In uncertain times, we don’t have to stress out, or wait for someone or something to save us. We can reclaim control by organizing! It isn’t just for decluttering; organizing helps us take back our lives through planning and preparation! In this blog, I am sharing empowering organizing projects to reclaim your independence and security.
I am concerned by the helplessness that many are experiencing with health and financial upheaval at hand. It seems that some of us have lost our fighting spirit and are dealing with high levels of overwhelm and anxiety.
I have built a business for over 21 years serving the overwhelmed and I just don’t like to see my fellowman feeling small and victimized.
I am committed to helping YOU dig out of both the physical AND emotional clutter that comes with overwhelm.
These empowering organizing projects will help you reclaim key areas of life and provide a foundation of greater personal security in your:
- Finances
- Food
- Connections
- Preparation
These projects I’m recommending will help you take back your power and restore your peace of mind. Empowered people create their own security and make clear-minded decisions.
Get Your Finances in Order
One of the most empowering organizing projects you can do in an uncertain time is to take inventory of your finances so you can make wise financial decisions.
One thing we do often for our professional organizing clients is to create a master financial spreadsheet of all accounts. This spreadsheet is a snapshot of all your financial holdings in one place. Here are the columns I include in this spreadsheet:
- Date
- Institution
- Type of Account
- Account Number
- Last Balance + Date
- Contact Info
- Liquidity Policies
- Notes
I recommend creating this spreadsheet for all your accounts and assets. You may want to open a separate tab to list and describe any debts or liabilities.
In order to create this spreadsheet, you’ll need to gather all your statements and maybe even access online accounts for key information. Take the time to organize your financial paper files while you are going through this process. While it’s all clear in your mind is the best time to organize your finances – both in the physical and virtual world.
If you like to keep an ongoing eye on finances beyond just your income and expenses, or if you run a business like I do, you might also want to create a cash flow dashboard that you can use for bookkeeping purposes each week. I like to include in one horizontal-layout page both my business and personal financial picture of monies IN/monies OUT. Here are the columns I include in my weekly dashboard spreadsheet:
BUSINESS SECTION
- Date
- Business Checking
- Pending Deposits
- A/R <30 Days
- A/R >30 Days
- A/P
- Tax Reserves
- Business Visa
- Savings
PERSONAL SECTION
- Personal Checking
- Pending Due
- A/P
- Giving/Tithe
- Personal Visa
We faithfully use this wonderful weekly dashboard. With one glance, I can see my entire financial picture, and this empowers me to make decisions and transfers. It also keeps my priorities of savings and charitable giving “front and center” so they cannot be overlooked in cash flow.
Organizing your financial affairs not only brings you peace of mind, but it goes a long way in equipping you for estate planning, so you and your loved ones can breathe a sigh of relief.
Organize Your Food
Another empowering project is to organize your food.
- Start noticing how much fresh produce you have on hand, and how fast you go through it!
- Begin tracking what kinds of food go the fastest in your household.
- Pay attention to the items that go bad, sauces that never get used, and any other waste that happens that you can either correct, or stop buying
Assess what’s in your fridge and pantry (and give them a good clean while you’re at it).
In addition to the refrigerator and pantry, many families have “backstock” on hand in their garage or some adjacent space. Be sure to include this in your food assessment. Take inventory of your backstock and organize it. This way, you can:
- Toss expireds
- Bulk up your “staples” for a time of need
- Put a plan in place to cycle these items through your daily use, so the backstock doesn’t get ignored or spoiled
Beyond store-procured food, one of the MOST empowering things you can do is to grow, can, and dehydrate your own food! Our ancestors knew how to do all this! Unfortunately, many modern-day families don’t know how to do any of this!
Nearly all our grandparents had a victory garden during wartime. And very often our parents followed suit. Yet, fewer of today’s families have a garden. Back then, it was common to “pick” some of your dinner in the garden and “dessert” in the berry patch. It’s time to reinstitute individual family gardens! If you don’t have access to your own land, join a local community garden!
To begin reclaiming your food independence, you can start small: begin a window garden of herbs and greens. There are many free tutorials online for this purpose. Hydroponics have made home-growing easy, too! With just a little research, you can be on your way to enjoying healthier, nutrient-dense produce and reducing your dependence on the grocery store. Every step moves you forward!
If you have more resources and time, erecting a greenhouse and growing your food in earnest will provide a greater portion of your food and boost your health further.
Taking back your food security is a smart, satisfying and empowering organizing project. The key is to start somewhere, however small, and get some traction towards self-sustainability in your food.
Plan More Connection
Another empowering thing you can do to restore sanity is to increase intentional connection during tumultuous times.
Recent studies have shown that Americans are among the loneliest cultures in the world. Isolation makes this loneliness worse!
But you don’t have to be stuck in a lonely place. You have the power to change this and ensure that loneliness and separation doesn’t come knocking at your door!
Initiate meaningful connection with family, friends and neighbors! Here are some ideas:
- Video calls don’t have to be relegated only to business. Use them to surprise friends, gather for emotional and spiritual support, or even play a virtual game of Pictionary! A little planning goes a long way to make video conferencing a blast. Our organizing team uses both FaceTime and Zoom with our virtual organizing clients.
- I just got my aunt to download a video chat app so we can see each other and stay in touch. This allowed my family to sing happy birthday to her while she watched live! Our professional organizers use this same tool with our clients – it’s an easy way for them to show us their space and for us to respond. It’s also a great company tool where I can send one update to the whole Restoring Order team at once. Seeing one another’s faces builds closer relationships, since 85% of communication is non-verbal but visual! Plus, I’ve found that sensitive messages are better sent via video instead of text, which can come across harsh, while facial and voice intonation makes all the difference.
- For those who aren’t into technology, resurrect the lost art of writing letters! People love getting hand-written notes in the mailbox. Hand-addressed mail is the first thing we open and it’s often messages from those we love. What would happen if you started writing more letters and thank you notes and updates to friends and family? Your missive might be the best part of someone’s day!
- Drop care packages in the mail or at the door of loved ones. Thoughtful love gifts are incredibly impactful. I will never forget the care packages my mama used to send me in college! My friends gobbled up all the homemade cookies, and I wore the new socks and enjoyed the goodies she included. I felt loved when I received a care package!
I hope these ideas will ramp up our human connection so we can give and receive support. With extra time on our hands, we can turn our attention to loving others well.
Get Prepped
Finally, you can empower yourself by organizing household and medical preparation supplies.
Take stock of your own resources including: water, candles, and first aid supplies. Watch a few videos on preparation and survivalism and decide what elements you want to adopt for yourself and your family. Getting prepped makes a fantastic, empowering organizing project.
You know what’s great about uncertain times? They invite us to prepare and become less dependent. They point out the inefficiencies of the “systems” upon which we have relied and encourage us to take personal responsibility!
Instead of spending time worrying or “waiting for the shoe to drop”, organizing these key areas of your life will empower you so you can be prepared, hopeful and strong.
Please share in the blog comments the organizing projects you have done, or are going to do, to empower yourself!
Also, please share this blog with someone who could use some empowerment and hope!
Your friend,
Vicki Norris
Need help reclaiming your life? I’ve got you! Here are YOUR NEXT STEPS to “restore order”:
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