What is the value of letting go? In many circumstances, your willingness to let go can reduce frustration and enhance your daily life. Let go when you are:

• Stuck

• Overwhelmed

• Frustrated

• Burdened by the past

• Weighed down by physical stuff

• Distressed by non-supportive processes, relationships, and environments

• Determined to be present or move forward

I curated a small collection of my favorite letting-go quotes from Yung Pueblo, Chuck Palahniuk, Todd Henry, and Hans Hoffman. Each idea highlights a unique aspect of releasing.

When you allow yourself to let go, you experience less stress, more flow, and better alignment with your values. The past won’t hold you back. You’ll be more grounded in the present and open to possibilities that you couldn’t see before.

FIVE FAVORITE LETTING GO QUOTES

1. Let Go of the Past

Letting go is a process. Release things that no longer serve a purpose in your life. This will create more mindful and present-centered living.

“When you put yourself through the process of letting go, you gain greater access to the here and now.”

— Yung Pueblo

 2. Let Go of the Stuff

When the volume of possessions becomes overwhelming and burdensome, they take up your valuable time and energy. This is a cue to edit. Keep what’s most important. Release what you can. You’ll feel lighter and less encumbered.

“The things you own end up owning you.”

— Chuck Palahniuk

3. Let Go of the Complex

Life is complicated. However, you don’t have to make things more involved than necessary. Consider what you can release to simplify your schedule, processes, or thought patterns.

“Is there any place where you are making things more complex than they need to be?”

— Todd Henry

4. Let Go of the Only Once Idea

Letting go is like a muscle. It needs to be exercised to develop and experience results. Releasing is not a one-and-done occurrence. It requires time, attention, and practice to experience positive results.

“Letting go is not a one-time event; it is a habit that requires consistent repetition to become strong.”

— Yung Pueblo

 5. Let Go of the Unnecessary

Thinking or thriving is impossible when you have too much stuff, crammed schedules, or unhelpful thoughts. The excess gets in the way and makes it challenging to discover what’s most important. Letting go of the unessential will create space for what you truly value.

“The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.”

— Hans Hofmann

Is Letting Go Easy or Challenging?

You might find letting go easy for some areas of your life and more challenging in others. What has been a successful letting-go experience? What has been difficult? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

How Can I Help?

Do you want support organizing, planning, or letting go? I’d love to help! Virtual organizing is an extraordinary path forward – Local feel with a global reach.

Please schedule a Discovery Call, email me at linda@ohsorganized.com, or call 914-271-5673. Letting go is possible, especially with support.

Are there times when figuring out your next step is challenging? Maybe you need more information, fear making mistakes, or feel overwhelmed with decision-making.

If the next step is a one-and-done task, it can seem more manageable. However, the next step can feel elusive and unclear when working on a long-term project or making a significant life change.

There are many ways to approach finding next, which I’ve written a lot about. Some of these ideas to get unstuck and determine what’s next included:

• Releasing your negative list

• Making time to regroup

• Focusing on “small awe”

• Working The Progress Cycle

• Taking small steps

• Engaging in mindfulness

Recently, I discovered an inspired question, which approaches next in a refreshing way.

Making Next Transformational

In James Clear’s “3-2-1 Thursday” newsletter, he posed this thought-provoking question:

“What single habit if implemented consistently for the rest of this year, would transform your life the most?”

I love this question for three reasons:

Reason 1. The query focuses your attention to developing just one new habit. Most of us tend to take on too much at once, making it difficult to make progress on anything.

Reason 2. The question encourages you to consider which habit change would have the most impact. You are investing your time in doing something different. Selecting the habit that will be most transformative will give you the most for your efforts.

Reason 3. The ask supports consistent, small efforts that will result in monumental, positive change over a specific, doable time frame, “rest of this year.”

““What single habit if implemented consistently for the rest of this year, would transform your life the most?””

— James Clear

What Will You Invite In?

Let’s remember and imagine.

Remember - Think about a time you successfully developed a new habit. What did you learn from that experience? Is it a habit you still engage in? What positive affect resulted?

Imagine - Future think to the end of this year. What positive change happened as a result of your consistent habit? Which area of your life did it affect? Was it related to your relationships, finances, health, work, home, personal development, or another category?

As you consider what new habit to adopt, remember that your future self will thank you.

One Significant Habit Change

I’ve changed many habits in my life, including my reading habits. I love reading and typically do so at night before bed. However, that’s also when I’m most tired. When I’m sleepy, I read more slowly, read fewer pages because I drift off, and don’t retain the material as well.

One morning, after meditating, I changed things up and read before getting out of bed. I was motivated to finish the book, which I had almost completed the night before. Reading while fully awake was such an uplifting experience that I integrated this new habit into my morning routine.

