cards that I will mail....maybe. Finally, I added the cocunut nativity scene that my grandmother really loved and the string metal stockings I bought last year.

(I want the outlets available for my new MAC laptop, so I didn't even bother with my tree.)

Now I can enjoy the holiday without feeling like a total Scroog-ette.

Moving to be Moving

The other day I decided that instead of hacking away at my book, it would be better for me to move the bookshelf from one wall to the other. I live in such a teeny tiny cabin that means if one thing moves - everything moves!

Now my bookcase is my entertainment center, my linen closet shelf my bookcase, I have room for both guitars to be out and ready to rock PLUS I have a new table and chairs area in the living room.

Not only did I benefit from the exercise, but I reorganized my head. Miraculously the projects that I have been procrastinating have taken giant steps forward and there was a value added bonus:

I created a basket full of books and magazines that I bought, but hadn't read. Now when I want to read something new - I go browsing in my own living room!

Getting Your Groove Back

I completed a musical two months ago. I wanted to continue with my book/CD but needed breathing space. I felt anxious about not writing, but knew better than to force the project. Instead, I used the anxious feeling to update and reorganize my workspace.

Turns out I re-energized when I organized.

Actually, organizing was an accident. It didn't happen until I emptied the filing cabinet in order to put a carpet in my office. After the carpet, I changed curtains and bought new office containers for my desk. I moved photos. I placed bright yellow flowers in a lemonade jar and set it on my desk.

I had forgotten about flowers.

That was two weeks ago. Since then, I have been writing. I completed a short story and realized my book needed to be divided into 3 downloadable booklets. My writing files have been purged. Some ideas trimmed, others blessed and released.

Organizing is a visceral, grounded process that allows ideas to flow freely. If you are feeling stuck – purge. Trim. Sort. Play music while you rearrange, and treat your Self to flowers. You’ll get your oomph back so you can move to the next step.

May you and your files dance into fall,

Aunt Dot

Lara’s Big Five

I have this groovy gal pal who I admire: Lara Rapcinski. She owns and operates Harbor Floral, a lovely shop that offers wedding flowers and services in Morro Bay. I’ve known her via the former Sandpiper coffee shop on the Embarcadero, but didn’t get a chance to hang out with her until I had moved to Santa Barbara County. She showed up for a housewarming, two concerts and a surfing excursion. (Her excursion, I just provided the sleeping mat on the floor.)

But now that I’m back in town, I’m blessed to know my friend on a whole different level – as an entrepreneur. Lara shared with me her key to organizing her business and annual goals which I now use to keep my projects organized.

Select a three ring binder and Table of Contents tabbed dividers: as you have projects. Lara has 5 categories, I chose to organize 10. Behind each divider put several sheets of notebook paper. Also, you can buy manila pocket folders to hold smaller papers, notes or brochures that you may need for some of the categories.

My categories include various writing projects, website, coaching business, songwriting, and finances. All of these projects have folders in my file cabinet. However, it is extremely helpful to have my immediate goals and tasks listed together in one place. It makes organizing and staying on task easy. Of course, you do have to open the notebook and update on a regular basis!

What you write, or how much is written is not important. One tab for a creative dream has only one task this year: renew the domain. That’s it. I even have the Table of Contents written in pencil so I can change my mind! The point is that because my idea is holding a tangible spot in an easily located place – I am free to focus on my immediate goals.

May you and your projects always be organized!

Aunt Dot