 It’s that time of the year when we start taking long weekend trips and week-long vacations. And that means packing for the trip. A friend recently asked for tips on how to compactly pack for a 10-day trip so she isn’t lugging unnecessary baggage and can enjoy her travels more. She couldn’t have come to a better source since my husband and I (well, mostly just me) engage in competitive packing to see which of us can pack for a trip in the smallest amount of space. Spoiler: I almost always win. The key to organizing everything you need begins with your mindset, and the degree to which you can be compact is a function of how long you’ll be gone and what you’ll be doing while you’re on R&R. Is this a rustic, backwoods hiking trip or an urban, see-the-sights get-away? If you are committed to the idea of seriously packing light, you need to shift your mindset to minimizing wardrobe changes and maximizing coordinating pieces of clothing. That means you will be either doing laundry in your bathroom sink (pack lightweight items that are quick drying and bring a compact clothesline) or wearing some pieces more than once. Then, Step 1: Decide whether you will be using a full-size suitcase, carry-on and/or backpack. Step 2: Pick your color palette – I typically choose navy or black. On casual trips, I select one complete outfit for going out to dinner at a nice restaurant, perhaps with a scarf or jewelry to accessorize differently. Then I consider which pair of shoes I will pack and which pair I will wear – limiting yourself to 2 pair of shoes is important because they are so bulky that they take up a lot of available packing space. Three is the absolute max. Step 3: Plan out your wardrobe with one outfit for each day you’ll be gone. Be mindful to pack things you can layer to be ready for any kind of weather. Once you’ve done that, go back and eliminate one-third to one-half of what you’ve laid out. Keep in mind, the less you pack, the less you’ll be lugging around airports, hotels, and cabs. (And the more you can buy clothing as souvenirs!) When you can carry all your own baggage, you greatly minimize the possibility that it will be lost in transit! This rule goes for everyone on the trip – children should be able to manage all their own belongings, too, by the time they’re age 5. Step 4: I recommend packing cubes of various sizes. I roll my primary clothes tightly (smooth them out first so they don’t wrinkle) and place them into a packing cube, then place another layer on top. It might look full but think again. Your socks, underwear, and pajamas can be rolled up and tucked along the side of folded clothes or laid flat over rolled clothes to pack your cube(s) tightly. Your toiletries should all go in one smaller cube, so you can just grab it all in one fell swoop when you need it. Don’t overpack toiletries. It won’t ruin your vacation to use hotel shampoo and body wash, but it will save you space and weight in your baggage. Step 5: When you place items in your backpack or suitcase, start with shoes and other bulky items (curling/straightening irons for hair; every hotel should have a hair dryer), then layer in your cubes. If you’re using a backpack, separate the larger cubes into the front and back compartments. If you have a jewelry case or bag, it can easily fit inside a shoe or in a packing cube. If you’re bringing along a jacket, fold it into a rectangle the width of your baggage, then roll it up and tuck it in along the side before you zip up. Outside zipper pockets are good for travel journals, headphones and charging cords. If you’re competitive, then your next step is to line up everyone’s baggage and declare who has won the contest to pack the lightest! If you’re not into that kind of family fun, then just pick up your lighter load, and focus on having a wonderful vacation! FOLDING GUIDES from Spark Joy by Marie Kondo
STEP-BY-STEP PACKING GUIDE
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 Yesterday I began watching the HBO Max special Atlas of the Heart with psychologist Brene’ Brown. She started out by reporting that most people can only accurately identify three emotions: happy, angry, and pissed off. Most of us don’t have a wide vocabulary when it comes to describing feelings. But two that do come up often are stress and anxiety, and they start as physical feelings long before we put a name to them. By the time we do, their effects can be overwhelming.
