Update on the challenge

I thought it would be interesting to post everytime I finished some tasks so that you can see I'm working step-by-step.


I always tell clients, "your _________ (fill in whichever area you need to sort out) didn't get disorganised overnight so it will take time to get it working for you again".


Well, I posted on the library book corner and I’m pleased to announce that it still looks the same. Except more books are now in the library bag than on the table, due to the Spring Reading Thing. Are you participating? Let me know in the comments so I can come visit you!

In other news, I bought not 1, not 2 but 10 books today. I couldn’t resist – they were just R24,99 (US $3,33) each and I do take them to the second-hand bookstore when I’m done.

The desks are also all done.

On Thursday night I started decluttering all these files from shelves 1 & 4 and this is the result from when I finished the first box on Friday!

And I managed to reduce these two boxes to just the one. We are watching the World Cup Cricket so we've been decluttering in front of the TV. It's quite cute - both of us with a box and a wastepaper bin.

I found lots of treasures amidst all the decluttering and if you're on my mailing list (go to the purplish box on the right, I'll tell you about them soon because I'm going to use sell them).

Happy Easter everybody!


We went to church this morning and then to a couple of shops and to have lunch (Ocean Basket, in case you're interested). And, of course, then back home to the decluttering!


What did you do?

Show your desk challenge

I recently subscribed to Ariane's blog and added her to my Google reader (honestly, they should pay me commission because I promote it to anyone who will stand still long enough).

She sent out a challenge to post pictures of your desk. I don't know what this means in connection to my ESTJ-ness - if you can help, go ahead. The comments are all yours.

8 confessions about the desks:

1. I have 3. Yes, 3.
2. One for the computer (the main desk). That pad to the right is helping me get the blogging thing under control (I will post about this soon).
3. One for wrapping gifts, writing cards and doing household stuff.
4. 2 of the desks have pens & pencils, punch, stapler and scissors. Because I hate walking around looking for stuff.
5. And one for my business stuff. I won't bore you but I have folders for each workshop I run, coaching folders, speaking folders, organising folders, etc.
6. No, they don't always look like this.
7. I do like at least 2 very neat desks at all time. I think it's because I like to feel I have a measure of control.
8. The desks are all clean at the moment because of the Organisational Challenge. I decided to start with the easier stuff to build momentum. Always a good thing to do for occasional procrastinators like me.

Beth, Suzanne, Aby, Terri, Rae, Annie and Multi-Tasking Mommy, I'm tagging you.

30-day organisational challenge

It's finally here - Laura over at I'm an organising junkie is hosting the 30-day organisational challenge. If you've not already signed up, then please do. It's going to be lots of fun.

You can choose to organise just one area (like your wardrobe, kitchen cupboard, corner of room) or an entire room. And she's got prizes!!!



I've decided to sort through our study/ home office area.

I took lots of pictures but I won't bore/ frighten you so I only posted the 3 worst ones.

Most of this area is sorted but I made a list (you know how I like my lists) of things I want to tackle here.

1. Sell the Fitness Flyer - that white piece of exercise equipment.


2. Sort out those boxes. Most of them belong to Dion although I have one memory box. I will be very happy if they could all be thrown out but since realistically, that won't be possible, they must at least move to our garage.


3. Sell the film projector - my husband was a TV & Film major yonks ago.


4. Sort out the boxes of teaching & audio tapes. I would just throw them out but my husband is a tad sentimental.


5. Tidy and declutter this cupboard. The shelf right at the bottom is where I store spare gifts. I need to sort out shelves 1 and 4 (household stuff). I'm not allowed to touch the middle two shelves because they're his. But maybe I can leave it disorganised but make it look prettier.


6. I have to declutter 3 boxes of files that are very neat and organised (I can find anything I want within a minute) but I haven't looked at them for 18 months so they can probably go. It's all my research on time management, goal-setting and so on.


7. Declutter the bookshelf above my one desk. It is neat enough but there are a lot of books I could donate to the library, sell or give away.

all the boxes

Fitness Flyer

Shelves 1 & 4

You'll notice that a lot of things has to do with my husband! So I have negotiated a reward for us. Aside from that wonderful feeling of peace we'll have, that is. And if you've coached with me, you know I'm a BIG believer in rewards!

