Blog

I’ve been waging battle in my home and studio for the past couple of months, organizing the office, getting things in place and really concentrating on my client lists, massive files, vision and goals for the upcoming year in my art practice, all thanks to a good kick in the hiney and excellent tips by art business coach Alyson Stanfield.

One of the first things I set out to do was get my office filing cabinets organized. After a nine year hiatus from the business of art, old files were jammed with things I thought I needed. An old fashioned pitch was really what the doctor ordered.

However, like many folk – I just didn’t have a way to figure out what I might REALLY need to keep, and what I might REALLY need to pitch. I realized after the first day and the first filing cabinet drawer (and let me tell you……there were no less than 18 filing cabinet drawers to get through!), I began to feel overwhelmed.

I needed a mantra, a mental system for handling it all – some kind of “rule” to follow, due to the sheer magnitude of it.

What I thought would take me a couple days, turned into a couple of months but the job is well in hand! I followed a golden rule, courtesy of one line in one of Alyson’s Blast-Off classes:

“Get rid of the things you DON’T love, to make room for the things you DO love.”

AHHHH! The heaven’s had opened. That was my kick in the hiney! I systematically used that concept to filter through stuff I didn’t need, not only for the office, but for the rest of the house. Old clothes, broken kids’ toys, old mismatched dishes – nothing has escaped the “Rule of Love”. Even deeper, I started to think about the emotional junk in my life – things that suck the life out of my ability to create and be happy. They were the first to go!

At the end of the ditch and pitch, I plan for nothing unloved to remain standing in this house, my studio or my mind…..and boy – does the de-cluttering EVER help for the creative thought process!

And the kids and hubby are not in the “SHRED” pile.

I’d certainly call that a “win”.

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Janice’s 7 Steps to Organizing Your Life:

1. Stop talking about it and start doing it.
2. Start small. Chunk it out. Don’t expect to get it all done at once. (Try one filing cabinet or one cupboard in your kitchen….or one closet. This will make it feel manageable.)
3. The guiding mantra: “Get rid of the things you DON’T love, to make room for the things you DO love.” (Post this where you can see it – on the fridge, in the bathroom, in your office, by your easel….)
4. Get to know the clerk at your local office supply store. (As a bonus because of all the new filing “stuff” I needed, I made so many trips there, I got to know “Faye” at Bow Valley Basics by her first name, and how her kids were every day. Wow. Cool. A new friend that I do love!)
5. Give yourself three times as much time as you think it will take, then add a week.
6. BUDDY UP! Tell a friend that you’re going to do this. Ask them to check in on your progress. That will make you accountable!
7. Give yourself a pat on the back for every stage of accomplishment. You deserve it!