(www.myorganizedbiz.com) – Do you have a lot of books?

Maybe you’re the kind of person for whom having books is really important and getting rid of them is almost painful. Or you might just have a lot of them by default and could be ready for a good purge.

My basic belief is that the books you surround yourself with need to represent who you are and where you’re going. If you have books that represent old parts of you or past careers that have fallen by the wayside, these can keep you energetically stuck and struggling in your business.

Avid reader, Tammy asked me recently:

“What do you do with the books that muliply like Topsy (I’m a reader – I do recycle, but some books are meant to stay forever). I have 3 floor to ceiling double wide bookcases in my office and one in another room, and a 1/2 bookcase by my desk. And they’re full to overflowing! Including the art magazines which I am loathe to get rid of. The basement is my studio (another bookcase down there – stuffed). Any ideas?”

If Tammy and I were working together one-on-one, I’d want to know what her books mean to her personally and what they represent for her. It’s really juicy stuff!

But for the purpose of this Wednesday Makeover, I want to suggest a process I use in my consulting work (and on myself).

1. Notice that you think of what’s in a container as one solid unit - a whole shelf, a whole box. It looks like one big thing, but it isn’t. Recognize that they’re full of separate, unique items.

2. Identify a space you want to work in and then pick up one book and ask yourself:

• Does this still represent who I am?
• Does this represent where I am going?
• Is there someone who can use this information more than I can?

3. Use your intuition. Instead of letting your head/intellect run the show, check in with your heart’s wisdom. What does it tell you about the book in your hand?

You will find that you’re able to remove individual books and other reading materials that are no longer serving you – leaving what actually supports you. And it can feel satisfying to know that someone else’s life can be enriched by sharing the information that was once so useful to you.

Libraries, thrift stores, and Amazon are all great places to donate or sell the materials you no longer need.

How do you decide how and when to get rid of your books? Is it a difficult process?

(www.myorganizedbiz.com) – Last week, I encouraged readers (you!) to share about what kinds of visual tricks you use in your organizing. There was a fabulous response and everyone got some great ideas, too!

Check out the full post and awesome comments!

This thread also featured a contest – anyone who replied could be chosen (at random) to receive a $10 gift certificate to my favorite bookstore, Powell’s.

I’m happy to announce that Kristen King of Biz Chicks Rule is our winner!

I used randomizer.org to choose the winner – here’s are results (you’ll note that I actually won, but went to the next post number).

List Randomizer

16
11
7
2
5
17
12
10
8
9
14
18
6
4
13
15
3
1

Congrats, Kristen. And thanks to everyone for contributing!

I’m so jazzed! Now you can find the information about office organization you want – without having to paw through lists of old articles.

In the column on the right is a nifty new widget that works like any ol’ search engine does: type in a search term and up pops relevant articles with that word in it.

Go ahead and give it a whirl! What’s on your mind today?

(www.myorganizedbiz.com) – This month I issued a challenge to readers (you) to create a spring cleaning goal for the month of April. Specifically:

1. Pick one thing you want to clean up this month.
2. Post what you’re going to do – here or on your own blog.
3. Then check in at the end of April and share how you did.

Here are some of the people who took the challenge:

Alyson at Art Biz Coach had a decluttering goal…
Kristen of BizChicksRule had an affectionately-named Box of Doom
Barbara had 3 closets to do (after completing her kitchen)
April was actually going to get rid of her desk!
Ann started out with the intention of doing her sock drawer and then got courageous and aimed for the toiletries cabinets (wait til you see her photos!)

I took my own challenge, so here is my update:

My goal was to enter all of my receipts and get my finances back into order. Right now, the receipts are still on my desk, only slightly neater. This is hard to admit since I’m writing an organizing blog, but honesty and transparency are important to me.

I am so behind in entering receipts and income that I have checks to deposit that I’m not sure how to enter. Sounds crazy, but it’s true. If I were being my perfectionistic self, I’d give myself 30 lashes with my “get organized” noodle and a major guilt trip.

But even though there are no visual changes in my office and things are slightly worse than they were, I’ve gained a number of valuable insights about my internal process.

