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Ah, summertime, and the livin' is easy. Most of us wait all year for this glorious time of year. A whole season to relax, be carefree, enjoy the longer days of light and sunshine, more time with friends, family, and the great outdoors. For some of us, the great outdoors includes weeding, weeding, and more weeding.
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When my husband and I purchased our home more than two decades ago, the yard had just been landscaped. The design included islands of flowering trees, shrubs and beautiful foliage plants.The difficult part had been done, now all we needed to do was maintain its beauty. Nothing to it, right? Tell that to the weeds.
Every time I tackle the job of weeding, my mind goes to organizing. I can't explain it, except to say that the voices of clients, embarking on their own organizing experiences, echo in my head:
There's so much.
I don't know where to start.
It's too overwhelming.
How am I going to get through it all?
My response: one step at a time; in my case, one weed at a time.
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Having the right tools makes all the difference.
So often, people dig in (well OK, I guess the pun here is intended) to whatever organizing project they have mind without really having a plan. I confess, I have treated purging the weeds this way in the past. But no more. Now there's a plan. As silly as it may sound since we're talking about weeds, the plan is the first tool of the organizing tool shed, outlining what needs to be done, when and how. It's not so silly when you substitute weeds for any project you have in mind.
Of course, I could go ahead and just start pulling weeds with my bare hands, but it is SO much easier and efficient with the proper physical tools. Gloves, a hat and sunscreen are some of my personal protective tools, and a small shovel and trash bag or other container to collect the pulled weeds will keep things clean as the job progresses. Before I get to any of it, though, I need to be sure I've allotted enough time in my schedule to make it worthwhile.
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Now, to get started, the islands and flower beds in the front of the house take priority, and the weeds are dug up one by one. The instant gratification of seeing a patch of dirt weed-free is inspiring,
and I move methodically from one corner of the island to the other. That keeps me motivated to keep going even knowing how many more weeds are waiting for me in the rest of the yard.
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When it comes to weeds, maintenance is a key ingredient. Those little buggers are hardy and make their presence known quickly and can multiply in the blink of an eye.
If you're thinking, 'cover it all with mulch', you're on the right track. Mulch is certainly a good investment in maintenance to help ensure weeds stay right where they belong.
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If you've seen through this thinly disguised veil of weeds for your own organizing project, you're right, of course. 'Stuff' can accumulate in our lives and in our homes as quickly as weeds appear in our flower beds. What weeds do you need to tackle? What are your priorities and what's included in your plan? What tools will you use and how will you keep up to prevent the weeds from growing back again?
You just need to pull the weeds one at a time.
Happy ORGANiZiNG,
Nancy Patsios
everday ORGANiZiNG
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