You are more than halfway through the first month of the new year. Have you leaned into the energy boost a fresh start brings? Or are you feeling stuck, overwhelmed, and weighted down by your clutter? Clutter can keep us frozen in time, be demotivating, and make activation challenging. Physical clutter can include things like paper piles punctuating counters and surfaces. There can also be mind clutter, internal thoughts, and ideas swirling around the brain. Clutter can be time-related. It can infiltrate calendars and is visible as over-committed schedules with no breathing room.

One of the focus areas this month with clients has been helping them clear a variety of clutter. They want to feel calmer, happier, and more in control of their space, time, and thoughts. I’m continually thrilled by how much progress clients make during their one-hour virtual organizing sessions. They further their goals by working independently in between sessions, too. Relief and joy are typical feelings they experience due to their decluttering efforts.

When clutter is released, you increase your capacity to attend to what is most essential and fully embrace the life you want.

Declutter Physical Things

I recently worked on my own physical and mind clutter that weighed on me. It felt great to make space for the new year. For decluttering the physical things, I

• Removed and archived last year’s papers

• Made new file folders for the current year (I love my Brother PTouch label maker!)

• Edited papers I no longer needed

• Shredded and recycled

• Bagged household items to donate

“When clutter is released, you increase your capacity to attend to what is most essential and fully embrace the life you want.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

Declutter Thoughts

Because my mind was cluttered and filled with too many competing thoughts, I needed help focusing and getting clear. To release mind clutter, I

• Wrote in my journal

• Reviewed past journal entries

• Shared my thoughts out loud with a few people (I’m a verbal processor)

• Engaged in email exchanges to tease out more thoughts

• Filled out the Three Things Reflection (a set of questions to review the previous year and future-think about the current one)

• Practiced patience while allowing ideas to percolate

• Meditated

• Practiced yoga

Like my clients, I experienced relief, clarity, and joy after decluttering my things and thoughts. My physical and mental capacity has improved. The slate feels clear and clean. I chose to embrace this fresh start with renewed energy and open arms.

If you feel frozen and overwhelmed by clutter and want help, I’m here for you. Please email me at linda@ohsoorganized.com, call 914-271-5673, or click here to schedule a Discovery Call. Experience the joy, relief, and clarity decluttering and organizing brings.

As this year ends, it’s time to reflect on the past twelve months and the year about to begin. 2023 has been full of intense emotions, enriching experiences, and deep conversations on the blog. We’ve walked side-by-side, navigated turbulent waters, made new discoveries, and grappled with life balance. In these free-flowing exchanges, insights, new perspectives, and hope emerged.

Conversations

Our conversations about life balance, change, mindfulness, clutter, letting go, motivation, organizing, self-care, hope, and more have provided abundant comfort, connection, and joy. Thank you for being part of this generous community. You inspire me to show up, write, think, explore, and engage.

Gratitude

I am profoundly grateful for this community’s thoughtful words and beautiful sharing. I curated twelve of my favorite quotes of the year from active engagers, selecting one from each month’s theme. Thank you, Deb Lee, Diane Quintana, Ellen Delap, Jana Arevalo, Janet Barclay, Janet Schiesl, Jonda Beattie, Julie Bestry, Melissa Gratias, Sabrina Quairoli, Seana Turner, and Yota Schneider. You are consistent voices and participators who bring our conversations to life. I am grateful to you and everyone who reads the blog, contributes to our discussions, or shares the posts. You bring hope, light, curiosity, perspective, and learning to every day.

There have been many other conversation participators and sharers this year, including Andi Willis, Cathy Borg, Geralin Thomas, Hazel Thornton, Jill Katz, Julie Stobbe, Juliet Landau-Pope, Kim Tremblay, Laura Cullen Carter, MJ Rosenthal, Pam Holland, Phaedra Studt, Sara Skillen, and Stacey Agin Murray. Thank you for bringing richness to our conversations and for sharing your ideas.

Enjoy the year in review- one quote, insight, and revelation at a time!

12 Inspired Quotes from Our Conversations This Year That Will Make You Feel Hopeful

1. Fresh Start | How to Make Fortune Cookie Wisdom Inspire Your Fresh Start

“It really is just a question of getting started for a lot of the time. We make excuses or put up our own obstacles for why we can’t start a project or a goal. Sometimes, it’s not perfect, but you just have to jump in.”

