Creatively Organized Spaces for Thriving Artist & Entrepreneurs

Being Fearless means asking for help

January 31, 2018 by Heather Filed Under: Planning & Goals, Productivity, Wellness & Mindset 1 Comment

You might be wondering how being fearless means asking for help. Since selecting my WOTY, Fearless I have begun to understand that being fearless is about surrendering. It’s about taking the leap, allowing the free fall and trusting the outcome.

In examining what my deepest fears are, I understand that many of us are striving to control the outcome of almost everything in my life. After all, I’m a professional organizer, which means perhaps I am predisposed to trying to control the outcome of not just my circumstances but my clients! Well, that’s kind of true on the surface but if we began to talk more about why people need to be more organized, there are many reasons.

Being more organized can lead us to feeling more free, not more controlled. Click To Tweet

But we often think that in asking for help we are showing weakness, we think we should be able to EVERYTHING ourselves…or some of us are taught to think this way.

Say it ain’t so! I promise, it isn’t. That is old programed mindset that we can all choose to free ourselves from.

When I began to investigate what I can do to be more fearless, I realized it meant I need to be more willing to ask for help. I began to see that if I really wanted to do all the things I dream of it would require taking some big leaps of faith!

Being fearless means asking for help. Deep rooted in the old lack-mindset programing is the idea that I will not be supported, that I will fail, that asking for help is weak.

That’s a big burden to place upon ourselves! That is part what fires me up to help others find systems and solutions for their support! As incredible as it is to be strong, independent women (or men), it’s also totally necessary to ask for help in order to grow personally and professionally. Living in fear means we are limiting our growth, freedom, creativity, health and future.

So absolutely YES, being fearless means asking for help! My clients model that for me on a daily basis.

Since I have spent time investigating my mindset of fearlessness, I have discovered where I feel panicked and afraid to asking for help. Since much of that is related to $$ Mindset, I have limited the kind of help I’ve been willing to ask for. I’ve been afraid to make a commitment to hiring help because I’ve been afraid that the abundance will stop and at some point I may not be able to afford to have the help. In my mind, I LOST the game before it began! That is not my truth, that is no way to live and I am way too curious and adventurous to let that old mindset (ego) hold me back!

Since December I’ve been searching for, interviewing and hiring several helpful people who can make my life and my business run more smoothly. I am 45 years old and have never hired a housekeeper…that was the second person on my list and I was practically walking on CLOUDS when I found the right person and agreed to have them come help in my home two times a month.

I CANNOT WAIT to hand over $$ to them for this kind of help! That is how Fearless should feel!

Do you struggle to ask for help? What holds you back and what makes you feel fearless? I’d love if you share in the comments below or on Facebook here.

Wrangling Donation Resources

January 25, 2018 by Heather Filed Under: Organize, Organizing Projects, Tips & Resources, Uncategorized Leave a Comment

Wrangling donation resources can feel like a huge hassle. Getting organized isn’t just about purging but it certainly helps to motivate us when we know the stuff we no longer need is going someplace it is needed and will be loved.

For some people getting stuff out of the house as soon as a decision is made to part with it is essential (lest you dive back into your own give away bin to take stuff back out!).Have a plan for when and where you want to haul your donations before you begin so they don’t sit around your home or car, tempting you to keep things.

So that you don’t fall into that trap I want to share some of my favorite convenient resources for donations. Some of these are local to the region I live and work in, some are national (with local or virtual options).

Choosing who to donate to…

This can be a challenge for some people, others really don’t care as long as it’s GONE! Some considerations to keep in mind when donating to any non-profit.

Will my donation end up in the hands of someone who can actually use it?
How much $ goes directly to the charity versus overhead/operations?
What are the causes I feel passionate about (pets, homeless, children, housing etc)?

With the above in mind here are some Donation resources for you to consider, the important thing is to make a connection between your passions and those in need. Think creatively and determine where your goods will do the most GOOD!

