This is the newest release (v44) of the “What’s Interesting?” feature, with my latest finds that inform, educate, and relate to organizing and life balance. These unique, inspiring, next step discoveries reflect this month’s blog theme.

You are a passionate, generous, and engaged group. I am deeply grateful for your ongoing presence, positive energy, and contributions to this community. I look forward to your participation and additions to the collection I’ve sourced.

What do you find interesting?

What’s Interesting? – 5 Best Next Step Discoveries

1. Interesting Read – Brave Next Step

Fear can color your choices and how you experience your life. In Todd Henry’s new work, The Brave Habit – A Guide to Courageous Leadership, his goal is “to inspire an epidemic of everyday brave action.” He says, “Bravery exists when we have a vision for a better possible future, and we trust that we have agency to help bring it about.” These ideas are further explored by examining what happens when low to high perceived agency is paired with optimistic or pessimistic visions.

When thinking about the next steps and the consequences of your actions, Todd says, “…almost every action you take, or choice you make has a lingering impact on the world around you, and over time, the impacts of those actions are exponential.”

Todd created The Brave Index to accompany the book. It’s a quick survey that helps you identify areas to develop your capacity for brave work and leadership. Based on your responses, you will receive a customized action plan. Todd says, “Don’t fear wrong action, fear inaction … One small step in the face of fear is enough to dispel its hold on you.”

2. Interesting Workshop – Clutter-Free Next Step

Does your next step include reducing clutter, overwhelm, and disorganization? One in four people struggle with clutter, which can affect their anxiety levels, relationships, sleep, and focus.

If you’re in the Westchester area near Croton on Hudson, New York, join me, Linda Samuels, Professional Organizer, for a live in-person workshop on How to Conquer Clutter. On Thursday, March 21st, from 5:30-7:30 pm Eastern, I’ll present at Design Lab’s monthly speaker series, sponsored by Denise Wenacur of DW Design & Décor. Come say “hi,” network with local professionals, enjoy yummy beverages and treats, and learn empowering clutter insights and solutions.

3. Interesting Article – Unplugged Next Step

March 1st was the Global Day of Unplugging. For 24 hours, we were encouraged to unplug, unwind, relax, and engage in activities that did not involve technology, electronics, or social media.

Did you miss it? That’s OK. You can create your own “unplugged” day or a part of a day at any time. Several of my colleagues wrote terrific articles about the benefits, history, and ideas for unplugging. Is stepping away from your devices next on your agenda? Find inspiration here:

• How to Unplug Your Home for the Ultimate Digital Detox by Teresa Siqueira

• Celebrate the Global Day of Unplugging by Julie Bestry

• How Unplugging Can Fuel Your Creativity and Forward Movement by Yota Schneider

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

— Todd Henry

4. Interesting Resource – Beneficial Next Step

Spring is next. This is an excellent time for editing, letting go, and decluttering your closets and drawers. Do you have clothing and accessories you no longer need, want, or fit? If so, you can clear space and help others.

Consider donating your clothing to The Benefit Shop Foundation Inc. You can drop off things at 185 Kisco Avenue, Suite 101, Mount Kisco, New York. Items will be accepted in March and April, Monday through Friday, from 11 am to 4 pm. Donations are tax-deductible, and tax forms will be available.

The Benefit Shop Foundation will host a fashion pop-up sale on May 17th and May 18th from 10 am to 4 pm. Proceeds will go to various local community-based organizations that help people who live and work in the area.

5. Interesting Thought – Small Next Step

Figuring out what to do next can feel overwhelming. When unsure what to do next or feeling the enormity of a project’s scope, next seems elusive. Instead, focus on making consistent, tiny movements forward.

Each small step lets you experience progress, boosts your motivation, and moves you closer to your goal. Make your next step small and manageable. Do and repeat. Action is your key to progress.

Do you have an interesting, next-step-related discovery? Which of these resonates with you? I’d love to hear your thoughts and invite you to join the conversation.

If you need help deciding on your next step, I’m here to help. Please email me at linda@ohsorganized.com, call 914-271-5673, or schedule a Discovery Call. Figuring out next is doable, especially with support.

What are your days like? Is life moving along smoothly? Or are your days filled with overwhelm, ups and downs, and challenges? There are times when finding your next step flows easily. At other points, the next step feels elusive. What if next included embracing “small awe” moments? How would that change the mood for your day and your experience of next?

