Sentimentality has not been my friend. I like to keep mementos reminding me of good times, happy things, and people I love. But when you’re so busy storing these items that you don’t actively display and enjoy them, you’re not getting any benefit, are you? I know I’m not.

So we’re learning to be a bit more ruthless. Donating books we’ll never read again (and being more discerning when we buy new ones), throwing out receipts and bits of paper that we no longer need.

There are two big lessons we need to learn and stick to:

1) Once you’ve started decluttering, don’t allow new clutter to take its place. Once you get that desktop or kitchen counter or dining room table nice and clear, keep it that way. Look for ways to embrace the clutter-free lifestyle and try to keep up – don’t let it gradually clutter back up. Be vigilant!

2) Fighting clutter is a continual process. Just one cleaning session will not be enough. Once you get an area clear, you must work to keep it that way. It will be much easier to maintain if you try hard not to let it get cluttered again. It’s not as hard as it sounds, as long as you don’t allow yourself to be lazy.

We’re working on our living room right now. Because our place is so small, we have my desk in the living room. It’ll be moving to the dining room as soon as we can get things cleared out in there. We have to do a section at a time.

I’m hoping that posting about these things will help us keep going, and keep us more accountable on doing what we planned. Does writing about it help keep you accountable? Or do you feel embarrassed by your projects and would rather just talk about them when they’re finished?

[image: stock.xchng]

It takes a day or two to get back into the swing after travel. I have to catch up on email, regular mail, and all the other paperwork that running a household and business entails. And I’ll need to unpack, process my receipts, and follow up with all of the people I met.

You see, I’m the paperwork person – I handle the tedious tasks that a household requires, since I have more of an affinity for it than my husband does. So after traveling I have to catch up on a lot of things.

I need to pick up where I left off with projects, things that I couldn’t attend to when I was gone. And that means sitting down for a few minutes and remembering where I was the last time. Switching gears is sometimes where we lose a lot of traction. Where did I leave off…? It can be even harder when you’re a mom because you have so much more to keep track of.

Additionally, there’s laundry for me and the baby (since he’s too small to stay home, he goes with me). Somehow I have to squeeze all of this in around his schedule (usually naps).

I tend to feel out of sorts for a bit after I get home, but that could just be me. I don’t do a ton of traveling and I rely heavily on routine to keep myself organized. And sane. So something that’s out of the ordinary can really throw me for a loop. It takes a day or two to settle back into a normal routine. (As normal as a routine can be with a baby.)

Does it seem to take a bit of effort to get back on track after you’ve been traveling? Or do you jump right back in with little down time? Is it different when you travel by yourself, compared to when the whole family goes?

Image: morgueFile

Travel throws off my organizing routines, too. Mail lies unopened. Emails can go unanswered (spotty internet access, and all that jazz).

But the main thing that gets me is things aren’t in their ‘place’. I like to put items in the same spot each time. It helps my poor memory. If I move things around too much I forget where they are supposed to be. When you can’t put your hands on something, you waste time looking, right?

(And yes, this is especially hard with children around – do they ever put things back where they got them?)

Happens to me a lot in hotels. Where’d I put that notebook? What happened to that report – it was right here!

Most hotels have the same type of setup, so it’s not too hard to work up a ritual/routine for keeping yourself organized during travel. I try to put my things in similar places each time, so it feels like some bit of normalcy.

You can use the same ideas when you’re traveling for a family vacation instead of work. If you put everything in the same place each time you’ll be less likely to leave something behind in the hotel. Because if you forget Jimmy’s favorite stuffed animal, you won’t hear the end of it until you go back and look, right?

What’s your favorite way to stay organized when you’re on the road?

Image: morguefile

Take my desk, for instance. Right now it has the week’s mail in a pile, waiting for me to sort it. In addition, my receipts and other filing are sitting there, too. But when I’m having a bad go of it, the last thing I want to do is tackle that pile. Or do my receipt filing, or log my expenses. For some people, mundane tasks help them get their mind off of things. I really should try to look at it that way instead of “one more thing” to add to my already long to-do list.

You have to give yourself a little bit of leeway sometimes. You don’t want to always slack off, but you can’t be “on” all the time either. When you are overwhelmed, give yourself permission to just maintain things “as is.” Try not to let the chaos grow and do what you have to do to get back on track.

So I have some things to deal with before I feel I can reorganize. Rather than berate myself for what I’m not getting done, I’m going to let it be. And when I get my bearings again, I’ll get back on track.

When you feel overwhelmed, do let all of your progress go to waste, or do you try to maintain things until you can get back on track? Do mundane tasks help get your mind off of your shortcomings, or are they too much for you?

Image: Rob! (cc)