Finish the Year with Gratitude, Get Organized and Improve the Lives of Others in 60 Minutes

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By Sue Crum, Ed.D. and Professional Organizer

November and December are those months of the year for reflection, gratitude, and family traditions. As our days get shorter and our nights are cooler, we find ourselves indoors more with time to turn toward friends, family and fun.

But for some, it’s really not a fun time of year. Many families and individuals have fallen on hard times and may not have some of the basic needs for surviving our cold evenings and frigid mornings. Their wardrobes may consist of t-shirts and cotton pants, outfits that work during our summer months and our gorgeous falls, but will not keep them warm now.

This end of the year is a perfect time for us to evaluate our clothes and closets.

Are they stuffed like a plump turkey that’s fresh from the oven?

Are they jammed with junk that no one seems to be using anymore?

Are our clothes and the clothes of others in our family hanging to and fro because there is no more room in the closets?

If you answered yes to any of the above, let’s grab some hefty bags, a timer, some dancing music and get busy creating breathing room for the clothes we really enjoy and wear often.

Let’s get the music started and set the timer for one 60 minute block of time. With hefty bag in hand, start with the most packed closet and see what in there we’re no longer wearing or using.

Could you “release those items to the universe” and place them in the bag for a worthwhile donation to the charity of your choice?

Would you? If not today, when?

Set a date and announce it to the family. Give each member a hefty bag and see what sweaters, jackets, sweatshirts and such family members have outgrown or ignored wearing this past year. Think about the children and adults who might be recipients of these gifts from your household. Picture them with a smile as they receive the coats, long-sleeved shirts and warm pants that have been sitting around in your home unattended and unloved.

Make the end of 2013 a new beginning for someone else, giving them some hope and promise that 2014 might be the start of better things to come for them.

Create space in your closets and life for new opportunities for you as well. Think about agencies that you feel a personal connection with what they represent. Those are the ones to receive your gifts.

When we sit down with family members this holiday season, let’s relish in the abundance we have, focusing on any and all positives of the past year. Take deep breaths and reflect back on the goodness of the year, no matter how few experiences you can identify. Place your energy there and let the glow of those events carry you forward into a new year!

When you are grateful – when you can see what you have – you unlock blessings to flow in your life.
-Suze Orman

Sue Crum speaks to associations and groups on how to clear clutter for better productivity and efficiency.
Get her free e-book Simple Strategies You Can Do Now at www.theREDteam.com. Sue is a professional organizing coach, and real estate stager who might be a perfect fit for your organization’s needs. Her latest book, Clear Your Clutter: 50 Ways to Organize Your Life, Home or Business will be released by the end of the year.

Mike Bundrant
Watch the free video The AHA! Process: An End to Self-Sabotage and discover the lost keys to personal transformation and emotional well-being that have been suppressed by mainstream mental health for decades.

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