When a perfect new home doesn't have the white picket fence...

A common concern clients often have is letting go of an item that is clutter for them (unwanted, unused, unloved) but that they don't want to throw in landfill. And they just don't know what to do with it. So they hang on.

Finding perfect new homes for someone's clutter is a favourite aspect of my work as a Clutter Consultant. Who said "one person's trash is another's treasure"? They were right. When I find a perfect match I feel like clapping my hands and jumping up and down with glee. I'd like to share a few of those moments with you.

A 92 year old client, so sweet and gracious, had a photo taken at the 12th Annual Picnic or the Winnipeg Electric Railway Old Timers at Selkirk, Manitoba in 1921. She was 9 years old when she attended the picnic with her family. She could identify about six family members in the photo, which was 48" by 4 1/2". Being from Manitoba myself, I really wanted to find an appropriate home for the photo. I had heard about the Manitoba archives so I contacted them. They were prepared to keep the photo in their temperature and moisture controlled storage, for researchers to access. I was so pleased to deliver the photo personally a month later on a trip to visit my family. I wasn't sure who was more please, myself or my client.

Recently, another client had an unopened package of letterhead with matching envelopes. She liked the beach theme, but not the crab in the corner. I offered to take it to a destination wedding planner I know, Bobbi-Jo Roback, who could incorporate the stationary in her marketing and promos. It turned out to be exactly the same stationary Bobbi-Jo and her fiance used for their wedding invitations three years previously. She was delighted. Coincidental? Yes. And perfect.

Another client was going through a difficult transition of moving from her large family home to a retirement condo. Her budget was limited so she didn't want to throw out her bookshelves or donate them. I asked another client who needed storage in her workplace if she was interested in purchasing an economically priced bookshelf. She was. The neat thing was the bookshelf that the elderly client no longer needed ended up holding books for children. It was like a perfect cycle completed.

Is it any wonder I get a good feeling helping folks find homes for their things?

The stories could go on and on: a birdhouse from Vancouver's Westside was donated to Pooh Corner Daycare in Stanley Park, a handyman gift card won by one client was donated to a senior's fundraiser for their silent auction, a tuxedo from a retired gentleman went to a youth supporting Covenant House, oversized platters which had been a wedding gift but became clutter after the divorce (from someone who shall remain nameless but happens to be writing this column) went to my favourite caterer. See, it works! Even for me.

Finding a way to re-use, re-purpose, re-gift an item, can save landfill space, lessens our impact on the environment, can be a gift for a stranger, bring the oddest people together, and simply feels good!

Do you have items you no longer want but can't bring yourself to throw out? Remember Goodbye Clutter! because we make room for what matters!

Weekend mornings are made for nesting

Just when I start to wonder where and how I can downsize my 'stuff' to create an easier to live in, easier to clean, more comfortable, less crowded castle out if my 400 square feet home, along comes a weekend morning without plans. The best kind of morning at home for me. I love nesting.

This week I'd glanced at a corner of my home and got the idea for a minor switch in furniture. I'd wondered how things would look with just a bit of rearranging. Today I implemented my idea and in the process reviewed my entire book collection, purged, dusted, rearranged furniture, and had a delightful hour letting go once again.

Wait, my curiosity got the better of me and I've just measured my floors. My home is actually 385 square feet. Not bad. I live by the 'less is more' philosophy, so I feel a sense of pleasure learning I have less square feet than I thought.

My curiosity and love of numbers/details/data also led me to count how many books I've decided to keep. 48. That includes 13 in my 'to read' collection, some of which I will pack for my trip to Scotland in May and leave along the trail, 27 books (fiction, travel, atlas, non-fiction, running...) that I've read and like enough to keep and 8 children's books from my childhood (Splish, Splash and Splush) and adulthood (Olivia Saves the Circus -- my adorable hero). That doesn't include the 11 books about organizing I've tucked away in my antique cabinet with other business things.

The first day of spring is only one week away. This is a great time to spring clean, purge, pitch, organize, de-clutter, downsize. I love the feeling afterwards, feeling a little lighter, more free, unencumbered, more relaxed, more in love with my home, happier to see the things I love (a 1950's brown leather suitcase, the globe from my Dad, my precious tractor won at Massey Ferguson day in 1964...)

With the tragic global events to remind me that stuff doesn't matter I feel like I've had the best morning, doing what I love, creating my castle, and being the me that I love to be.

So if you're thinking of spring cleaning your castle, I encourage you to think of Goodbye Clutter. We'll help you make room for what matters.

Clutter in our identity as women and International Women's Day Day

Years ago I presented a workshop at a Women and Spirituality Conference at UBC. My topic was "Clutter in our identity". The focus was to examine how we identified ourselves and how we were labeled by others We looked at how accurate those labels felt and how we wanted to identify ourselves moving forward.

