Organization and Hard Times
I am so thankful for some of the small, tedious tasks I tackled just about a week ago and some of the general home organization I had in place which made managing a surprise loss ever so slightly easier to navigate. I encourage you to start getting organized today because each day really is unknown to us. I experienced firsthand how being organized made a difficult time just a bit easier on myself and if I could see so many benefits in a small scale circumstance, how much bigger an impact it would have on large scale circumstances. Don’t keep waiting, don’t keep putting things off till you have the “perfect” solution or time or idea… progress is progress. Done is better than perfect and something done imperfectly will still be miles better than before and will still serve you better going forward. Bring yourself just a little extra mental peace by getting something, anything done today. No matter how seemingly menial and insignificant a task may seem, future you will thank yourself for getting it done now.
For a week or two, I told myself I was going to clean out my emails… I kept putting it off. Last week, I finally did it… it took 10, maybe 15 minutes. When I got done, the mental load felt lighter, I was so relieved. Why did I wait so long? I couldn’t tell you! A couple weeks ago, I went through the items I keep on hand (I think of it as “in stock”/”back stock”) and checked all the subscriptions I have. I was able to cancel some things, skipped a couple deliveries so I could ensure I was using up items I keep stocked and also realized I needed to add a few items to my subscribe n save order. All just a bunch of simple, relatively quick tasks that I kept putting off. I finally got them done and felt so much better and didn’t have it lurking in the back of my mind, the continuous “don’t forget" and “I really need to do xyz”.
Last Thursday was just a regular, stormy day… I took the morning a little slower, keeping my dog company trying to keep her as calm as possible. We had lunch and I started doing some computer work… Within just a couple hours of her begging me for my lunch (I am SO glad I gave her extra cheese!) I had to make possibly the hardest decision of my life. I said goodbye to my first dog. (I had previously experienced our family dog pass away but that was almost 20 years ago and it really is different when a pet is “yours” isn’t it?). I do not take for granted that losing my dog is quite possibly the hardest experience I have had, I recently saw a comment one a video I was watching that really resonated with me and I share it here as encouragement to both you and to me… “Telling me I can’t be sad because someone has it worse, is like telling me I cannot be happy cause someone has it better.” Let’s not compare, let’s have compassion for each other and just allow each person to just experience their experiences. I know there are going to be harder things I face as I continue through life, but right now, this loss, feels very heavy to me and that is okay.
Now, I didn’t just want to share all of this for pity… so, how is all of that relevant to being organized?
Those subscriptions I had checked a couple weeks ago? Many of those things I checked and updated were pet supplies - I knew what I was subscribed to and easily was able to go in and cancel them to ensure I am not getting a shipment I do not have a use for and do not want a physical reminder of my loss in a couple weeks… because I recently took an inventory of what I had on hand I was able to gather the freshly opened dog supplies (supplements, treats, food etc.) and offer them to someone who could make sure they are used, which helped me feel the tiniest bit better, if my dog couldn’t use them at least another dog could.
Those emails I cleaned out? I was able to stay on top of things that still needed my attention even as I felt like I was in slow motion and the world kept speeding by. They didn’t get buried and opening my email wasn’t immediately overwhelming.
I was able to make my way through the house and gather up her items to pack away, while I am not ready to pack everything away yet, I was able to take some grief inducing friction points and tuck them away for when one day, my heart is ready for another dog to be my baby.
Maybe most importantly, because I had gotten some things done and I didn’t feel that nagging urgency of “you need to do xyz” - I spent the morning cuddling my dog to keep her safe from the thunder. I actually took my time to eat lunch slowly and opted to give her some extra cheese and I was slightly more aware even as I started working on my computer to notice when my dog desperately needed my attention. All these things that I may have skipped and hadn’t done if I hadn’t spent the time to do the “small tasks” earlier in the week.
This whole experience has renewed the passion I have to help you get organized and quiet that nagging in your head “you have to do xyz” so that you can slow down and enjoy the little moments of life. Our physical space directly impacts our mental and often our emotional state as well. I encourage you to feel worthy. You deserve better today, perfect can wait for tomorrow (or never, because do we really have time to strive for perfect??). No step is too small, if you can delete some emails, pick up some toys, throw away old socks, do some dishes, put a load of laundry to wash or dry… anything you do today is one less thing for tomorrow, one less thing nagging you in the back of your mind, keeping you from enjoying the little moments.
“For every minute spent organizing, an hour is earned.” ~ Benjamin Franklin