National: Donation Town, Salvation Army, Goodwill, Fema and Purple Heart

Pet Causes: ASPCA Local Shelters, Pet Consignments like Animal Helpers ReTail here in Charleston (proceeds split between two shelters)

Other Special Causes: Local Homeless Shelters like 180 Place here in Charleston, Schools and Teachers Supply Closet in Charleston (specific teachers or counties offer school drives), Libraries & their book sales, Orphanages like Low Country Orphan Relief here in Charleston, various Churches, Missions and other community or spiritual centers.

When possible, take a picture and list “In Kind” items being donated if you would like to write them off for tax purposes. It’s important to include your full name and contact info, the date and a clear description of each item and the condition they are in. More information about donation receipts can be found here.

It is ultimately up to the donor (you) to assign a dollar value to your donation.

You can determine basic values for clothing and household items using this simple Donation Calculator spreadsheet, or there are programs that will help you do this and include the deductions in your annual tax filing.

When you are ready to donate items, where are your favorite places to go? Do a little homework for national organizations at Charity Navigator so that you can be sure your efforts are gong directly where you hope!

Piles of Paper and no system in sight?

January 16, 2018 by Heather Filed Under: Organize, Organizing Projects, Paper management, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources, Uncategorized Leave a Comment

Does paperwork pile up around you at home and in the office? Piles of Paper everywhere and no system in sight…unopened mail, junk mail littering all your horizontal surfaces. There can be so many reasons that paperwork piles up but getting through your paper piles can be either overwhelming or totally rewarding! Today I share the first easy step you can take to Purge the Paper Piles in your home or office.

Piles of Paper can feel beyond our control but it doesn’t have to be this way!

A lot of organizers recommend gathering everything together first, but we are going to do this a little differently. Before you gather all the Piles of Paperwork it can be helpful to identify why and how you got to your current state of overwhelm. I don’t have all those answers for your situation but I can make some educated guesses based upon my observations with clients, friends and family.

A “Trigger Event”-such as an injury, death, move or birth put you off course. This event caused you to go totally off track and loose your system or maintenance of it.
Maybe you had a system started, but that system may not have been a good fit for you, not everyone works well with the same system.
You never learned how to create or maintain a paperwork system, it’s certainly not taught in school (in most cases)!

We all have our breaking points and for some of us there are more urgent things in life than dealing with a paper piles that seem so unimportant! We push them aside, figure we will have time later and we make a lot of excuses for not getting around to it, day after day, week after week and sometimes for years. When you get to this point, it’s certainly easy to understand why we are overwhelmed and don’t where to begin.

When we fall behind we tend to ignore what is present because we are worried about what is past.

What do I mean? Instead of feeling like you need to go back through everything in the past to get started, start where you are. In my experience if you lost every single piece of paper in your house in a fire or other tragedy, there is very little paperwork that can’t be replaced. I’m not saying it’s something you want to happen just that so much of what we need to keep can be replaced with a few phone calls and emails.

First (before gathering everything in your home/office), sit down and open only your most current paper pile of mail, receipts etc (today or this week’s). Think about what you have coming in. What categories do they fit in? Here are some general and sub categories.

Household-Utilities, finances, insurance etc
Medical-You & your family members
Vehicles-loans, DMV/MVA info, insurance
Financial-Banking, credit cards, investments, taxes
Professional-continuing education, employment, resume etc

Next, list of YOUR categories, don’t think about what you had in the past or what you “think you should have”…just start simple. As you go through what you have, consider going paperless with utilities and bank statements or anything you can easily access online. You may still need one general category for all utilities (to keep track of account numbers etc). By simplifying your incoming mail and what needs to be filed you will create a system that’s easier to maintain.

Simple systems work best, over-organized systems are cumbersome to maintain.

Before you get into purging past piles of paperwork, create a “Staging” area for this project and gather your supplies:

A file box or two depending on how much you have. I prefer the any that hold hanging folders and still close, like these. Bankers boxes will work, just don’t use the hanging files.*
File folders-new or used, different colors or one color…just don’t run out and buy them unless you need to.
Hanging folders are optional but they do make the job easier (used is fine).
Sticky notes for labeling categories, these will be temporary
Pens or pencils (pencils for starting, sharpies or labels for permanent labels)
Labels or a Label maker if you have one

The next step, pick up and sort through a pile to see how it fits into this new simple system. Depending on how long this first step took, you can estimate how much time you will need to sort and purge all your Paper Piles! If you don’t have a good system for your mail when it comes in the house, check out this post on Creating a Practical Command Center.

