Hello and welcome! This is a new Organize4thebetter blog where I share a video I did about How I am currently managing my life, using an A5 notebook to plan for the next day to on the day of what needs to be done.
I hope you enjoy
Many thanks
Carrie X
As a kid I was always saving the money I had and was how I bought my first TV I owned as I saved my pocket money to pay for it. That girl had disappeared, when I began to start work, once I had enough with school and wanted a job.
At first I was managing my money well, but it went downhill shortly after. It has taken a lot to pull back from spending money, and would buy items from Avon each month, before I became a rep myself for Avon, I would shopping from Amazon a lot, but recently now in 2022, my bank account got hacked and now I am wary of what I spend online and make sure it is a real retailer.
I keep record again of my money, and try to spend money in cash rather than debit all of the time.
I prioritize when it comes to money, and make sure I have enough to travel each week, food, personal care and bills.
I have to have a mobile with me, because of Henry being at school, and you never know when they may call if my son becomes unwell, like he couple of weeks ago had chickenpox, so I need to make sure I have money to pay for my mobile.
So it making sure I have money for the items I need, and to budget. I budget on each item I buy, like I hate having to pay for milk if it is more than two pounds, and so I am consciously making sure I can save on what I buy.
I am making sure I use what I have, and limit the items I want and what I need first.
I am paying to much on my mobile at the moment than I want and so going to get this sorted out, and it is good to shop around.
When it comes to shopping stores own brands, I always check and they often are made from the same place a premium products, and can be a lot healthier. I limit myself on snacks. I have had type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol, so this has helped me when it comes to food. I do have fresh cooked meals, and I have not bought any more takeaways, and this has made a huge difference.
Many thanks for reading,
Carrie X
I hold my hands up as I am a hoarder, but I do have it under control. So in that, I go through parts of the year not buying anything, and then get the urge to spend money, but it is always planned and set out, and this helps me control the things I have and not buying items just for the sake of it, which is a sign you could be a hoarder, if you always go into a shop like TK Maxx and have to come out with a purchase, and really was in impulse you are feeding your hoarding. When you don't you know you have it under control.
I am watching a show that was on TV about Hoarders but the extreme kind where they can't even get into their home easily as they have a house full of stuff. Its often sentimental value, wanting to recycle everything and feeling they have to keep stuff "Because its just in case" factor.
How do you get it under control?
For me its "Will I ever use it" and "Have I used it?" and "How long I have had that item?".
If it is "No I haven't used it since it was bought", I don't see place for it at the moment and its been sitting there for a year. This can mean, it is time to let go of it, and I do the one in and one out, system. So if I buy new clothes I will have a sort through to see if there are items I have that I can donate, sell or give to someone else.
Is it something you inherit?
Well my nan on my mum's side of the family, always had a lot of items in her home, because my grandad would collect items, like keeping newspapers. My grandad on my mum's side, loved horse racing and so would mark down who won, who got second, but yet it was organised.
I loved my nan's studio flat they had and it will still big enough for when family came down to visit, room for them to stay for a couple of nights or so.
For me I like to have a collection of items, and it is comfort over commonsense a lot of the time.
Can it take over your life?
Yes it can, and when you can hardly see the floor you know soon or later you'll being tripping over the stuff in your room or house, so the things I would suggest to keep hold of, is shoe boxes as these are great to keep documents in, and envelopes by gluing them together and will lower the spend on a filing system or temporary until you can buy a better filing system to keep letters and bank statements in.
If you can go paperless take it, as if you need a statement you can print off your transactions and deposits, from doing home banking.
Things like Gas bills still go with paper statements as they can stitch you up with the bill and also keep tabs on your Gas Meters yourself as this will help make sure, they don't charge you more going on your meter reading.
Also these are great for when you need to change your name of accounts or open new bank accounts and also when going for new employment they now often ask for these items to prove you are a UK resident.
The other items that are good to keep hold off, is jars as they are great if you keep buttons off from clothing, make up brushes, pens and pencils and washed out and for snacks.
What is good hoarding?
Buying items in bulk, but to a limit too, but things that you use regularly and that you easily run out of, like Washing detergent, dishwasher tablet, toilet paper, kitchen roll and reusable cleaning cloths. Even make up items I will by extras of like my regular Nivea face cream and body sprays.
Just to say this blog is not being sponsored.
Item that aren't gonna clutter, but be used without having to spend money on more, and often you can save money by buying items in bulk.
It is good to have if you have a house with many floors is having cleaning items around the house, upstairs and down as it saves so much time, when tidying and cleaning. So having spares of cleaning cloths, sponges, toothbrush to cleaning tiles and plug holes, and shower heads.
I have before used natural products to clean so lemon and table salt, is the great to descale areas around the house. Like I am near Mrs Hinch, I sometimes wish, but its the effort and what I'd rather do, to that has to be done at some point.