What if I told you that in as little as half an hour, you could both reduce stress and anxiety, and feel a sense of accomplishment in your life. Would your mental health be worth the 30-minute time investment? Sometimes we need a win, no matter how small it is, to get our mojo flowing once again. Next time you’re in a funk, take a little time to restore your balance with a small organizing project. No matter if you’re at work or at home, there’s always something that needs to be organized: the silverware drawer, the office supplies cabinet, your desk and files, the space under the kitchen sink. Any small space will do for these purposes – pick something that corresponds to the amount of time you have available. Then, start by emptying out everything from under the sink or in your office drawers and on the desktop. Put all that stuff on a table or counter and sort through the things that are useful, valuable, and bring a smile to your face. Discard unused, expired, and irrelevant things. Clean off the surfaces before you bring back the keepers, and you’ll feel energized once again. I recently cleaned my desk, which had become buried in business planning materials, research, books, journals, containers of pens and pencils, and tchotchkes. I off-loaded everything and started sorting. I had 8 legal pads going at once (and not nearly as many projects). I ended up with an 8” pile of magazines and papers for recycling, and a smaller stack for shredding. I reshelved the books and journals I no longer needed and found one small vertical magazine-type holder for my current projects. Then, I found one small container for the pens, pencil and ruler that I use daily. The rest of the containers went into a nearby rolling cart that holds office supplies, including some that were on my shelves. The drawers were full of detritus – old business cards, too many sticky notes, erasers, electronics cords, and USB drives. Most of that went, too. The only thing left was the small items that I had accumulated, a couple gifts, plants, photos, and a daylight lamp. I moved most of them to the display shelves. I was left with one photo and the lamp. When I reappointed my desk after all that cleaning, I felt relaxed, clear minded and was able to focus on my tasks so much more easily. The only things on my desk now are the magazine holder, my laptop, a container for writing utensils, one book and one journal, and my daylight lamp. It was 30 of the most productive minutes of my day and it really gave me energy! Try it when you need a quick win, too! I'd love to hear about your quick wins - post in the comments if you like! Tidy with a purpose, Mrg Mrg Simon is a South Dakota lawyer, Professional Organizer and KonMari® Certified Consultant.  I washed the outside of our windows last weekend, and it feels great! The grime of winter is gone, and the cleaning went quickly this year, thanks to the right tools. (I use a 14” washer, 14” squeegee, micro cleaning cloths in multiple colors, dishwashing soap, and a sturdy step stool). My only regret is that it won’t last long – rain is predicted tomorrow!
When it comes to cleaning away the dirt, that’s an endless household chore: dust and grime will always accumulate. But when it comes to decluttering and storing your belongings, once is good enough if you embrace the right approach! So if you want a home or office that is organized for good, try the KonMari Method® created by Marie Kondo. Kondo says, “Tidying is a powerful tool, but it’s not the destination. The true goal of tidying is to clear away clutter so you can live the life you want. When you put your house in order using the KonMari Method,® you have no choice but to listen to your inner voice – because the question of what you want to own is actually the question of how you want to live your life. When you reassess your belongings and organize your home, you set the stage for a huge transformation. This is the magic of tidying!” If you’re wondering what your mother and Marie Kondo have in common, it’s that they both understand the power of a clean space in reducing stress, maintaining positive relationships, and improving overall well-being. A key part of the KonMari Method is that when we gather everything we own in one place (category by category), it forces us to engage with each item personally. It forces us to acknowledge the emotional connection we have with so many things and makes us reflect on what truly supports our vision for our own future. “Kondo's method is so much more than tossing out useless clutter. It's about facing who you once were in the reflection of who you are today. ‘While it appears that the process is about stuff, it’s not,’ explains [author Jessica] Lahey. ‘Stripping away everything that detracts and distracts us from ourselves and our family is an incredibly freeing and exhilarating experience,’" according to the article “Why Marie Kondo’s Decluttering Method Is So Life-Changing, According to Experts,” in Everyday Health. By tidying all at once (relatively speaking), finding the things that bring you joy, letting go of those that don’t, and finding a home for your cherished belongings, you, too can experience this “magic.” And the best part is that it lasts. When everything has a home, clutter doesn’t accumulate. You only have to return items to their home after you’re done to support your ideal lifestyle. I’m living proof and so are millions of happy people who have been freed of clutter and are now living the vision for their desired future. Happy tidying! Mrg Simon  March 8 is National Organize Your Home Office Day – yes, it’s really a thing! After the past two years, more and more of us have been working at home and using our home as office space, and it’s time to tidy up. Regardless of whether you’re bringing work home from the office or your commute is just to the dining room table, it’s important to set boundaries between work and personal life. It can be freeing to work from home and keeping your workspace tidy can be a relief when you start every day.