• I need a bookkeeper – someone to come in monthly and get this stuff arranged.
• I’ve been taking on too much lately, saying “yes” when a “no” is more appropriate.
• I’m taking steps to lighten my load so that I can attend to the maintenance operations of my business, not just the creative stuff.

I feel good about these discoveries and my next step is to solicit bookkeeper recommendations from my local business buddies. I’m also not going to beat myself up about still having the receipts (this is definitely progress). By the beginning of June, my goal is to have a new system in place and a firm grasp on my financial records.

How about you? Did you meet your spring cleaning goal? Exceed it? Let’s hear all about it!

(www.myorganizedbiz.com) – Original images by talented artists are featured here every Sunday to encourage rest, contemplation, and delight.

This image is provided by Lori Wolfson of Santa Cruz, CA and used with permission. See more from Lori’s here.

Have a restful Sunday.

(www.myorganizedbiz.com) – Today, I’m featuring an interview with Maggie McCauley of A New View – a coaching and organizing company.

Jen: Hi Maggie! So tell us about organizing and spirituality. What does one have to do with the other?

Maggie: Organizing brings order to the physical chaos and spiritual practice brings order to a chaotic mind or calm to our inner life. The ancient Chinese proverb, “A cluttered space equals a cluttered mind” rings true for many people. What we feel on the inside is reflected on the outside and vice versa. When we bring order to our lives, both inner and outer, there is a sense of calmness, peacefulness, and stability that naturally occurs. Even in our hurried, chaotic world we have a deep desire for order; we can find it through being organized and developing a spiritual practice.

Jen: What does it mean to be spiritual?

Maggie: Many people associate spirituality with religion. Although there is a significant element of spirituality in religion, there are no religious elements (dogma, doctrine, structure) in spirituality. The new spirituality is about cultivating a way of life where we come to know ourselves on a deeper level; a level detached from the material.

Some spiritual qualities include, but aren’t limited to: peace of mind, intuition or inner wisdom, gratitude and appreciation, stillness, being in service, being conscious or aware, clearing the mind of clutter (resentment, jealousy, guilt, or worry), guidance from a Higher Source, living with compassion and generosity, and experiencing the ordinary as extraordinary. When we incorporate these qualities into our lives and allow them to guide us, life becomes more enjoyable.

Jen: So, how would you say that organizing fits into this?

Maggie: For most of us, organizing our physical space is far from enjoyable. Often it’s a daunting task and feels like drudgery. Many people can’t create the vision of an organized space and allow being daunted to stop them.

It’s truly overwhelming to be in the middle of stacks of paper, tons of old clothes, piles of books and magazines, unused gadgets, and old, dusty, discarded furniture. It feels like a set up for failure rather than an opening for success. Avoiding the inevitable creates more angst and frustration, though.

Jen: Agreed.

Maggie: When the organizing project is completed the rewards are incredible. Can you recall the last time you cleaned out a closet or the garage or even a simple desk drawer? What did you feel, a sense of spaciousness, lightness, or maybe freedom?

Jen: Yeah – it was huge! It feels so good to be out from under the weight!

Maggie: When we clear away the clutter, bring order to the disorganization and eliminate the heaviness of our accumulated and unwanted stuff, we naturally experience a shift in our physical energy. We can breathe again! In fact, many of my clients tell me that they become more creative and productive in an organized space.

Jen: how do you suggest people move beyond this struggle and into greater creativity?

Maggie: It might be helpful if we think about ourselves as having two sides. When we are overwhelmed we’re in “fear mode” and our thinking or our ego—negative, defeatist voice– is in control and works against us. Our attempts to feel optimistic are squelched. The ego tells us that organizing the space is useless, not that important—right now, or futile because it will return to the same condition in a few weeks, anyway. So we naturally give up and convince ourselves that we’d rather be doing something else, something more fun. Or we plow through it with resentment and frustration.

Where the ego operates from a fear perspective, Spirit operates from a place of love. Spirit is always kind, compassionate, gentle, and serene. There is a wisdom that comes from Spirit that tells us all is well. When we connect with this inner wisdom anything is possible; we are literally limitless. Think about a time you overcame a huge obstacle in your life. How did you do that? You shut the door on ego; you allowed yourself to be guided by Spirit.

Jen: In a way, it sounds like the goal is to merge the inner and the outer – the being and the doing – to become more organized.