When we get this place sorted out, we will be treating ourselves to a beautiful oregon pine bookshelf. Then we can throw the old one out!

Are you joining in the challenge? Let me know in the comments!

And even if you don't have a blog, there is nothing stopping you from taking your before and after posts and emailing them to me. I would be very happy to post the best ones here.

Tackle-it Tuesday - bag corner in study

This is a corner of my study/ home office. We each keep a bag of library books there. The box is full of containers like baskets, etc. that we don’t need yet. The black box has a lot of spare tote bags in case I need one of a different size.

So here’s the before.

And here’s the after.

The big box has moved to a cupboard. There we now have our two library bags and on the table, Dion's Bible and notebook (he has his quiet time in here) on the right and two books I have to read before returning all the library books.

I moved all the extra tote bags to a cupboard and now only have this denim one (by the way, I bought it in Melbourne, Australia on Brunswick Street) with 2 other sizes folded inside.

BTW, this tackle is part of my Organising Challenge over at Laura’s place. I will post another post later today with the rest of the before pictures.

June 2006 - organising challenges

I decided to post the organising challenge so that it's easy to reference and stay up to date. I will edit my post every week and write a little bit about each week's challenge, like I've already done for week 1.

Enjoy - each challenge won't take more than 15 minutes, or definitely 30 minutes if you're the type that loses focus quickly :)

Week 1 - Organise your sock and underwear drawer.
Throw out all those socks from 5 years ago that have seen better days. Any stretched, ill-fitting or plain ugly underwear must go. Treat yourself and go get some new things. You can still feel pretty (or handsome) underneath all your winter woollies. Use the bottoms of cereal boxes to partition your drawer and keep items neat.

Week 2 - Clear off the front of your refrigerator & tidy your spices and condiments.
Do you really need to have 50 magnets on your fridge? Many times a cluttered fridge makes the whole kitchen feel disorganised and out of sorts. Clear everything off and start with a fresh slate. Now put back only those things that you love or add value to your life - photos of loved ones, shopping list, menu for week, etc.
Throw out your spices if you've had them for longer than a year or two. Dried herbs lose their flavour after a year.

Week 3 - Organise your CD and DVD collection.
First off, go through all and decide if you still want to hold onto them. When was the last time you listened to or watched them? Has your taste changed? Are you hanging onto something because Aunty Mary gave it to you and you feel guilty giving it away?
Now, put them in whichever order you like – I do my CDs first by group, and then in chronological order. There is no right way – you need to organise according to how your mind works.
Lastly, pack them neatly in a CD holder, storage box or on a shelf. (Clicks has some lovely storage boxes for R29,99 that hold CDs, videos, photos, etc.)

Week 4 - Clear your desk by sorting out all physical and e-mail.
This week's challenge is two-fold - it's your desk at work AND at home. If you don't have a proper desk at home, it's the place where you dump your mail and all your papers! Now you know what I'm talking about!
1. Take a plastic bag and throw away anything that doesn't belong - old cups from the vending machine, bits of notepaper, all used envelopes, junk mail ads, pens that don't work, etc.
2. You should only be left with proper mail - bills to be paid, magazine subscriptions, letters and cards (does anyone still write real letters these days? On a nostalgic note, when I was at university, my friend Melody and I used to buy sheets of 100 stamps at the post office every couple of months!).
3. Diarise when you will pay the accounts and file any old, paid accounts.
4. Now for the email, delete, delete, delete. That is, delete anything you've already actioned, forwarded or read that you don't have to keep for reference. My goal is to delete about 200 emails daily - easy on a Monday when all my newsletters arrive, but it forces me to go through old folders daily towards the end of the week. What will your goal be?
5. Now, file the rest in your action, to read, and personal folders until your inbox is empty.

I read something really cool the other day. Do you ever get home, take the mail from the letterbox, read through it all and then take it back to the letterbox? No, of course not. However, most people treat their inbox like this! They read the email and leave it right there in the inbox. Just something to think about!