Letting Go

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Digital Organization Advice from a Web Developer

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I am very lucky to have amazing friends in such a variety of fields! This week's guest blog is from my dear friend Heather. Her degree is in New Media Interactive Development and she currently works as a Front End Marketing Engineer. As you can imagine her digital world runs like clockwork due to her extensive online presence. Today we get a glimpse into her world! P.S. Check out her website work here.--Hey everyone!  Mae is a great friend of mine and watching her go through this cleanse is extremely motivational and inspiring.  I am honored to be writing a guest post and I hope you find it helpful.  I am a Front End Marketing Engineer (or simply speaking a web developer) and therefore I spend most of my time on a computer. The only way I stay sane is to organize everything.  My equipment includes a home laptop, work laptop, iPad and iPhone.  I hope some of the technological tips and tricks I have picked up along the way can help you.File Back UpYour first step should be to back up all of your files.  Do this often because nothing is worse than losing files because your computer crashed - especially if you are in school or trying to get work done.  Second, ensure all of your software is up to date.  I know updating can be a nuisance but it’s there to make sure everything is running smoothly and efficiently.File OrganizationCleaning up your digital life is very similar to cleaning a room.  You should go through everything, determine what you don’t need or use anymore and get rid of it.  Uninstall old programs you haven’t used in a while.  If you don’t use something but want to keep it for the future (for documentation or reference) move it to an external hard drive. You can reach them but they won’t slow down your computer.  I tend to do this with my movies and TV Shows (because those are definitely something I hoard) that take up a lot of valuable space.  Pictures also take up a lot of space. I suggest to place the photos into folders and organize them (I usually name them by event) and put them on a hard drive as well.Be specific with the rest of your files (names and folders).  Do not keep folders on your desktop if you can help it because they slow down the computer since they are stored in working memory rather than on the hard drive.   You can start by creating categories in the “Documents” folder or create a whole new folder.  The best example I can give is for my college work. I had an RIT folder that contained sub-folders for each year I was at school. Within each sub-folder there are folders for each quarter and folders for the classes that I took that quarter.  You want to be able to find files easily and fast and the only way to do that is by being specific.  I can’t tell you how many times I think I’m going to remember something and then when I actually need it I have no idea where I put it.Email OrganizationEmail can get pretty messy and disorganized.  I use Gmail and the labels tool can be your best friend.  I have labels for so many categories that my inbox looks like a Crayola box.  An example is a bills label with nested labels for each kind of bill under that.  If you haven’t done so you should change to paperless statements for any accounts you have so that you can reduce your carbon footprint and be environmentally friendly (Note from Mae: So excited she mentioned this!).  I also like paperless statements because I can search my inbox by my labels and everything is right there. I don’t have to sift through a bunch of paper.  When creating labels use the filter  “@example.com”. Do not use the first part of the address because most companies have the same domain name and use different identifiers for the various emails they send out.  Also, make sure you have your contacts up to date so that emails don’t go to spam unnecessarily.My last piece of advice is for those that use several devices often. You should utilize programs that let you access information from all computers and mobile devices.  I love Evernote. I have a bunch of notes from work, lists and other things that my Type A personality needs.  I also use Google Documents which allow you to share files, spreadsheets and media with other people so collaboration is easy.  I know Mae mentioned Mint in an earlier post. It is a wonderful tool that organizes finances as well as your online banking.I hope that some of my tips help you get a little more organized.  I’m excited to see where the rest of Mae’s journey leads and I hope that it has inspired you to better yourselves as much as it has inspired me.  Good luck!

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Step Away From the Computer

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Oh digital clutter, how you irk me - incessant emails, duplicate pictures from multiple camera dumps, old stories, college essays, multiple versions of resumes, financial spreadsheets and goal logs cluttering up my digital space and thus my mind (and this is just my laptop!).I am having extreme resistance to lugging out the 2 old desktop computers from my spare bedroom, setting them up and diving in to moving/organizing files to my external hard-drive. I just do not want to do it. I would much rather be outside, talking to my mentor, brainstorming my newest writing idea or (like today) sitting on the floor at work creating environmental posters. I love connecting with people and creating things, organizing not so much.To motivate myself to declutter the digital mess that is my current life I will need to focus on things I enjoy doing - connecting and creating. How can I link the digital clutter to my joys?

  • Learning to use gmail filters and folders will allow me to read the most important emails from my most important connections first (leaving the junk mail and less important emails to be automatically filed into another folder to be looked at later or ignored)
  • Organizing my digital photos will allow me to create beautiful albums (either online or in print) thus unleashing my creativity
  • Re-reading and organizing my environmental essays and creative writing will keep me inspired to continue writing :)
  • Decluttering digital space will allow me to get rid of  two desktop computers which frees up space (physical space but also emotional space because one of the computers is an ex-boyfriends that I need to return). I'm not dating during my 20-week Vibrant Life Cleanse but who couldn't use some freed up mental space for attracting positive energy :)

Brainstorming the connection between the task (declutter digital world) and my goals (connection, creation, less physical clutter) has helped me immensely. I feel ready to complete the task and have scheduled a block of time this weekend to do it. Hooray!  