*Some people may prefer a flat filing system like the drawers below or binders, but for the purpose of purging I will focus on file boxes of some sort.

What we learned In the Studio in 2017

January 4, 2018 by Heather Filed Under: Art, Art & Design, In the Studio, Inspiration & Education, Organize, Textiles & Pattern, Tips & Resources 1 Comment

I always love to recap and share what we learned In the Studio from all the wonderful artists interviewed. Here’s a short highlight and some of my favorite tips, insights and ideas.

We began the year with Chambers Austelle in her small home based studio. She shared a wonderful piece from her collection of vintage family heirlooms, below. Collections can inspire us or become overwhelming, so just keep in mind how surrounding yourself and your work space with collections influences your work.

Cambers also offers the following storage and organizing tips:

I use a filing cabinet, old dental cart, and jars in which I store my materials, supplies, and tools. I use Apple Calendar, a blank notebook, and scrap pieces of paper to organize my schedule. I use envelopes, folders, and binders to organize the business side of my work (see below).

We RE-visited quilt artist Sam Hunter in a newly created home studio. Sam converted her Living Room/Dining Room space into her studio, who says you need to use space conventionally! She has maximized her space by adding a lot of storage drawers and going vertical. Sam offer’s the following great tips:

In this studio, the things around the edges don’t move, but everything in the middle can shift. This allows me to manage different sized of projects and different numbers of people.

I also pay attention if I always look in a specific place for something… If I do that a couple of times and it’s not there then perhaps that’s where I should move it.

In local Painter Michael Hayes studio (converted garage) we got to see a lot of work in a very tight spot!

Michael’s great tip is he keeps a running list …of materials that he need as he runs out of them so that he can run down to the local Artist & Craftsmen and knows what he need to get (rather than getting distracted and buying impulse items:).

Next we visited the Studio of Lisa Shimko, which was fun because her whole home feels kind of like her studio!

Since Lisa’s home overlaps with her studio I love how she’s incorporated her art collection and supplies. She offers this tip:

My decor is definitely mix and match. Mainly books, artwork by others and gifted or found objects. Overall move stuff around to have my sense of homey feeling without feeling cluttered (might look cluttered to others though).

It was a pleasure to take a trip to Richmond, VA to visit the studio of fiber artist and weaver, Andrea Donnelly.

Her studio is rather large, in an old industrial building with other artists and includes 3 rooms for wet (dyeing) and dry (weaving and finishing) process.

Andrea keeps her space clutter free with the following tip:

I try to keep from having too much “extra” stuff around in the first place, buying what I use and using what I have. I do keep an inventory of my basic materials, but those are continually cycled through and replaced by new things, so clutter doesn’t really build up.

Andrea also shares:

I would say that as a visual artist my organizational processes and systems are intuitive, tactile, and informed by my need for beauty. So my shelves are open for things I use a lot, and those things are organized in a way I find aesthetically pleasing. This works great for pretty things like cloth, my weaving tools, and cones of thread. Things that are more utilitarian, like tape and paper, pliers, hammers, etc, are organized in nice chests and toolboxes within easy reach.

Finally I stopped to visit the studio of Susan Irish, also here in Charleston, who has a bright, functional and spacious studio she converted over the garage in her home.

Susan use to be challenged by finding things…

This was once the bane of my studio practice and greatly cut into the inspirational flow. So now I try to have all that stuff near me, semi organized and contained but still visible so that I feel like it is there waiting to be incorporated.

I adore that she has incorporated many found objects into both her storage and art. And if it’s metal, think Magnetic!

What were some of your favorite tips or lessons from the artist we visited this year? I’d love to hear from you with your own suggestions and tips for studio organizing and storage as well! Happy creating in 2018, I’ll return soon with new In the Studio interviews!

WOTY 2018 Fearless

January 1, 2018 by Heather Filed Under: Productivity, Wellness & Mindset 2 Comments

You might be reading this title and thinking what the heck does WOTY 2018 Fearless even mean? I’ll back up a minute and share more about the idea of the Word of the Year (or WOTY)…I began this practice years ago and over the last year I have embraced Acceptance.