— Jana Arevalo

2. Embrace Change | Are You Willing to Trust the Wait as You Make Your Fierce Change Journey?

“Change is inevitable. Some changes we look forward to and other changes we dread. But we all have the gift of the now and today.”

— Jonda Beattie

3. Next Step | How to Take One Next Step Now When You’re Feeling Unusually Overwhelmed

“One tiny thing is often the antidote to overwhelm and ‘Where should I start?’ Sometimes, that little thing becomes the catalyst for bigger things. Or it stays tiny but mighty and gets your thoughts and ideas (and sense of calm) flowing again.”

— Deb Lee

4. Letting Go | When Your Big Plate is Quickly Overflowing, Can You Let Go of One Thing?

“Taking that one step, letting go of that one thing, can make all the difference …
It is liberating, empowering, and often underestimated.”

— Yota Schneider

5. Clutter | What Kind of Overwhelming ‘Noise’ Does Your Clutter Actually Make?

“I think of clutter as a near-constant buzz in the background. You try to ignore it, but that takes mental resources. Silence the buzz and redeploy the resources.”

— Melissa Gratias

6. Time Management | Life Moves Really Fast, Yet Do You Appreciate the Value of a Timely Pause?

“Taking short and long breaks is vital to enjoying life.”

— Sabrina Quairoli

7. Motivation | 3 Delightful Ways to Increase Your Motivation Now

“… for me, accountability is best for professional motivation, and deadlines are better for personal (non-stress-inducing) motivation, but each of us will be different.
”

— Julie Bestry

8. Enlisting Help | 9 Marvelous Way Virtual Professional Organizers Can Help with Transitions

“It’s the ‘out of the blue’ transitions, or ones through which I am yet to tread, that are difficult. In these seasons, having others with experience makes all the difference …”

— Seana Turner

9. Mindfulness | How to Be Astoundingly Mindful, Calm, and Prepared for Your New Season

“Whatever we’re embarking on will go much more smoothly if we take the time to mindfully identify what we need in terms of human and other resources before we get started.”

— Janet Barclay

10. Possibilities | 3 Inspiring Messages of Hope That Encourage Possibilities

“Glimmers are what keep hope, possibility, and joy afloat …”

— Ellen Delap

11. Wonderfully Human | How to Joyfully Grow and Thrive When Life Feels Like Complete Chaos

“Sometimes it’s hard when you’re going through a lot to feel joyful. But hope is the light at the end of the tunnel. Without it, there is no end.”

— Janet Schiesl

12. Life Balance | 12 Hopeful and Best Loved Organizing Ideas of the Year

“All of us have so many facets to our life. Thinking about paying attention to all of them with the same focus is impossible. But when we think about intentionally bringing in a little of this and a little of that, we can create a life that works with the way we want to live.”

— Diane Quintana

These quotes were taken from our lively exchanges on the blog this year. What resonates with you? Which idea do you want to bring forward into the New Year?

How can I help make 2024 a great year? When you’re ready for support with creating a better balance, letting go of what no longer serves you, or getting more organized, I’ll be here. Contact me, Linda, by phone at 914-271-5673, by email at linda@ohsoorganized.com, or this form.

I wish you a happy, healthy, and joy-filled New Year!

It’s a busy time of year. Maybe you’re already in play mode. Or perhaps you’re scrambling to finish up those year-end projects so you can enjoy your time off during the holidays. We often feel an ongoing push-pull between resting and producing. And our balance between the two can become completely off-kilter. At other times, there is a better mix.

Life can be incredibly confusing this time of year. You have a ton to accomplish, but you’d rather be off to enjoy the sounds, sights, and scents of this twinkly, festive season with your family and friends.

Deadlines and Deliverables

I’m pushing to prepare several workshops for the first quarter of 2024. I’m so excited about them! Stay tuned for updates, which I’ll announce soon. The first round of deliverables is almost complete. Then, I’ll be able to enjoy the break and festivities even more.

My guess is you are in the midst of things, too. Maybe you’re preparing and organizing your home for a houseful of guests. Perhaps you’re doing some last-minute holiday gift shopping or putting the finishing touches on your holiday décor. Or, like me, maybe you’re focusing intently on completing your 2023 goals and projects.