Can passed experiences turn you into a hoarder?
Going on myself yes, as I remember once my mum asking my brother to go into my room when I lived in London, Hammersmith and clear it out, and so I am very protective over my belongings, but it has in a way worked in reverse in that I try not to have too much of every item I own, only on items I like to wear and use all the time, like writing materials, and leggins.
I have got it under control, and seeing the TV shows about hoarding it has made me more aware of having loads of everything, and having items I know will definitely use and its does it have any relevance in my life any more. It can happen due to a loss of a loved one or a end of a relationship, it isn't something you are born with it is things that has triggered this behaviour of having loads of stuff.
How can hoarding effect your mental health?
The question is, "Do you always want to live with something that is an eye sore?" and it can make us feel stuck in a rut, and that we haven't got out life together when we live in mess, so even though I don't like cleaning seeing my desk in a chaotic mess makes me feel Gosh that is too much, so for me yes. When I have a functional way I find life is less stressful and that I have my life in order.
It can make you not want to get out of bed, when you see that you have too much stuff that you can handle, then it means you mind is full of seeing the amount you have, so needs to be cleared to feel "Yes now I have my life in order". So it does, it makes us feel "Everything is okay with the world again".
So if you hoard it is okay just learn how to manage it is the key.
Many thanks for reading,
Carrie X
Having a good work balance is important but if you find your work is beginning to sink then it means that the pattern that you follow needs to be changed, it can often be that you've given yourself too much to do. We find we can't get it all done. You need to change the pattern so you can.
I do like my work pattern as I am ticking off a lot rather than drawing a cross because I haven't. I do think my work pattern needs to be tweaked, I do think if I had a calendar in view I can use that to set challenges and deadlines, but I like working when things aren't set in stone so I work on the blogs I want to each day. I am not good with repetition, so I like to mix my work up. I do have a routine, because of the pattern of my work has helped me, but I have pattern where I will listen to a Youtube video and then bit by bit work on a blog post or work on a book I am writing.
Often if you have so many ideas you can end up with lots of projects that are finished and then this destroys the energy to actually wanting to finish anything.Change the pattern. Spend the mornings just going over what needs to be done, and check how each project you have completed the response and STOP MULTITASKING! I was someone who did believe in this, but now when I focus on one item at a time easier, and when we do that, our attention to detail is better and you naturally start to prioritize.
If I have any outside appointments then these may be at various times and days. So I will manage my other work either before the time of this appointment or after. If a book is due out and I see that I am getting behind I have a pattern where I can get videos and blogs scheduled and written in bulk. I can then have a pattern of then working on my books and focus on these as I have videos and blogs already set up.
A good work pattern is not constantly working all day but where I do take more breaks than work. Yes I may still work late some days but rest and recuperation is important too and having a work pattern so you can spend time with family.
Many thanks for reading,
Carrie X
I love to recycle and today tried to make a Kanban board with a piece of card, but it wouldn't stay on the wall and just looked I could have added it to my white board planner, so I will try again, and it was back cover of a notebook I am using that I take out with me.
I have used shoe boxes to organize items and had one beside my bed, now I use storage bins but have a shoe box where I keep my stickers for my planners. I keep my plastic bags and use these to reuse when I visit the shops. I need to get more bin liners as I am guiltily using plastic bags from when I go shopping so I going to do this. However there is a box I can put items like can drinks into to make sure I help save the environment.
If I can use a tote bag, and reusable bag, then I do. Not saying I am perfect, and still need to be more careful it comes to things like gum. I used to chew this a lot, but now I don't. When I do, I don't like to drop on to pavements and gutters, but if I can use a tissue when I have gum now and then, and put it into a general waste bin.
This week as I update this blog, have been having a sort out of my items I have and includes what is on my laptop, and making sure I have clothes tidy and would like to have more hanging and clear out my plastic draw units to store other items and have been going through my planners, journals and is part of a challenge I like to set for myself and this month (June 2022), to clear and sort one item a day.
It seems to be helping to clear the head and reset.
I am a girl who likes to let go of the passed to focus on the now and the days to come.
Many thanks for reading,
Carrie X
Hello and welcome to another Organize4thebetter blog and I have created a new video for this weeks post, showing the new Notebook I have developed in a more functional system.
I use a basic A4 notebook and have plenty of pages to Map out my work, schedule in blogs already drafted and scheduled to go live and have pages where I can Brainstorm.
A Notebook is a functional system that keeps managing my workload Simple and not having to search through to find items and notes I have written.
Managing my work is important as it helps me to not do too much but felt like I haven't wasted a day and I love my notebooks.
So I hope this blog has been helpful, and many thanks for reading,
Carrie X