This past year has taught me a lot about what it means to find self acceptance. I’ve come to terms with some of my deepest wounds, released some of my self judgement and worked to become more accepting of myself and others. Each year as I select a word (or a word selects me) I choose to embark on a process of discovery about how that word affects me, my relationships, my business, my mindset and more. This year I selected my word on my birthday (November 1) and was resoundingly reassured of this choice through the repeated symbol of the Shark. I found a very large Shark’s tooth on the beach while taking a walk on my birthday and shark has continued to show up in mysterious ways since then…including in an Animal Oracle reading I did with spirit animal cards (also on my birthday:).

Here are some of the my past WOTY’s over the years…you can read more about each year’s word here. I’ve been asked how I come up with the words I select, it’s a process of discovery and it’s become more intuitive over the years. Some people also use different terms, like One Little Word or Core Desired Feelings. As each word becomes a part of my life for a year, I don’t just leave them behind at the end of the year. I continue to deepen my relationship with each feeling and word over time even after the year with that word has ended. Each word I select becomes like a member of my family!

I’ve found more Clarity (2011)-the year I redirected my career and became an organizer.
I’ve learned to Soar (2012), as we embarked on moving to a new city and leaving the past (‘Sore’ness) behind.
I’ve chosen to see myself as Radiant (2013), as I began to show up and be more visible in my community and my business.
I’ve become more Playful (2014), despite challenges and obstacles we can always find fun:)
I’ve discovered I always have a Choice (2015), especially in how I respond and react to life’s circumstances.
I’ve found Harmony (2016) in the true sense of knowing that sometimes it comes with dissonance.
I’m more Accepting (2017) of myself, my mistakes, my vast gifts-which I am learning to embrace and I am learning to be more accepting of others!

In 2018, the word I am embracing and hoping to embody in a more dynamic way is Fearless! To help me embrace a better understanding of fearlessness I used the Thinkmap tool (Visual Thesaurus)…so in becoming fearless I will be Audacious, Brave, Dauntless, Hardy, Intrepid, Unfearing and Unafraid (at times)! I would add that there must be a healthy sense of Adventure, a deep sense of Trust or Faith that all will turn out as it should and an ability to embrace Change.

Each Year when I select a word, or the word selects me! I discover a deeper understanding of that word in my life in ways I could not have imagined! For example, when I choose the word Soar, little did I know I would also be finding a deeper understanding of the same word, spelled quite differently with a totally different meaning. I learned to Soar about the Soreness of loosing beloved pets! I have had to find acceptance of more this year than I could ever have anticipated, with our current political environment there are so many people with ideas other than our own that we MUST learn to accept (or become further divided).

So each year as I carefully ponder what my word will be, there is a sense of excitement and a bit of trepedation…but this year I’m taking a big LEAP of faith and choosing to be (come) more Fearless than ever! Will I jump out of planes, walk on hot coals, learn to surf, speak in front of vast crowds, get a tatoo or eat strange foods? Who knows, you’ll just have to follow along to discover along with me how to become more fearless! No doubt I will still have many fears at then end of 2018 but it’s about the journey of discovery and what I learn about myself along the way…

Do you choose a word for the year? If not, do you have another practice that is part of your New Year ritual?

PS…I don’t do resolutions, do you?

Life had other plans for the end of 2017…

December 29, 2017 by Heather Filed Under: Uncategorized Leave a Comment

Well folks, here we are at the tail end of the year! I had planned to be in full on vacation mode but life had other plans for me this week. It’s been a week of vacation and technology fail:( I had big plans for how I was going to wrap up 2017, with lots of planning, blog writing, relaxation etc…

I had a big technology fail…ughh! It could have been worse but it’s frustrating as you can imagine. I’ve blogged about different planner systems in the past and have recently brought on an assistant so I knew that my old paper planner system would no longer work for a team. I embraced (maybe a bit reluctantly?) a new system but this week it failed me and I thought this might be an opportunity to share how this makes me feel.

I often ask clients to try to adopt a new system and it can be hard, annoying, frustrating-EXASPERATING! There are moments where we feel we are getting the hang of something new and BOOM, something happens and we just want to go back to that sweet spot of how it use to be.

