The latest installment (v28) of the “What’s Interesting?” feature is here with my recent discoveries that inform, educate, and relate to organizing and life balance. I’ve included unique and inspiring, enlisting help-related finds, which reflect this month’s blog theme. You are such a wonderfully generous, warm, and engaged group. I am deeply appreciative and grateful for your presence, positive energy, and contributions to this community.

I look forward to your participation and additions to the collection I’ve sourced. What do you find interesting?

What’s Interesting? . . .

1. Interesting Read – Resilience Help

Life is filled with challenges. When you experience difficulty, disappointment, and disaster, what helps you bounce back? In Resilience, Linda Graham, MFT, author, therapist, and teacher share helpful insights and practices. Graham defines resilience as “the capacity to bend with the wind, go with the flow, and bounce back from adversity.” She believes that “resilience is teachable, learnable, and recoverable.”  The practices presented are based on the brain’s ability to adapt, and the recognition that flexibility is the core of resilience. It is easy to get derailed by life’s small and big challenges. By experimenting with some of the 130 plus exercises in the book, you can train your brain to “respond skillfully,” cope with stressors and difficulties, and not just survive, but “You will thrive.”

“Resilience is teachable, learnable, and recoverable.”

— Linda Graham, MFT

2. Interesting Product – Storage Help

The first phase for getting organized focuses on editing and letting go of things that no longer serve a purpose. I like to say, “Release the things that have overstayed their welcome.” However, once that first phase is complete, choosing how to organize the remaining items comes next. I discovered some beautiful organizing products from Open Spaces and couldn’t wait to share them with you. They are simple, elegant, and perfect for organizing like-with-like items. These small storage bins that come with or without lids in an array of lovely colors can be used in bathrooms, bedrooms, kitchens, offices, playrooms, and more. They are an excellent solution for storage help.

3. Interesting Resource  – Virtual Organizing Help

The pandemic has changed my organizing business. While I’ve been working in-person with clients for over 27 years, I’m currently only offering virtual organizing services. Existing and new clients love working this way, including the shorter, highly focused, and more frequent sessions. As one of my clients said, “Working virtually for one hour is productive, doable, and not overwhelming.”

Professional development has always been a top priority for me. Last month I completed my training and became credentialed as a Certified Virtual Professional Organizer (CVPO.) To acknowledge this shift to virtual organizing and express my gratitude to my clients for their loyalty and trust, I created a Client Loyalty Program. The more virtual organizing sessions you have, the more organizing credits you will receive. Are you curious about how virtual organizing can help you? If so, let’s talk. Call 914-271-5673 or email me at linda@ohsoorganized.com.

4. Interesting Article – Worrying Help

One of my favorite pieces of advice from my Uncle Lew is, “Let’s leave worry as a last resort.”  With an abundance of uncertainty and anxiety about tomorrow, it can be even more challenging to stop worrying. In Nicole Pajer’s Huffington Post article, 15 Things Therapists Do When They’re Worried About The Future, there are excellent coping strategies and ways to help you.  They include ideas such as keeping routines, developing a support system, practicing gratitude, being physically active, and remaining present. Practicing daily mindfulness meditation, doing yoga, and taking walks in nature significantly reduce my anxiety and worry. Those activities focus on presence, movement, and gratitude.

5. Interesting Thought – Enlisting Help

Every person experiences challenges at one time or another. Remember that when you are struggling, you don’t have to be alone on your journey. Enlist help. Find compassionate, helpful support from your friends, family, colleagues, and professionals, including organizers like me. We are here for you. “You are not alone in this.”

What are your interesting finds? Which of these resonate with you? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation!

Clutter comes in many forms. Often we see a physical display with our paper piles, overflowing closets, or garages too full for the car. But there is also mental clutter where our thoughts take over in unproductive ways. Mind clutter causes undue anxiety and stress. Have you experienced mind clutter? If so, you’re not alone. One of my friends recently said to me that, especially now during the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s useful to let go of “If only…” from your vocabulary.

What valuable wisdom! Those “if only” phrases can breed regret and anxiety. They aren’t beneficial for your wellbeing or peace of mind. I noticed how often I was going down the “if only” road. I also realized how that type of thinking cluttered my mind and made me feel helpless. Have you walked down this path before?

Some of my mind cluttering thoughts focused on my mom. She has dementia and lives in a memory care facility. They have been on lockdown for almost two months, and I haven’t been able to visit her. Many residents there have died from COVID-19, and my mom tested asymptomatic positive a few weeks ago. I kept thinking, “If only I could see her.”  I worried about her wellbeing, whether she’d survive the virus, and whether I’d ever see her again. I know that many people are experiencing similar situations with their loved ones. It’s heartbreaking.

My mind was also cluttered with worry over our older daughter’s safety. She lives, works, and volunteers in Brooklyn, which is one of the hotbeds of the COVID-19 outbreak. I kept thinking, “If only I could bring her home or wrap her in a protective bubble.” I know. These thoughts were not realistic. She’s an adult and very much in charge of her own life. However, as her mom, my instinct to protect her flooded my thoughts.

“Those ‘if only’ phrases can breed regret and anxiety.”

