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For me a birthday is a time to refresh. I've journeyed around the sun for 365 days since last October and it's time to start looking at the next 365 journeys around our bold and beautiful star!
It's been an odd year! Facebook reminds me that this time last year I bought a new bike! Well that's still sitting in the shed, full of promise! When we bought it I hadn't been on a bicycle for years, I have an irrational fear of going downhill and a rational knowledge that my lungs may well explode going uphill! So Phil took me to a local park where I could cycle around the carpark for a bit and then work up to cycling up a hilly path where I would have to come back down again!! It probably took rather longer than he imagined it would for me to pluck up the confidence to cycle up the hill, knowing I would have to ride back down again but the man is a saint and I did get there in the end and I have to admit it was quite exhilarating! But I haven't been on it since! Life gets in the way, doesn't it?
Over Christmas and well into February my family was beset with illness. All thankfully well now! But it culminated with me getting a severe case of shingles. I was off work for three weeks only to be told, on the eve of my return to work that, because I have asthma, the company was going to give me sick pay for twelve further weeks as lockdown began! This was reduced to three weeks in the end but by the middle of March I felt like I needed to change things in my life!
So I began looking at online courses. This is where I found like minded people who were as enthusiastic about decluttering, organising and helping other people as I am! Since March I have qualified as a Professional Declutterer and Organiser, studied a small business course and attended webinars and zoom calls and, BEST OF ALL, I have begun to help people find solutions to their organising and cluttering blocks! I am now an eager consumer of online knowledge. If you can't find me I am probably in my ShShShtudio studying and learning something new!
But, how does this indulgent story help you? When you are surrounded by weeks, months, years worth of possessions and you feel guilty opening up your computer or reading a book never mind spending time on courses just because you enjoy them??
Well, please believe me when I say that I have been where you are. I have felt guilty , ashamed and embarrassed by my home for years. Maybe you only have a small area of your home that you feel is disorganised - but that small area can take up a huge amount of your brain, so much so that you struggle to concentrate on anything else without feeling 'I shouldn't be doing this - I should be sorting out that area'. Or perhaps it is years of accumulation throughout your house and into a garage? You turn down invitations because you know you should be sorting through the objects surrounding you, but when the time arrives you are overwhelmed and nothing gets done, however well intentioned you are.
Lets go back to my first bike ride in years. I was scared, I knew that I wasn't fit enough to cycle up a hill and I also knew that, when coming down the hill, I would brake and go over the handle bars. I was convinced this was true. But Phil knew this was not the case. He had no doubt that I could get up the hill and come back down again without incident, and what's more - I would enjoy it! First of all, he made sure I could balance on the bike! Then he told me to take my time and just ride around the empty carpark. Then he talked me through the gears, and I began to feel as if I was controlling the bike rather than the other way around! Then, when I felt ready, off I went, up the hill wondering what on earth I was going to do when I reached the top and had to turn around to get back down again! Just as I was reaching the crest of the hill (summit? peak?!) two men came past me in the opposite direction - and do you know what? They didn't even give me a second glance? To them I was just someone else on a bike! That gave me a boost and around I turned and started the descent, wow, I was so scared! But Phil had told me exactly what to do, how to apply the brakes and control my speed and most importantly to look where I was going! And I made it!
When you are overwhelmed by something it can seem a lot bigger than it actually is. Or it may be that things have got out of hand and the situation is 'big' .
It is ok to look for the person who knows how to help you, wants to help you. They can break down your situation so that it can be done in stages. They can show you the way to succeed.
Phil cycles almost everyday, he knew how to coach me to success. I am a professional declutterer and organiser, I know how to coach you, support you and set you up with systems that are individually suited to you so that you can keep cycling even when I am not there to help you!
So, I encourage you to find your coach! A friend, a family member or a professional. Just remember that with help and guidance, YOU CAN reach the top of YOUR hill. YOU CAN. learn how to descend. And, on each hill you tackle after that you will know what techniques work to get you up there and back down again successfully. And, before you know it you will be managing on your own!
You can contact me via my email lindajharper@yahoo.com or using the chat bubble on my website, I would love to help you!
You can message me on my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Linda-J-Harper-Professional-Declutterer-and-Organiser-107805011001601.
I am also on Pinterest if you need some inspiration! https://www.pinterest.co.uk/adnilenaj1314/boards/
I have also just rebooted my Etsy shop! https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/PrettyOrganisedToots