Once we embrace the growth process there is no going back, there’s only learning, improving and moving forward in a new direction.

This is what I discovered when my new system failed. I learned that I made a simple mistake that can be avoided next time. I learned that I have to plan for the unexpected, because it always happens! When this happens at an otherwise stressful time of life it can be doubly challenging. When life throws you a curveball, how do you respond?

As I sat here writing this post I got an email from a friend about a big change that she didn’t expect. I witnessed how she chose to respond, in transparency, in gratitued and in grace. I’m certain she has had moments of anger, frustration, fear, sadness and more but…

When we are forced or fearless enough to leap, sometimes we land in places greater than we ever expected!

I choose to respond by putting people above my frustrations, doing what I could then walking away and enjoying company. I knew I would eventually piece what I needed back together, despite the embarrassment (because, yes…it involved my client scheduling!!). I choose to respond as much as possible with grace and calm. Don’t get me wrong, I had my moment of freak out but I kept it to myself, until now…I’m bearing my soul here, sharing that even Organizers are far from perfect, we need help at times and we all make mistakes, especially as we are growing!

As my business grows I’m sure, in fact I HOPE I’ll make many more mistakes! The most important lesson is how I choose to respond, not what happened or how I can avoid or fix it next time.

Can you share a time where learning something new created frustration, fear or a sense of failure as you worked through the growing pains of change?

The Greatest Gift of the Season

December 23, 2017 by Heather Filed Under: Art & Design, Inspiration & Education, Photography, Wellness & Mindset 2 Comments

Whether you have finished all your gift shopping or not I want to take a moment to recognize the greatest gift of the season.

Self acceptance is the greatest gift of the season and any season!

Wherever we are, whatever we have accomplished, the changes we have made, the relationships we have worked to improve, or let go of…the projects we have started, the lesson’s we have learned…THESE are our greatest gifts!

I struggle with self acceptance, with perfectionism, with not feeling I’ve done enough, am good enough etc. For just the next few minutes, hours, days or weeks can you give yourself the Greatest Gift of Self Acceptance?

I hope this little reminder will encourage you to take a moment or more to pause, reflect and accept yourself and all your wonderful gifts, with Gratitude for all you do and who you are!

Wishing you a peaceful holiday, whether you celebrate the darkness of solstice, the Advent and Christmas season, Hanukkah or just a taking quite time to reflect. Celebrate your greatest gifts, celebrate the greatest gifts of those you love.

I leave you with these images of the beautiful Brookgr een Gardens, 2017 Night of A Thousand Candles…enjoy the greatest magic of self acceptance!

Happy Holidays with deep appreciation to you for who you are!

Halt for JOY

December 16, 2017 by Heather Filed Under: Productivity, Wellness & Mindset 2 Comments

Oh boy am I in need of a screeching halt in the midst of all this holiday merriment and festivities! I confess that I’ve been burning the candle at both ends, not able to do much planning, goal setting, blogging, not taking my own advice so far this season. Mostly this is because my business is in a growth stage and that is so WONDERFUL!

But, when I’ve said I’m going to blog, I don’t want to let anyone down by not blogging, I want the gifts I give to be thoughtful, I want to say YES to every invitation, you get it right?

Honestly though in the midst of frenzy, last week I spent an entire day working with a coach, business mentor, public speaker, former professional organizer, lawyer and writer on planning and understanding where my business is now and where I want to be headed. Lisa Montanaro really helped put things in perspective for me and though I am feeling like the ever busy bee with no end in sight I also know I have a PLAN, I know where I am and I know where I want to go and I’ve begun to implement changes to reach that goal. Stopping right in the middle of my busy business activities was exactly what I needed to bring the JOY back into my business, so I don’t burn out, so I remember why I’m working so hard!

Have you ever experienced that feeling of shift, that leveling up (my coach calls it Upleveling) that happens when you spend time getting clear about what you want?

When you make a commitment to something, things just fall into place!

