January has been a slow start for me this year. 

After some very mild winters, we have had some snow, which always give me the ‘snow day’ feel from growing up. A day where you don’t HAVE to do anything. 

It also reminds me that we are a very busy, goal oriented, ‘doing’, culture. Nothing else in nature is growing 24/7 365 days a year, yet there is an assumption that we should be. 

I’m trying to shift that perspective and remember that we need time for rest. With the shorter days and colder weather the winter months are a natural time to slow down, go inward and recharge. I’ll take my cues from nature - even though I prefer seeing it through a window :)

I’ve been wanting to go through all my files. Each year, I go through the monthly bills, utility and credit card files and clear out the previous year, but it was time to go through ALL of them. ​

We moved a fews years ago and had some renovations done. Everything from that time ended up in one folder, which was a collection of what I had and what my husband had. Since that time, anything to do with the house went into that file. 

It has been a process and instead of doing it all in one day - I’ve been doing a little here and a little there. I’m about half way through and have been able to get rid of a lot, which helps keep me going. It can be mentally exhausting, especially the personal files, so I try and be mindful of me energy. After a couple of hours I take a break. Pushing through is not always the answer, because that’s often when I don’t make the best decisions.  

The biggest concerns I hear about paper are: how long do i have to keep this? and I want this but don’t know what to do with it. 

You can be plowing through things and then find one piece of paper that you want, but have no idea what to do with it. The same thing happens when sorting through things. It is what often stops people from continuing. They shut down.

My advice has always been - as you go through things, just decide what is important and what is not. Make a pile for those things that you want and aren’t sure what to do with. After the sort it done, we go back through those things and work them into the system. Usually by then, it is much clearer. 

It is my 20th year organizing!!

I have seen many things over the years - but what I’ve found most interesting is the way people judge themselves and what they put value on - what is important to them.  

The judgements can get in the way of progress and change. It usually stems from something they heard or was told that keeps them stuck or feeling bad about themselves. No one every grows from that place, so it’s important to shine a light on the limiting beliefs and reframe them so they either dissolve or empower.

When I have an understanding of what someone values or is important to them, it allows me to better serve them and offer solutions. 

When I think back to when I started Riley Creative, the tenant of keeping business separate from personal was popular (and still may be). I followed that to the best of my ability until I realized, in my work, it’s a really fine line.   

It is a privilege to be welcomed into someone’s home and trusted to go through their things with them. Meeting them at an often vulnerable place and making space for them to process through their stuff is a big part of my work, and it is personal. So while it is more important for me to listen than to share, it is me who makes the connection. What a gift!
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Happy New Year!

​Most years, I take some time to reflect on the past year and do some journaling. It helps me to know what I want to work on, or change for the upcoming year. There is a great journal prompt that helps me get started that a meditation teacher uses in his retreats.

This is a time in my life when……

It helps focus my thoughts and look inward to sense what is falling away, or no longer of value to me and also what might be arising that needs attention.

January is GO month in the organizing world (get organized). I always start with clearing out and the journal reflection is a great way to start CLEARING for the New Year. Clutter is so much more that the stuff you have- it is the activities you do, the people in your life AND the thoughts in your head. 

Rather than deciding if you want to keep something or commit to an event, first ask yourself if the item still aligns with your current lifestyle? Or, is the event something you want to spend your time and energy on? 

Figure out what is most important to you first. Then hold up everything else to those ideals and the decisions become much easier.

New Years BINGO    

Several years ago, a few friends and I started a NEW YEARS BINGO game.

The New Year can feel full of possibilities and some people make resolutions.

I have never been one to make new years resolutions. I felt it put too much pressure on January 1st and allowed me to indulge a bit too much leading up to the ball drop.

The resolutions always seem to involve giving up something I enjoyed, or starting something I didn’t want to do. (Well, at least not every day). 

Instead, I thought about things I wanted to do, but never made time for. I was too busy or it wasn’t the right time so they never happened. These were not big things, like trips around the world and scaling a mountain. They were realistic things like visiting a museum, hiking a nearby trail, or finishing a craft project I wanted to make.

My friends felt the same. They too had things they always wanted to do but didn’t.

So began the NEW YEARS BINGO. Instead of making resolutions, we fill out a BINGO card with all those little things we want to do. 

Every time we do one, we cross it out on our BINGO card. 

The first person to get BINGO wins and is taken out to dinner at a restaurant of their choice by the others playing. Of course, you can make the reward anything you want. And there is no limit to the number of people you play with. We used to fill out our card on New Years Eve together as a group, which was fun because we were able to share ideas and there was always something I would not have thought of on my own.


Rules:

You get one free space anywhere on the card, put that in first.

Only put in things you enjoyed doing. Loosing weight or quitting caffeine are out.

NO huge goals or things that take an extended period of time.  (You can have as many goals as you want, but this is not the place for them.)

​Use an afternoon, day trip or long weekend as a time frame for the activity. 
Must have card filled out by 2nd week in January - no adding things later in the year after you do them!

Download your BINGO card here!