It’s been amazing! Not only am I enjoying and assimilating what I’m reading even more, but I’m also reading twice as many books. This habit supports my thirst for learning and understanding, which I highly value.

What area of your life would you like to change? What new habit can enhance your life? What will be next for you? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

How Can I Help?

Do you want support organizing, developing new habits, or figuring out your next step? I’d love to help! Virtual organizing is an extraordinary path forward – local feel with a global reach.

Please schedule a Discovery Call, email me at linda@ohsorganized.com, or call 914-271-5673. Change is possible, especially with support.

As this year winds down, I appreciate reflecting on the past before moving ahead to the future. For part of the year-end review, I selected my favorite organizing concepts from 2024, one from each month. I hope you discover or rediscover a seed idea that will bring inspiration and balance to your New Year.

Where will you focus on creating organization and balance? Which people and projects will receive your time, energy, and attention? If you’re ready for a fresh start, embracing change, taking your next step, letting go, decluttering, enlisting help, and more, this is for you.

12 Promising and Best Loved Organizing Ideas of the Year

1. Fresh Start – Your Fresh Start Begins With One Small, Courageous Step

“It takes courage to move forward when you’re overwhelmed.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

2. Embrace Change – How 3 Helpful Changes Can Make Positive Differences in Your Life

“Yes starts the process of change. Yet keeps it going.”

— Sharon Saline, Psy.D.

3. Next Step – Here Are Today’s Most Interesting and Best Next Step Discoveries – v44

“One small step in the face of fear is enough to dispel its hold on you.”

— Todd Henry

---

4. Letting Go – One Easy and Excellent Strategy for Quickly Letting Go

“One of the simplest ways to let go is to notice the things that don’t belong.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

5. Clutter - What Does Your Clutter Feel Like? One Client Shares Insights

“Clutter creates chronic inflammation.”

— Oh, So Organized! Client

6. Time Management – What Astounding Growth and Change Can Happen When You Make Time?

“Progress is noticeable when you make a time investment.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

---

7. Motivation - How One Simple Question Will Motivate You When You’re Not

“What’s a quick completion?”

— Cameron Gott, PCC

8. Enlisting Help – When Facing Something Difficult, Do You Procrastinate or Ask for Help?

“You don’t have to do everything yourself.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

9. Virtual Organizing – Virtual Organizing: Everything You Want to Know and Why It Benefits You

“Virtual organizing is a flexible, creative, collaborative process.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

---

10. Possibilities – New Exciting Bedroom Fun Look Transformation: From Possibility to Reality

“Bringing possibilities to fruition is gratifying.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

11. Wonderfully Human – 3 Ways to Joyfully Prepare for a Compassionate Holiday Season

“We don’t have to be perfect.”

— James Clear

12. Life Balance – How to Create Your Happy Life Balance Using Circles of Influence & Control

“There’s immense power in knowing which things in our lives we can and can’t control.”

— Mikael Krogerus and Roman Tschappeler

Grateful for You

Thank you for being an integral part of this vibrant community. I am deeply grateful to you. We’ve had an incredible year of conversations and sharing. You bring learning, growth, support, and inspiration to every exchange. Thank you for participating and sharing the best of who you are.

What inspired you this year? Which organizing concept resonates most with you? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

How Can I Help?

Do you want help decluttering, organizing, planning, or creating more balance? I’d love to help! Virtual organizing is an extraordinary path forward – A local feel with a global reach.

Please schedule a Discovery Call, email me at linda@ohsorganized.com, or call 914-271-5673. Organization, balance, and ease are possible, especially with support.

It’s a funny thing about possibilities. Dreaming and imagining are part of a possibility-thinking process. Simultaneously, angst, ambivalence, or uncertainty can also be present. Why is that?

You understand and live your current reality. It may not be how you want it, but it’s familiar. Thinking about alternatives can be thrilling, anxiety-producing, or scary. Change requires time, attention, and resources, which you might or might not have.

Something happened to me recently. Who knew a seemingly simple guest bedroom renovation and organizing project would be such an emotional, satisfying, liberating, and poignant experience?

For years, I wanted to reimagine our guest bedroom. Initially, the room was my art studio and office. After our first daughter, Allison, was born, it became her bedroom. When her sister, Cassie, was born, it became their shared space, “the girls’ room.” Fast-forward to them leaving for college, and it turned into a guest room. However, while I made a few minor changes after they left, I never altered the wall colors, window treatments, or closet.

The girls said, “Mom, you can change the room any way you want. It’s OK.” They repeated this message to me for years. The kids had moved on and kept encouraging me to, too. However, part of me wasn’t ready to let go of certain remnants of their living-at-home years. How could I paint over Allison’s murals or cover up the pencil growth chart markings? Also, I didn’t have the mental bandwidth to figure out how I wanted the room to be until now.