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Week 7: Managing Digital Clutter

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Before we dive in to this week's topic I want to take a moment and celebrate last week's achievements!! I completely overhauled my closet for spring. My favorite shirts are now front and center and I have a box of shoes I'm donating tomorrow. My prom dress is tucked away in the back of my car ready for consignment and I cleared out an entire tall bookshelf of knickknacks, random electronics and old notes.I took down old wall hangings and put up three new teal framed items. One frame holds a dear friend's artwork, one frame holds pictures of me and friends, and one is a mirror that I hung to reflect more light. All three are gorgeous and make me very happy!Now on to Managing Digital Clutter (gah). I do not enjoy spending time on a computer moving files around. It frustrates me and takes forever (I realize that if I organized it to begin with this wouldn't be a problem but hindsight is 20/20). I have been dreading this week and what do you know it still arrived.This week my goals are:

  • Transfer files from two unused desktop computers to external hard-drive (I have been putting this off for almost 2 years)
  • Organize digital pictures (Also procrastinated this task for years)
  • Create email filing system (Things are starting to get lost in the email vortex...)

I know I will feel much better once these tasks are accomplished and I can get rid of the computer clutter. Wish me luck and leave a comment below if you have any advice for me!

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Decluttering Inspiration

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Decluttering is tough work, so this post is dedicated to inspiring action!One of the blogs I follow consistently (for the past 2 years) is Leo Babauta's Zen Habits. If I feel stressed this blog is where I go to breathe. He has done so many amazing things in his life - quit smoking, became a runner, wrote a novel, paid off all his debt and so much more. I love that his sites are mnmlist and so easy to read. I recently stumbled on a quote from him on a decluttering website.

“There is an empty room, and you. And you are enough. You are all that’s needed in this room, you fill it with your light and the miracle of your being, and you now realize: the things you used to express yourself, those were just a crutch. You need none of it. You are enough.” – Leo Babauta

This reminds me that it is unnecessary for me to worry about what physical objects I have in my life. They do not define me. I am my own person and I am enough and so are you!I also found Project 333 today! This project asks you to live with only 33 articles of clothing/jewelry (not including clothes you sleep in or go to the gym in) for 3 months. At the end of the 3 months you swap out your articles for 33 other items. A story from a woman who recently completed this project for the first time indicated she feels much lighter and getting ready for her day is much easier with fewer choices.Tomorrow is a big day folks - declutter mania + picking 33 personal items for the next 3 months!

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Decluttering Vs. Emotions

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Letting go of physical items can be surprisingly difficult (maybe that's why I've been putting it off for so long). Today I decided to declutter my closet. I knew there were at least 3 pairs of shoes, several shirts and two pairs of pants that could easily go, so I set my intention, turned on some empowering music and opened the closet door. I began sorting through each item and began feeling emotions and memories bubble up.Every time I picked up one of the items I thought would be easy to donate I began thinking the following statements:"I might wear this again.""This reminds me of that time when..""What if I need this one day?""I don't want to spend money to replace this.""Will I regret letting this item go?"I was literally paralyzed with these thoughts. I began reminding myself that I rarely wore the items and that most of them either weren't my style anymore or they didn't fit properly. I was able to start a small pile of clothes I am willing to part with, but soon after the pile was created my emotions and fears of letting things go resurfaced. I was ancy and uncomfortable but added a couple more things to the pile.Hunger kicked in and I had to walk away from the clutter. I ate a filling meal, took a long hot chamomile and lavendar bath and read a travel magazine about eco-retreats and adventures. Until next time clutter.P.S. I have to give a huge shoutout to Enfleurage in NYC. Last weekend I attended a Natural Makeup workshop and picked up a fragrance free lotion, geranium essential oil and lavendar essential oil. Tonight I mixed a few drops of each into the lotion and used it for the first time. I'm in love. It is the best lotion I have ever used (and I've tried a variety because I have sensitive, acne-prone skin).

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Ted Talk: Graham Hill - Less Stuff, More Happiness

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Graham Hill is the founder of Treehugger.com. He discusses living with minimal belongings to become happier, save money and improve the environment. I agree with his message whole heartedly.[ted id=1238]Can you see the connection between living with less and improving your happiness?

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Theme 2: Letting Go

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The past 5 weeks have been a whirlwind of knowledge and action around Self Love. Building a foundation of healthy eating, yoga practice, spirituality and pampering myself has been fantastic for my soul. It has also given me space to feel any resistance that popped up from changing my lifestyle.Now it is time for the Letting Go phase of the Vibrant Life Cleanse. Over the next five weeks I will focus on removing physical, emotional and digital clutter as well as letting go of expectations of others. All of this will be difficult but I am ready to release the old and embrace the new!This week's focus is "Letting Go of Outer Chaos (Physical Clutter)". Physical clutter represents unfinished tasks, hanging on to the past and a general feeling of disarray. Moving forward and manifesting positive energy is more difficult in a space brimming with the unnecessary.

"The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak."- Hans Hoffman

Goals for this week:

  • Donate gently used business clothes to local Women's Fund (They help women get back on their feet and into the workforce)
  • Donate or consign my prom dress (It's a huge white gown that takes up half my spare bedroom)
  • Declutter paper and books (I love learning so I tend to collect books and papers ... everywhere)
  • Read book of the week: Live More, Want Less by Mary Carlomagno

Do you have any decluttering experiences that shifted your energy? Leave a comment below!