One of the most important principles that she helped me see in a different way, that I use regularly with my clients and was able to apply to my business in a new way is the Pareto Principle or the 80/20 rule…When we can let go of the “bottom” 20% of anything we create space for something new and better to move into that void. It’s just amazing to witness how this can happen so quickly.

This principle can be applied in so many ways, to our time management techniques…

Who and how are you spending your time? Are the people and tasks you are spending time with the most valuable?
What are you filling your space with (home/business/art studio or whatever!? Surround yourself with only the BEST!
What are you spending your $$$ on?

There are so many ways you can apply the Pareto Principle in daily life, in goal setting, time management and more.

Today, I decided to bring life to a screeching halt for JOY.

By letting go of a few things, like perfection, disappointing others, a rigorous self imposed blog schedule…to create space for enJOYment in the season.

What do you need to let go of at this time of year so that you can have more JOY in the season?

Year-Ahead Planning Resources

December 5, 2017 by Heather Filed Under: Organize, Paper management, Tips & Resources, Uncategorized 2 Comments

Each December I schedule time in for end-of- year review and year-ahead planning in the last weeks of the year. Now that I have a business, this time is even more vitally important to me.

Where I’m headed is a direct result of the ideas, goals, intentions and planning I create space for in my life.

I have come to love a few tools that I use over and over routinely and have included them here. I’ve also come across some new tools! Planning begins for me by selecting a planner. I went back to paper a few years ago and have used quite a few planners over the years, including the Franklin Covey system, Filofax, Danielle La Port and more!

With a desire to keep it simple but not go all out Bullet Journal, I use a Moleskin planner and customize it with categories and intentions, goals, tasks and events on a daily/weekly basis. I already have a regular habit of Journaling so I get a lot of ideas out and on paper during that process and can move more concrete ideas to my planner. This works for me, I’m always re-evaluating and making small adjustments but overall, I’m happy with this and can easily go back through my year to see my accomplishments. If you’re still searching for some great planning tools, the first few below are tools I’ve personally used and love! The last couple are new additions this year but I deeply trust the sources and can therefore recommend them both with full confidence you will find them helpful!

Susannah Conway guides us to reflect on your year in Photo’s (on Instagram) with December daily prompts—->>>Here and she has a beautiful tool called “Unravel your year”
The word of the year is a process that both Christine Kane and Susannah Conway (as well as others) share tools for discovering. I’ll be revealing mine soon, but 2016 has been guided by Harmony. I’ve had to learn to find harmony in all the disharmony this year!
Ali Edwards has some beautiful tools for her One Little Word discovery and a year-long creative exploration you can join as well. She’s one of the first people I discovered the word of the year with!
Check out this free toolkit from Do What You Love
Danielle LaPort’s Desire Map Planner just keeps getting more and more gorgeous—->>>Here Want a taste? Download the free Soulful Habit Tracker Her planner is sold out but she’s got other great tools and inspiration for planning, I’m a long time reader and fan of Danielle’s!
Vision boards! This is such a fun project/tool for creating a visionary map of what you want to create in your new year. It’s a practice I began about 5 years ago and have continued with almost every year! I’m honored to be teaching other organizers how to use this creative tool in their work with clients at our national NAPO retreat in April. To learn more about my process and Sign up for my newsletter to learn about my upcoming classes please join my newsletter. My first 2018 Vision board class will be at Redux on February 3rd…more details to follow soon but you can always ask Santa for a gift certificate to a class!

How do you plan for the year ahead and reflect on your accomplishments? I’d love to hear your favorite tools and routines in the comments below! I know there are a lot of other options out there but I’m only sharing what I know, trust and have seen results from:) Happy, almost, 2017!

In The Studio with Susan Irish-Part II

November 30, 2017 by Heather Filed Under: Art, Art & Design, In the Studio, Organize, Tips & Resources Leave a Comment

In today’s artist interview & sneak peek we are back with the second half of our visit In The Studio with Susan Irish. Susan is a Charleston SC artist, gallery owner of Fabulon and former teacher. I mention this because she still teaches and has the heart of a teacher! I’m so grateful for the artists who invite us to visit their studio! We can learn so much from each of these visits. Susan is organized in spite of her many medium and interest in using found objects, these photos are not styled so this is typical of what her studio space looks like on an average day.