Possibilities Meet the Moment

What shifted? We had other home improvement projects happening, and I knew that the guest room’s time had come. My motivation to make this change was heightened. I didn’t want another year to pass without completing this goal. I was finally ready to turn possibilities into reality.

9 Phases of the Guest Bedroom Project

• Imagine – Envision the possibilities. What do I want the room to look and feel like? How can I make it comfortable for guests and also include functional storage? What will the color scheme be? Can I refer to old vision boards or other visual inspiration sources?

• Plan – Think through the process. How much time do I need to complete this project? Where can we (my husband, Steve, and I) carve out time in our schedule to work on this? How much of this project can we do ourselves? How much outside help do we need? Should we rip out and install a new closet interior or only paint the existing one?

• Gather Resources – Identify vendors and resources. Which vendors can I use for painting and construction, purchasing blinds, framing, buying furniture, and redoing the closet? Which vendors are best for buying organizing containers and other products?

• Budget – Determine the costs. What estimates do I need to get? What will different parts of the project cost (painting, furniture, headboard, bedding, blinds, closet, bins)? What is our overall budget?

• Empty – Prepare the space for transformation. What must be removed from the room to prepare for painting and construction, and when can we empty it? How can I prepare emotionally for the temporary chaos and disruption?

• Renovate – Do the work. How many days will the painter need to prepare, demo the closet, patch, and paint? After the room is painted and before we return the contents, when can Steve install the new Elfa® closet? When can Steve install the new window blinds?

• Edit – Make decisions about room contents. Which items can I let go of by selling, donating, tossing, or giving away? Which things will return to the room? Which items need to be replaced? Which items belong elsewhere?

• Organize – Return ‘keepers’ in an organized way. How will the contents be organized back into the room? Which items will need new storage containers? Do they need labels?

• Finish – Complete the final touches. When will all furniture, lights, books, memorabilia, and games be returned to the room? Which bedding will I use? When can we hang the pictures, mount the wall hooks, and add the door stop? When will I consider the room done?

Emotional Surprises

When we emptied the room to prepare for the painter, I was surprised by how emotional I felt. I was physically handling boxes of the kiddos’ memorabilia, photo albums, books, games, and art. Touching, moving, and looking at objects from the past stirred up many emotions. I felt a powerful combination of gratitude, sadness, joy, and love.

I saw photos and objects from the past. Some images were of loved ones who are no longer alive. I looked at the kids’ art, writings, and school projects. I marveled at our detailed records of the milestones and everyday experiences. It was a journey of emotions as I reflected and remembered the beautiful years we spent raising our daughters.

Even when the room was empty, I could feel the love reverberating within its walls. Cherished memories traveled through time and space, which filled my heart and mind.

“Bringing possibilities to fruition is gratifying.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

Practicing Flexibility

During the project, I remained flexible about my options, which was helpful. When a room's contents are removed, many unanticipated things can happen. Gifting yourself the flexibility to make new or different choices is beneficial.

• Closet – The closet required some thought. Do we paint the existing closet or rip it out to install a new one? It would cost more to have a new closet interior. However, time-wise, it seemed most practical to redo it now. Plus, we would gain more storage space.
  

• Furniture – After emptying the room, we liked how spacious it felt with less. While we intended to return the desk, we realized it was unnecessary and took up too much space. I’m letting go of the desk.
  

• Art – After emptying the room and painting the interior, Allison’s murals and other framed art were no longer visible. With blank walls, I reimagined the space. We decided to have more blank wall space and only hang a few pieces, including a new one. I printed and framed one of the landscape photos I had taken in the Finger Lakes.
  

• Memorabilia – I texted the kiddos photos and asked what they wanted to keep. I respected their responses and either let go or kept things accordingly. I also shared several pictures of their projects, writings, and other memorabilia I thought they’d get a kick out of seeing.

9 Lessons Learned

• Imagining possibilities is fun and creative.

• Bringing possibilities to fruition is gratifying.

• Change is refreshing.

• Change encourages more change.

• Emptying one room sparked a reimagining, tweaking, and reorganizing of other areas, such as the pantry and our bedroom.

• Letting go of things that have overstayed their welcome is liberating.

• Life has stages. Organizing your space for the phase you’re in is affirming.

• Embrace gratitude for what was and what is.

The Bedroom Transformation Video

What’s Possible for You?

How does possibility thinking show up for you? What changes have you made or want to make? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

Are you ready to get unstuck, plan a new project, or create new organizing systems? If so, I’m here to help. Please email me at linda@ohsorganized.com, call 914-271-5673, or schedule a Discovery Call. Moving forward is possible, especially with support.