Several years ago, I read this article by Florence Feldman about WOO--or Window of Organizing Opportunity. "Yes!" I thought. "She's hit the nail on the head. That's EXACTLY my experience. Sometimes getting rid of things and organizing what remains and making the countless decisions involved in the process is easy as pie; but other times it feels like pulling teeth, and I can hardly seem to make any progress. As much as I wish I could do it easily all the time, I can't!"
Several years ago, another thing happened: I joined FlyLady's email group, so to this day I get her messages and read her tips and encouragement (or delete them, if I don't have time to read them but want to get rid of some of the emails in my inbox!); and I've benefited GREATLY from her. But I found that her expectation that every day would include time for decluttering was a difficult one for me to meet.
The WOO makes much more sense to me. Go through the window when it's open. Don't get discouraged when it's not, but wait and watch for the next opportunity.
All of that to say this: summer is the window for me. Like many homeschooling moms, I seize the chance to spend extra time organizing my home, my closet, my papers, my bookshelves, my spices, my life in the summer. And it's so, so, so much fun. :)
My latest area I've focused on is my pie safe. Previously, it was stuffed with stuff, and the top was topped with puzzles, papers, crafts, and all kinds of other things that didn't belong there. But no more. What a delight to bring order to that piece of furniture: to discover treasures in it that I hadn't seen for a while, to get rid of a whole bunch of useless junk that had accumulated, and to see the beauty of an organized cabinet. It makes me breathe a sigh of relief just thinking about it. :)
I'm not quite done with the project so I haven't taken any pictures; but before I go jump back through my WOO, I'll post an image that makes me smile. We had so much fun with that fruit photo shoot for the header pics; but as you can see, I had to remind Tobin to NOT EAT THE FRUIT until we were done.
Yes, yes! I need those WOO's! That's exactly what I need! I'm glad there's a name for it. I want to seize more tiny segments of time that can get stuffed with "urgent" things (or useless things) and turn them into WOO's. Everywhere I look clutter is screaming for me to yank it out and deal with it. Right now, though, when people are still sleeping, I need to rush off to the dump station with our trash before it becomes a health hazard.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this post. You have encouraged me.
JDaniel and I spent Tuesday cleaning out his closet. I found six bags of things to take to Goodwill and he found treasures to play with.
ReplyDeleteamen. :)
ReplyDeleteOh I love this post! You are opening the window for me as I read this. Love hearing that it doesn't have to be everyday but only when you see that window open. I agree. ALSO loved seeing those gorgeous pictures of your amazing garden!! WOW is all I can say!!! And THOSE potatoes were AMAZING!!!
ReplyDeleteLOVE
~Marie