An Inspired Perspective

Whatever is going on, I came across an idea in Glennon Doyle’s Untamed, which I thought would help. It’s a beautiful perspective, which I, for one, want to hold close. She wrote,

“Hard work is important. So are play and nonproductivity. My worth is tied not to my productivity but to my existence. I am worthy of rest.”

— Glennon Doyle

I love this! As someone driven to work hard and be productive, I need this reminder. Perhaps you do, too. Life is not just about work. While I know this, I want to embrace Doyle’s message even more. I will thoroughly lean into the joy of playing, being, and resting. I will let go of defining my worth by what I produce.

How is your balance this season? What do you want more of? What do you want to release? How can I help?

When the world within and around you is drenched in chaos, how can you thrive? Humans are complicated beings. We can simultaneously hold profoundly opposite ideas, emotions, and thoughts. We can experience love and safety when wrapped in our loved one’s embrace. We can also experience intense pain when we hear news about wars, hate, displacement, and heartache. The hard stuff can weigh so heavily on you that it can feel impossible to thrive. You might even feel guilty about experiencing joy when there is so much suffering.

Several years ago, I listened to a conversation about opening and cultivating the human heart with Frank Ostaseki, co-founder of The Zen Hospice Project, and Roshi Joan Halifax, Ph.D., Buddhist teacher and Founder of Upaya Zen Center. One of the ideas that resonated with me then and even more now is that hope is essential, especially in a “time of radical uncertainty.” Hope is not about “sappy positivity,” bypassing the truth of suffering, or thinking that everything will be OK.

Thoughts About Hope

During the conversation, Ostaseki and Halifax shared their perspectives about hope:

• Hope helps us go beyond the rational.

• Hope can be the flip side of fear.

• Hope is not based on optimism.

• Hope is a surprise. It’s light and buoyant and not about a particular outcome.

• Hope reflects an understanding that what we do matters, even though we don’t know how, why, who it will touch, or what will unfold from our actions.

• Hope is resistant to futility.

• Hope resides in resourcefulness.

• Hope speaks to possibilities.

“While you might feel powerless to change the world, you can make your corner more joyous and hope-filled.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

31 Ways to Thrive and Feel Joyful During Chaotic Times

Having hope contributes to being able to thrive. Without it, we give up. Take an active role in cultivating hope. Nourish yourself and others, and create a solid base to grow from. During chaotic times, there are so many things that seem futile. Instead, focus on engaging in simple actions or observations in your control. Hope will grow from there. Consider:

• Watching the fall leaves gently float to the ground

• Taking a walk along the river with a good friend

• Getting a good night’s sleep

• Eating a nutritious and delicious meal

• Feeling the warm sun on your face

• Hugging your loved ones

• Reading or listening to uplifting books, articles, and podcasts

• Planning something you will look forward to doing

• Taking a road trip, even a local one

• Brewing and slowly sipping a hot cup of tea

• Curling up on the sofa, wrapped in your favorite soft, cozy blanket

• Learning something new

• Listening to your favorite music

• Practicing mindfulness meditation

• Organizing that one room that is ready to be tamed

• Helping something to grow

• Focusing on the inhale and exhale of your breath

• Making something with your hands

• Pausing in the middle of your day to regroup and reset

• Listening to the sounds of laughter

• Laughing

• Writing in your journal

• Smiling at a stranger

• Having a ‘do nothing’ day

• Checking in by phone, email, text, or in person on your loved ones

• Doing something outside of your comfort zone

• Helping a client set boundaries, establish priorities, and get unstuck

• Noting what you are grateful for

• Offering compassion and kindness to someone you do or don’t know

• Refusing to give up

• Listening to your intuition

Life is a mixture of joy, pain, and everything in between. As humans, we know this is true. Yet even so, it can be challenging to navigate the sadness when your life and the world feel so chaotic and unhinged. While you might feel powerless to change the world, you can make your corner more joyous and hope-filled. You never know how your actions or words will uplift someone else. Be gentle with yourself and others. Nourish your being to have the energy to extend more kindness and compassion to yourself and others.

What helps you thrive during challenging times? What brings you hope? How do you make your ‘corner’ better? I’d love to hear your thoughts and invite you to join the conversation.