Have you ever seen or experienced something that evoked such a sense of awe that you could barely find words to describe it? I remember visiting the Grand Canyon decades ago. My husband and I stood on the edge, looking at the magnificent expanse and feeling that deep awe. We were speechless.

Experiencing big awe because of natural wonders, cosmic events, encounters with wildlife, moments of surprise, spiritual experiences, human achievement, art, scientific discoveries, or personal transformation is amazing yet rare.

Small Awe Concept

The idea of small awe is more readily accessible. I was introduced to the concept when I visited the Dinner Gallery in New York City with my daughter, Allison. We saw the Time Is A Fire exhibit by artist Langdon Graves, who gave a talk about her work. Langdon used the phrase “small awe” to describe the intent behind some of her pieces. I’ve been thinking about that idea ever since. She said these tiny moments of awe are always available to us. However, we often don’t stop long enough to recognize them.

a Small Awe Next Step

What if your next step was discovering and enjoying a small awe moment? That might be . . .

• Seeing the first purple crocus of the season emerge from the earth

• Hearing your client declare confidently the progress they are making

• Crossing off the last task on your to-do list for the day

• Feeling the sun warm your body after days of gray, gloomy weather

• Going to the post office to mail your tax packet to your accountant

• Basking in the post-mindfulness meditation calm

• Taking in the coffee aroma and flavor from your favorite mug

• Sensing the warm water cover you as you shower or soak luxuriously in a tub

• Enjoying the open space you have in your closet after decluttering, organizing, and donating some clothes

• Hearing the sound of your loved one’s voice on the other end of the phone

• Climbing into your cozy bed after a long day

• Making progress on that big project, you were procrastinating about

• Having a great conversation with dear friends

“Be on the lookout for a ‘small awe’ moment?”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

Next can be a grand gesture or something smaller. It can be infused with awe. Are you stuck and unsure about what to do next? Be on the lookout for small awe moments. It might be just what you need to help you joyfully move forward. What moments are available to you? What will be your next step? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

If you want guidance with your next step, I’m here to help. Please email me at linda@ohsoorganized.com, call 914-271-5673, or click here to schedule a Discovery Call. Next is doable, especially with support.

You are more than halfway through the first month of the new year. Have you leaned into the energy boost a fresh start brings? Or are you feeling stuck, overwhelmed, and weighted down by your clutter? Clutter can keep us frozen in time, be demotivating, and make activation challenging. Physical clutter can include things like paper piles punctuating counters and surfaces. There can also be mind clutter, internal thoughts, and ideas swirling around the brain. Clutter can be time-related. It can infiltrate calendars and is visible as over-committed schedules with no breathing room.

One of the focus areas this month with clients has been helping them clear a variety of clutter. They want to feel calmer, happier, and more in control of their space, time, and thoughts. I’m continually thrilled by how much progress clients make during their one-hour virtual organizing sessions. They further their goals by working independently in between sessions, too. Relief and joy are typical feelings they experience due to their decluttering efforts.

When clutter is released, you increase your capacity to attend to what is most essential and fully embrace the life you want.

Declutter Physical Things

I recently worked on my own physical and mind clutter that weighed on me. It felt great to make space for the new year. For decluttering the physical things, I

• Removed and archived last year’s papers

• Made new file folders for the current year (I love my Brother PTouch label maker!)

• Edited papers I no longer needed

• Shredded and recycled

• Bagged household items to donate

“When clutter is released, you increase your capacity to attend to what is most essential and fully embrace the life you want.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

Declutter Thoughts

Because my mind was cluttered and filled with too many competing thoughts, I needed help focusing and getting clear. To release mind clutter, I

• Wrote in my journal

• Reviewed past journal entries

• Shared my thoughts out loud with a few people (I’m a verbal processor)

• Engaged in email exchanges to tease out more thoughts

• Filled out the Three Things Reflection (a set of questions to review the previous year and future-think about the current one)

• Practiced patience while allowing ideas to percolate

• Meditated

• Practiced yoga

Like my clients, I experienced relief, clarity, and joy after decluttering my things and thoughts. My physical and mental capacity has improved. The slate feels clear and clean. I chose to embrace this fresh start with renewed energy and open arms.