— Linda Samuels

These are just a few examples of my internal “if only” conversations. I’m guessing you see how unproductive these thoughts were. I had no control over these situations. Little by little, I stopped using this phrase. Instead, I have been harnessing all the mindfulness resources I have available, like meditation, yoga, and nature. They help me focus on the present and relinquish control about uncertainties. I continually work at this. On the good days, I’m more agile and able to lean into what arises, be present with now, and stay in the moment. I let go of “if only.”

I’ve read that 85-90% of the things we worry about never happen. Mind clutter worry is unproductive. And as it turns out, it’s a good teacher too. There was a beautiful twist (and lesson) in my “if only” exploration. 

“Mind clutter worry is unproductive. And as it turns out, it’s a good teacher too.”

— Linda Samuels

Mom waving hello

Last week, I had in-person visit (masked and at a physical distance,) one with my mom and another with our daughter. I cannot begin to express how much good it did my heart and mind to be in their presence. What a joy being with them. Even though I received photos and regular updates about my mom, seeing her walk, sing, smile, and wave lifted my heart and spirits.

Our daughter, Allison, turned 30 this week. My husband and I drove to Brooklyn to bring her some birthday goodies and hang out for a quick visit. During the pandemic, we’ve talked and Zoomed, but being in her physical presence was such a gift. I felt settled, seeing that she was doing just fine.

Allison in Brooklyn - Two Tree Studios

In challenging times there is learning. And this time is a great teacher. I learned to let go of unproductive mind clutter, to release control over the uncontrollable, to trust the strength of others, and to soak in the beautiful moments of connection and calm. 

Have you experienced mind clutter recently? What helps you navigate the chatter? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation. 

The latest installment (v27) of the “What’s Interesting?” feature is here with my recent discoveries that inform, educate, and relate to organizing and life balance. I’ve included unique and inspiring, letting go-related finds, which reflect this month’s blog theme. You are such an incredibly generous, warm, and engaged group. And in this time of physical distancing because of COVID-19, I am especially appreciative of and grateful for your presence, positive energy, and contributions to this community.

I look forward to your participation and additions to the collection I’ve sourced. What do you find interesting?

What’s Interesting? . . .

1. Interesting Article – Letting Go of Should

If you are experiencing an array of emotions, Anna Borges’ piece in Self Magazine, 17 Totally Normal Things to Feel Right Now, According to Therapists, is a must-read. It will provide comfort, understanding, and help normalizing your feelings. In response to thinking we should be acting a certain way, Borges says, “There is no ‘right’ way to handle this.” She interviewed mental health professionals about the most frequent worries and feelings being discussed during their client sessions. Common themes included burn out, calm, grief, regret, numbness, and inadequacy. A beautiful message was incorporated from Vernessa Roberts, LMFT as shared below. What might help you let go of should?

“How you choose to spend this time is up to you and cannot be compared to how others are spending this time. May we remember to embrace our own feelings and struggles and show compassion for the feelings and struggles of others.”

— Vernessa Roberts, LMFT

2. Interesting Resource – Letting Go of Anxiety

In a recent Smead MyOrganized.life podcast, I was interviewed by my friend, John Hunt. For this episode, “Ways to Stay Calm and Cope During a Crisis,” I shared strategies for letting go of some stress and anxiety that many of us are experiencing right now. Some of the suggestions included were to gather resources, focus on mind/body practices, organize your environment, practice gratitude, and limit media time. What helps you let go of anxiety?

3. Interesting Experience  – Letting Go of What Was

One of the newer practices that I began this past year was taking yoga classes. I found a lovely studio, Encourage Yoga, near where I live. As things developed with the pandemic, the studio temporarily closed. The owner and yoga teacher, Al Bingham, quickly revamped the studio concept. Not only did he retool to offer yoga using Zoom, but he also created a generous offer called Project LOVE. Classes are available for $5 each. However, if the cost is a barrier, by entering the code “LOVE” upon checkout, your class is free. For many of us that treasured being physically present with one another, the shift to virtual yoga class required letting go (even if temporary) to what was so that we could experience this new community. I am so grateful to Al and the Encourage Yoga folks for their flexibility and continuity. What will help you let go of what was so that you can experience another way of being?

4. Interesting Season – Letting Go of Disorganization

Spring is a wonderful season for letting go, decluttering, and designing new patterns. This is even more important because of the unprecedented world change. With the shift of normal, you might be feeling new organizing challenges, and unsure of how to move forward. Take this opportunity to reset your organizing goals, declutter the extraneous, and create the calm you deserve. Change is possible, especially with support. Enlist help from a compassionate and non-judgmental friend, family member, or professional organizer like me. You’ll be amazed at how much more you can accomplish when you work with an organizing buddy. I’m ready to help with my virtual organizing services. Let’s talk. Call 914-271-5673 or email me at linda@ohsoorganized.com.

5. Interesting Thought – Letting Go of Busyness

What an odd time we’re in. For many people, life has significantly slowed down. There are no offices to commute to, parties to attend, soccer practices to bring the kids to, or errands to run. We might be working from home and feeling challenged by that shift. But even with that change, things feel slower. There are fewer cars on the road, the shops are closed, and visitors are staying at home. And from these dramatic changes, we have an opportunity to lean into this quiet, to slow our busy bodies and minds, and notice the stillness. If you are willing, let go of your busyness badge and embrace what it feels like to be still.

What are your interesting finds? Which of these resonate with you? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Join the conversation!