I created a simple exercise and asked the 40+ women present to share labels they'd been given at any point in their life. I wrote them all on a blackboard. I don't recall if I was anticipating the powerful catharsis that unfolded. The list started 'mildly' with words like mother, sister, daughter, girlfriend, lover, teacher, writer, artist and got fun with things like cookie, chicky-babe, sweet-lips, pumpkin, smartest in class, class clown, future prime-minister, and then went in a more disturbing though honest direction to bitch, slut, whore, cock-tease, ice queen, dumb blonde, arm candy, eye candy, cock candy, douche bag... I asked what we thought of ourselves and out came: not good enough, exhausted, burned out, inspired, funny, smart, capable, unstoppable, strong, weak, powerful, powerless, depressed, passionate, sexy, determined, soft, warm, sensuous, female, girl, lady, woman...

It was an eye-opening process, to see the words appear, till every inch of the blackboard was full and we were a room full of women looking at our collective identity. I then talked about clutter in our homes, offices and lives and the effects clutter had, how it kept us from seeing clearly, how the treasures got buried in a sea of un-important stuff, how as time passed our tastes changed and sometimes our favourite item faded into dusty oblivion, and how we kept things because of guilt, oppression... not because it lifted our spirit and added to the richness of our lives.

Using clutter as an analogy, we 'de-cluttered' our identity, and let go of anything we thought didn't fit, that we no longer wanted (or would stand for) and made room for what was near and dear to us. There were cleansing tears and lots of laughter and I was honoured to have created this de-cluttering experience for those precious few. I'd love to do that for women all around the world today. Perhaps I could start with myself and use International Women's Day to re-examine how I identify myself and be the me I'd really like to be.

In honour of IWD, and the special women in my past, I have three virtual gifts for you today. Three links. One features Judi Dench and Daniel Craig (like you've never seen him before, in heel higher than I've ever worn) in Bond defects to the other side Then there is That Girl's Marlo Thomas article The Movement about her experience in the 1960's and 1970's reminding me of the button I used to wear "I am the woman your mother warned you against". And lastly, Time's photo essay of 16 of History's Most Rebellious Women reminding me that once upon a time in the late 70's I was a rebellious biker chick myself.

There is so much more on the internet about women, our history, IWD, our heroes... Enjoy the surfing, and remember....

Goodbye Clutter! We make room for what matters. Today you can too!

I must be hungry...I'm thinking about restaurants

It's Sunday morning, I've had my pre-gym workout fuel, a yummy, healthy flax bread with banana, but perusing the WestEnders Best of Vancouver awards, I once again have food on my mind.

Recently I was delighted to read that two of my favourite culinary experiences have been recognized with awards: Deacon's Corner, for best Breakfast restaurant, and the Secret Garden Tea Company, for best Teahouse.

I met Kathy and Erin Wyder, two sisters who run the Secret Garden Tea Company a few years ago through their mother, Helen Burnham, an incredible woman in her own right who received the Order of British Columbia in 2000 for her work as founder of Avalon Women's Centres. Kathy and Erin wanted some help organizing the office where they ran their highly successful, very busy restaurant, the Secret Garden Tea Company, at 5559 West Boulevard.

These two motivated, focused, high energy women managed to run a bustling, popular tea house out of a very small office, 4'x8' at best. It was one of those organizing projects, like many, that are 'fun' and have the best work memories. They were a dream to work with, providing me with a fascinating look at the behind the scenes operations of a restaurant. Occasionally I even convinced Kathy that a few of their exquisite mini high tea sandwiches were clutter and of course they made their way promptly to my stomach. (Just trying to be helpful, as always.) Since then, I have enjoyed several delicious high tea sessions, yummy lunch soups, and tasty tea's at the Secret Garden Tea Company.

Deacon's Corner attracted my attention by it's name. It sounded vaguely familiar. On my first visit, I learned why. The owner hails from the Winnipeg area and just outside Winnipeg, on the TransCanada, if memory serves me correctly, there is an intersection named by locals as Deacon's Corner. With this connection to my home province, and then the incredible biscuits and gravy on the menu, this restaurant jumped to the front of my line for breakfast places to patronize. On all my visits, the place has been busy, with a clientele mix including police officers, actors, and generally zany creative looking folks. It's at the foot of Main Street, by Alexander, so I don't frequent it often but if you're ever wondering where you can take me for breakfast (I'm free next Saturday!) this is the place: Deacons Corner

Today's blog may not have much to do with organizing, but then again, next time you're asked to organize a breakfast or high tea, you'll be in the know of two popular Vancouver places to go. Plus, after your strenuous spring cleaning session that I know you have planned, you'll need fuel, try one of the above, or both.

Here's my slightly altered tagline for the day: Goodbye Clutter! We make room for what matters. And what matter's today is biscuits, gravy and high tea.