.ADDITIONAL CATEGORIES

What is your 2019 Focus Word?

By Hazel Thornton | January 3, 2019 |

I’ll tell you my focus word, if you tell me yours! I’ve written a lot about resolutions and goal setting in the past, but last year I finally jumped onto the focus word bandwagon with my selected theme for 2018, CONNECT. I find that a focus word, or theme, helps to shape my thoughts and…

Business Tools for Introverts

By Hazel Thornton | January 2, 2019 |

As I’ve been gradually transitioning my hands-on, in-person organizing business to provide more virtual services, I’ve also been thinking about the business tools I use. Extraverts can, and do, of course, use these tools too, but if you are an introvert trying to make your way in an extraverted world, these might help:

Think of your Future Self as a Dear Friend

By Hazel Thornton | December 17, 2018 |

Do you routinely procrastinate even small tasks? Do you have a hard time reaching goals and creating new habits? Do you beat yourself up about it? Maybe it will help to think of your Future Self as a Dear Friend.

The guest-worthy & stress-free home

By Hazel Thornton | November 26, 2018 |

Do you enjoy house guests? Or avoid them? Is your home guest-worthy? Does the thought of having people over cause a small panic attack? In New Mexico the holidays start with the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in October! Many of us host visitors during that time. Some of us have friends and family who visit…

Organize Your Facebook News Feed for Serenity Now!

By Hazel Thornton | August 27, 2018 |

Are you feeling like you have no control over what you see in your Facebook News Feed? Are you on the verge of ditching Facebook altogether out of frustration? Are you sick of that “Facebook limits you to seeing posts from 26 friends” cut-and-paste meme going around? I know some of you are, because I’m…

Mom’s Boxes Part 6: Sometimes Organizers Need Help Too!

By Hazel Thornton | August 6, 2018 |

You didn’t think I was finished with Mom’s Boxes, did you? Ha ha ha! Noooo! In fact, I haven’t done a thing on this project since my brother left in December to spend a year in Japan. ←These are a few of the resulting categories: Cassette tapes, Mini photo albums, Grandma & Grandpa’s letters, Ephemera…

Do You Follow Doctor’s Orders?

By Hazel Thornton | July 23, 2018 |

I twisted my knee last fall. (Note: This post was originally written in 2013, but now I’m working on rehabbing my ankle.) I saw a doctor for knee pain and was already on a Rx anti-inflammatory, which masked the symptoms and made it seem not bad enough to see the doctor again. But a few…

Those Magic Little Words (that help you get organized)

By Hazel Thornton | May 14, 2018 |

A friend recently shared a tip with me that she read in an organizing book. I don’t even know which one it was. It was a technique for detaching emotionally from objects in order to be able to part with them. It said (I’m paraphrasing, and so was she): This item belongs in your past.…

WHY I Love Chores

By Hazel Thornton | May 7, 2018 |

                WHY do I love chores? OK, I don’t. Not really. But hear me out…. I LOVE having someone else clean my house. But, for the most part, I prefer to clean it myself for various financial and Zen reasons. I’ve often thought of housework and exercise as…

Why do I take before and after photos?

By Hazel Thornton | May 1, 2018 |

One of the first things I explain to a new client is why I take before and after photos. I’ve also recommended them as a “photo trick” to DIY organizers. They are a simple and effective way to enhance your organizing, redesign, or staging project. And they benefit everyone — the organizer, the client, the DIY-er,…