As I mentioned, yesterday I woke up with a renewed sense of energy. I love new beginnings and fresh starts. With summer now just two days away, and the month of June still in its infancy, I’m feeling the burst of energy I always get with new beginnings. I love the possibilities that come with beginnings.

I’ve decided to channel this energy in some projects around my house, and I decided the best way to keep my enthusiasm going is to join Organizing 101 as not just as the instructor but also as a student.

Now, you may be wondering why I would do this. I already know how to organize, so why would I participate in an online organizing workshop? Well, there’s so much more that goes on inside workshops like Organizing 101 than simply learning how to get organized. I recently realized that the two workshops I have enjoyed teaching most, were Get Organized for the Holidays (which will be back in November) and my Goals workshop (which will be back in January.) Why were these my favorites? Because I participated as a student as well as the instructor.

During the goals workshop, I set goals and shared them with my classmates, and I reported every single day on my progress. Since this workshop closed, I have noticed that while I’m still making progress on my goals, they aren’t as top of mind as they were when the goals workshop was in session. I love the accountability of the online workshops, as well as the camaraderie—everyone in the workshop community wants the same thing:  to improve their homes and lives.

The bottom line is this:  even though I know how to get organized and I know how to set and achieve goals, it is more fun, focused and effective when I embark on these projects as part of the simplify 101 online workshop community. Truth is, if simplify 101 weren’t mine and Jay’s third baby; I would want to sign up for these workshops, I would want to be a part of this community, and I would want to create change in my home and life in this way.

For me, it really is more fun working on my own projects and goals with friends there to share and brainstorm with along the way. There’s also the extra sense of motivation that comes from reading other people’s success stories. When a fellow classmate posts that even though they were exhausted after working all day and running kids around they still spent fifteen minutes decluttering tonight…well, suddenly you just know “I can do that, too!” And then you do. And all of these little daily choices add up to big changes by the end of the workshop!

Plus, it’s just more fun with friends along for the ride. I remember when I was in high school and college, my friend Liz and I would do errands together all the time. She would ride along when I needed to go to the bank, or return something at the mall. She was there when I needed to decide on which pillows would look best with the comforter for my dorm room, and should I go with this poster or that one? When I moved to St. Louis and became an “official adult,” all of that changed. I ran my errands alone and I had to make decisions about decorating and other projects on my own. I missed the sharing and camaraderie I had before. And now I have that back again. With our workshops, I have a way to share my day to day life, the big projects and even the little ones, with a group of supportive friends. And the best part of all—they’re doing the same thing in their lives. It’s really very cool.

I share this for a few reasons. First of all, it is straight from my heart. I truly believe in our online workshops and how much they are helping people—including me. It often isn’t a case of knowing how to do something (thought that is a great first step!) It is creating the conditions that help you stay motivated and keep taking action on your projects, while having fun along the way, too! Second, if you’ve dismissed the idea of an organizing workshop because you already know how to get organized…you may be missing out on something that you would truly love. I’ve always loved to organize and I’ve always instinctively known how to organize, though I’ve certainly learned how to be more efficient and purposeful about it throughout the years. I’ve also always immersed myself in the topic of organizing and personal development. So, if I weren’t doing this for a living, I know I’d be a doing this as a student. It’s just my kind of thing.

OK…so the sappy part of this post is over. Now a few quick workshop updates:

* If you are taking part in “Help! I don’t know where to begin!” remember that the workshop closes tonight at midnight central time. This workshop cannot be reopened…so if you haven’t downloaded and saved the materials, stop reading, log in to the workshop system, and do this now! I don’t want you to be disappointed!

* For the session of Organizing 101 that starts today, I incorporated the content from “Help! I don’t know where to begin!” into the first lesson. So if you didn’t get “Help! I don’t know where to begin” and you’re taking Organizing 101—you’ll have instant access to the content. (Which means, you can start decluttering your home today!) It was really fun to see all the progress people made during this workshop. I took five bags of stuff to Goodwill on Sunday as a result of this workshop!

 

* As far as if or when we’ll run “Help! I don’t know where to begin!” again…the jury is still out.

 

Thanks for letting me share. Hope you have a great day.