1. Out of Sight, Out of Mind. If you don’t have the space for a home office in a separate room, set aside a designated area for working and work in that spot as much as possible. At the end of the day, put away everything. Clear off the dining room table, put your files in a tidy-looking box or basket, and your laptop out of sight. This has the added benefit of helping you mentally shift away from the stress of work and toward your family and personal time. 2. Books and 3-Ring Binders. Your office should be home to books that support your work and your future and you should keep the number to a minimum. That collection of time management books or continuing education materials? Choose only those that are of use to you for the future. Continuing ed stuff gets dated very fast and should be tossed at regular intervals. Your books and binders should be a collection of your hall of fame books that fit your future work, and the rest should be donated or tossed. 3. Manage Paper Ruthlessly. Your goal should be to have no paper in your office. None. You do that by signing up for electronic banking, electronic payment systems for utilities and electronic notices for everything possible. Get rid of any paper that you can find online – toss those product manuals now! The only papers you should keep are pending items – things you will take care of in the next week or two. Note: a) Keep documents that you have a legal or business obligation to keep in paper form, and b) shred any papers with personal or account information on them. 4. Find the Joy. We all collect little things and big things that reflect our personality, gifts from colleagues, plaques, and awards. Home offices can also become the dumping ground for lots of things we don’t know what to do with, such as outdated decor, broken electronics, cords of every sort; the list can seem endless. Gather all of those items into one place on your desk and ask yourself which of these actually bring you joy, lift you up, and make your office space a place where you want to be! Don’t keep things out of obligation; keep only those that remind you of why you do your work in the first place. Your organized home office is within reach. Happy tidying! Mrg Simon (Mrg rhymes with berg) is a Professional Organizer and KonMari® Certified Consultant. She can be reached at Mrg.Simon@Designed2Stick.com or (605) 929-1493. 2/11/2022 1 Comment Love and Joy On Valentine’s Day our thoughts turn to love. Not the casual “I love pizza,” “I love that truck,” or “I just love Instagram!” No, our thoughts turn to the people who mean the most in our lives. People who fill us up just by being in their presence, who make us better versions of ourselves. Celebrating that love is what it’s about.
There’s a similar relation between happiness and joy. Happiness is about pleasure, a feeling of the moment, a reaction to someone or something they said or did. Joy, on the other hand, is a state of being. When you feel joy in another’s presence, you cherish that person because they are important to you in a genuinely meaningful way; not just in a fleeting moment but as part of who they are at their core. I believe that one of the goals in life is to find joy, rather than pursue fleeting happiness and cheeriness. In the same way, I value those who I love because they bring meaning to my life. Spending time with them is the greatest gift of all. But, when it comes to objects – stuff – how do you separate the shallow “I love The Beatles” from “this collection of all of The Beatles albums truly sparks joy”? “Spark Joy”® is a trademark of organization maven Marie Kondo and the name of her current Netflix miniseries. As the author of “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up,” she suggests several ways to find if an object ‘sparks joy.’ When you touch it, does it bring a thrill of delight? Do you get a sense of electricity course through your body? If so, that is the spark of joy. That’s what you want more of in your life! Does holding an item bring up memories of how you feel when you wear it or use it – and are those positive? Or are you reminded that it was a wedding gift you’ve never used or an outfit you were excited to buy but never wore? Maybe it’s a stack of books you’ve been meaning to read for years but haven’t gotten around to. If so, those items are weighing you down with a sense of guilt (it was a gift), regret (I spent good money on that), and/or a sense of obligation (if I’m going to be well-read, I should read those books). That creates stress, takes up valuable space and gives a home to a nagging distraction. Let them go. Declutter your life of objects that do not bring you joy. Let go of guilt, regret, and other negative feelings that weigh you down. Hone your joy-seeking skills and you’ll find a clearer path to the ideal lifestyle you cherish. And when you do that, you’ll be more clear about what you really want out of life and can make room to share it with the ones you truly love. Go ahead – spark joy! 1/18/2022 0 Comments When holiday gifts miss the mark Admit it: We’ve all received a gift that completely missed the mark, maybe from someone we barely know or a close friend or family member. Either way, you are probably facing the dilemma of just what to do with that unintentionally ugly sweater or set of crafting supplies you’ll never use. Those are experiences yanked right out of my Christmases past. And they were all thoughtful but the gift simply did not bring me joy. What do you do?