Maggie: We know how to “do” so well, but we’re not as familiar with being. When we allow Spirit to guide us through our organizing projects, we view the project from a new perspective. We are conscious of the ego voice and its influence and make choices to shift away from that energy. Problems become challenges and difficult situations become opportunities to learn and grow. We understand and accept our humanness and find ways to stay connected to Spirit. This is spiritual wisdom, the “beingness” of organizing. The result is our organizing projects are accomplished with more ease.

Jen: How do you suggest that people stay connected to Spirit?

Maggie: It takes between twenty one and forty five days of engaging in a new behavior to change an old habit. Practice takes discipline. Be patient with yourself as you’re going through this process. These are some practices you can use right now:

• Meditation—even a few minutes of stillness everyday goes a long way
• Set an intention prior to every project for how you want to be
• Be conscious of your ego thoughts by checking in with how your body feels
• Use prayer to center yourself
• Stay fully present to the moment
• Create a mantra, eg. “I can see peace instead of this.”

Choosing to turn organizing into a spiritual practice is a true gift to us. When we bring order to our lives we gain clarity and spaciousness. We give ourselves the gift of time and energy to do the things we really love to do. We are in charge of our life, not our stuff. Be peaceful, be joyous, be wise; it’s our true essence, after all.

Jen: Thank you so much for this, Maggie. I really enjoy hearing about the spirituality of organizing.

Maggie McCauley, ACC, LICSW is an Organizer Coach—Certified Life Coach & Professional Organizer. Her coaching, organizing and speaking business is A New View. She has a background in clinical social work and has been working with adults promoting balanced, vibrant and healthy lives for over 16 years. She is a member of the International Coach Federation, the National Association of Professional Organizers, and Toastmasters’ International. You can reach her for comment at www.anewviewforyou.com.

Do you find spirituality in your organizing? Is this concept a new one for you? What are your thoghts?

(www.myorganizedbiz.com) – If one person’s said it, a thousand have. I’ve said it myself. Does this sound familiar to you?

“I’m really visual. If I can’t see something, I’ll forget all about it and it won’t get done.”

At its worst, people who are strongly visual end up piling things on their desks because they need to be able to see it all. This creates a cramped, cluttered feeling they dislike. Unfortunately, if life gets busy or there isn’t an effective tracking system, things can get out of control and as lost on the desk as a file cabinet.

Visual people hate file cabinets.

However, vision is the strongest of the 5 senses and it can be used to advantage when organizing. I’d love to hear about the ways you accommodate your visual sense to help you stay on track.

What kinds of files or other separators do you use?
How do you remind yourself to do things?
What tips do you have for other struggling visual organizers?

Chime in with an idea and you could win a $10 gift certificate to Powell’s World of Books (winner chosen at random). If you have pictures of your organizing tips, even better. All of us visual people will be very, very happy.

(www.myorganizedbiz.com) Allison over at Greener Assets is giving away some almost-accidentally-recycled coupons from Office Depot that can save you money. Yes, I know I sound like a commercial, but honest – it’s legit.

Check it out here and enjoy!

(www.myorganizedbiz.com) – I’m talking about spring cleaning this month and it can be tempting to think that if you just get your paper under control, everything will be fine. But if you just deal with paper, you’re missing the point. The reality is that paper requires maintenance – and so do you.

You’ve probably heard the saying that a cluttered desk is the sign of a cluttered mind. I don’t agree with this notion because it’s an inherently unkind judgment. But I do think that physical clutter indicates a cluttered life – too full of unwanted obligations and acquiescence – and not nearly enough soul-satisfying, heart-nourishing activity.

As you learn to filter out the physical belongings in your office, you end up making room for spaciousness and beauty and life. This can serve as a template for filtering out unnecessary “shoulds” and commitments in your life, so that there is enough room enough for you.

If you had a day at home uninterrupted, how might you spend your time? What would contribute more peace and replenishment into your life? What obligations might you need to purge to make this possible?

(www.myorganizedbiz.com) – Original images by talented artists are featured here every Sunday to encourage rest, contemplation, and delight.

This image is provided by Christine J Morgan of Clarkesville, GA and used with permission. See more of her gorgeous collages at Christine site.

Have a restful Sunday.