If you feel frozen and overwhelmed by clutter and want help, I’m here for you. Please email me at linda@ohsoorganized.com, call 914-271-5673, or click here to schedule a Discovery Call. Experience the joy, relief, and clarity decluttering and organizing brings.

This is the newest release (v43) of the “What’s Interesting?” feature, with my latest finds that inform, educate, and relate to organizing and life balance. These unique, inspiring, fresh start discoveries reflect this month’s blog theme.

You are a passionate, generous, and engaged group. I am deeply grateful for your ongoing presence, positive energy, and contributions to this community. I look forward to your participation and additions to the collection I’ve sourced.

What do you find interesting?

What’s Interesting? – 5 Best Fresh Start Discoveries

1. Interesting Workshop – Clutter-Free Fresh Start

Do you feel overwhelmed with the clutter and disorganization in your life? If you answered “yes,” you’re not alone. Help is here! The New Year is an excellent time to change how you approach decluttering and organization.

Join me, Linda Samuels, Professional Organizer, for an empowering workshop – My Simple Organizing Plan, on Thursday, February 8th, from 7:00-8:00 pm Eastern. Together, we’ll uncover the impact of clutter, master motivation, and create a personal decluttering plan.

During this one-hour Zoom workshop, you’ll come away with a transformative, ready-to-implement strategy to make immediate positive changes in your life. Say goodbye to chaos and hello to a calmer, organized you. Reserve your spot now!

2. Interesting Trend – Immersive Fresh Start

Color drenching is a design trend that has emerged in recent years. Amy Wax, an internationally recognized color expert, describes a color-drenched interior as “designed with one color in mind, and that color doesn’t just coat the walls…it’s everywhere…a real color-drenched interior means that the ceiling, trim, railings, doors, and sometimes even the floor all have the same color.”

Are you wondering about the connection between the color-drenching trend and a fresh start? I thought you might. Words describing this trend include daring, saturated, adventurous, all-consuming, harmonizing, sensual, and calming. As you begin this New Year and embrace your fresh start, which words speak to you? Do you want more adventures and boldness, or would you like more calm and harmony? Select a theme to ‘drench’ your year that can be a guiding force for your choices and goals. What color or word speaks to you?

3. Interesting Read – Peaceful Fresh Start

Do you desire a more peaceful, calmer life? We now have 24-7 access to people, places, and things. Life has become complicated, noisy, and distracting.  

A Simpler Life – A Guide to Greater Serenity, Ease and Clarity by The School of Life provides a path to “the simpler lives we crave and deserve.” We’re at an unusual juncture where the yearning for simplicity is historically reasonably new. “We long to unburden ourselves of excess, to have more straightforward relationships, to declutter our homes, and to avoid noise, complexity, and fuss. Simplicity has grown central to our vision of happiness.”

The book focuses on five areas to simplify- relationships, social life, lifestyle, work, and culture. If your fresh start includes the desire to release the excess, you’ll appreciate the suggestions explored. “Simplicity isn’t so much a life with a few things and commitments in it, as a life with the right, necessary things, attuned to our flourishing. Our lives will feel – and be – simpler when we’ve probed our minds to yield…the knowledge of what we truly want.”

“Your fresh start is ready for you to lean in, activate, and thrive.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

4. Interesting Product – Focused Fresh Start

During a session with one of my virtual organizing clients, she showed me an adorable gift she purchased for the holidays. Toast is marketed as a night light. However, she and a few of her friends use it differently. They turn it on to help them focus when working. It has a warm, dimmable glow, an adjustable timer, and a ‘friendly’ face.

I couldn’t resist, so I purchased a mint green one to see if it would help me. To my delight, it does. As a matter of fact, while writing this post, I brought my Toast nearby to keep me company and hold my attention. I didn’t use the timer feature, but I found the gentle light worked for me.

Check out this little fellow if you want your fresh start to include more focused work and improved concentration.

5. Interesting Thought – Promising Fresh Start

What is the best thing about the New Year? It allows you to reset, rethink, and reimagine how you want the next twelve months to be. If you want to make tiny tweaks or strive for those big, audacious goals, you have the spaciousness to make things happen. Let go of what doesn’t work, learn from your mishaps, and activate the hope-filled ‘blank canvas’ the New Year brings. Your fresh start is ready for you to lean in, activate, and thrive.

Do you have an interesting, fresh start-related discovery? Which of these resonates with you? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

Here’s to you and a happy, healthy, joy-filled, and organized New Year!