Marie Kondo, author of the groundbreaking “The Life-Changing Joy of Tidying Up,” encounters this frequently with her clients, and I do too. It’s hard to deal with the guilt of just thinking of discarding it or what to do if the giver asks you how you’re enjoying the present. Here’s the way to address that unwanted gift. First, open it immediately and remove it from the packaging. Then, whenever possible, start using the item. You might find that you get some amount of joy from using that new-fangled garlic press. But, if after using it you find it still doesn’t bring joy, then thank it and bid it farewell with gratitude. It is acceptable to re-gift the item or donate it to an agency or person who might find it a better home. It’s important to remember that a gift is a means to convey feelings to one another. It’s not the item that is the most significant, it is the relationship you have with the person who gave it to you. So, don’t use or wear the gift out of sense of obligation or never use it and resent the space it takes up in your drawer or the guilt you feel every time you see the unused item. Give yourself permission to separate your feelings for the giver from the actual gift. When you do that, then you can genuinely be thankful for the gesture and add it to your decluttering pile. Do you get hung up when it’s an expensive gift or one personally made for you? These are just different forms of guilt. By all means, treat the item with respect when you find a new home for it. And do it right away. Don’t let the gift take up space in your mind or your home any longer. “But wait!,” you say. “What if the person asks about where the gift is or if I’m using it?” If asked, focus on the thoughtfulness and joy of the feelings and relationship, not the item. And, don’t fret – most people don’t ask and some can barely recall what the item was that they gave to you. In the end, as Kondo, the organizing maven says, “The true purpose of a present is to be received.” Consider this your lesson in becoming a thankful recipient by focusing on the joy of the relationship, not the item. It’s okay to let go of the stuff. 5/26/2020 1 Comment The Secret to a Great Morning There’s nothing quite like getting my morning off on the right foot! Coffee’s made, the sun’s shining, and everything I need is where it should be. When I’m rushed and forget something, it’s hard to get back on track. My secret to a smooth morning is what I call the Evening 20-20-20, and when it gets done, the whole household runs like clockwork (well, most of the time!). Try this trick for one week, and you’ll be a believer!
The 20-20-20 refers to three 20-minute increments of time. They don’t have to be consecutive, but it works easiest for me if they are in a row. Here’s what we do during those 20 minute segments: 20 minutes – Put away 20 minutes – Prepare for the morning 20 minutes – Peaceful time It sounds really simple, and it is! We’ve been sheltering at home about 10 weeks now. At this point, Working From Home (WFH) is getting messy and it’s beginning to stress me out a bit. Especially when there are papers on the dining room table. Others tell me that they’re at about that point as well because this WFH mode is going on much longer than anticipated. And for many, they also have to play the role of Teacher, too. (Bless you all, teachers and parents!)
When working from home, “maintaining a clear division between your work and your home life will make it easier to show up fully for both,” according to Marie Kondo, the tidying maven. Here are 4 quick tips from Kondo to help you bring a little more order to your space – without committing to a long or comprehensive tidying adventure.
If you try all four steps, you, too, will feel like you can make time! Allow me to explain:
living under one roof with every activity in our lives, to figure out what is really important. I’ve gotten a lot of clarity around what baking tools I really need and what clothes really don’t cut the comfort test to spark joy.
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