Today, January 16th, is the day my mother was born. She passed away back in December of 2017, just a month shy of her 82nd birthday. Still, I feel her presence every single day.

When I was growing up, my mother was an uber-organized and uber-clean person. There was never any clutter. In fact, there was never, ever one item out of place. Our house was spotless. Honestly, she could not even walk past a tiny piece of lint on the floor without noticing it and stopping to pick it up.

She would rarely sit down to relax. She'd be dusting, vacuuming, rearranging, or some other form of cleaning or organizing. When it came time to serve dinner, she'd cook the whole meal, serve everyone, re-serve everyone when she felt someone could use more food on their plate, and I swear that she never ate a hot meal in her entire life.

She also spent years working full-time jobs in retail management and accounting. She took care of 'the books' at work, as well as all of our paperwork at home.

One might call her obsessive-compulsive and that would definitely not be far from the truth.

We were a middle class family. My dad worked long hours. Some years, he worked both a full-time job and a part-time job at the same time. While they never missed a bill payment, we rarely took vacation and eating out was a special treat. There were years when they had to take out a second mortgage to fix the roof or replace the furnace.

Life wasn't always easy, but we got by. I know my mom always wanted more though. Maybe the constant organizing, cleaning, and working stemmed from wanting to 'fix' a part of her life.

I know that many of my organizing and cleaning traits stem from my upbringing. I'm not saying that I was born organized. Being organized is a learned trait, and one I decided to pursue. That being said, while my home is organized and I'm a very focused, organized person, I recognize that there's more to life than constant organizing, cleaning, and TO DOs. I also recognize that we have more control of our lives than we sometimes may think...and that by getting outside of our comfort zones now and then is very necessary to improve our situations...whatever those challenges may be.

Getting back to organizing and cleaning, here are a few practical lessons from my mom (everyone called her Margie; her birth name was Michelina) that I continue in my own home...in her honor, for my benefit, and for the benefit of my family.

1. Clean as you go. There was very little to clean after any of our family meals because my mother always cleaned all the pots, pans, utensils, etc. she used to prep, while our meal was cooking.

2. Don't put anything down 'just for now.' If you're not using it, put it away...right away.

3. Write everything down. My mom didn't leave anything to memory. If she had to do something, get something at the grocery story, ask someone a question next time she called someone, etc. she wrote it down. And everything was in a notebook...not on scraps of paper.

4. Don't keep anything you don't use and/or love. There was never an article of clothing in my mom's closet or drawers that she wasn't wearing on a regular basis. Our cabinets were not stuffed and everything in them was being used and enjoyed. We didn't have much in storage in the basement, except for holiday items, because she felt that if it was stored, it pretty much wasn't useful. I will admit that my mom was a little 'too good' at getting rid of things. I wish she would have kept my old school report cards, for example, but she did not. Because this was the case, I'm very good about 'keeping memories' (to a point) for my daughter.

5. Have an assigned home for everything. No matter what it was, my mother designated an assigned home for that particular item. And that assigned home was always appropriate and made life easier, like keeping the coffee and coffee filters right near the coffee machine, or keeping her cooking utensils right near the stove.

As much as I learned 'what to do' from my mom, I also learned a few 'what NOT TO DOs' as well:

a. Organizing and cleaning is good, but be careful that it doesn't become such an obsession that there is no room left for enjoyment.

b. It's great to do kind things for others, but if you never do kind things for yourself, that's not healthy physically or emotionally.

I know my mom is in Heaven and at peace...and I miss her. I thought of her the other day when it began snowing, and wondered if she was dusting off a cloud.

To fast forward to GON GLOW immediately, visit:
getorganizednow.com/rd-gonglow.html

Trim up, tone up, and be healthy in 2022 with my resource, GON GLOW. You're going to love it! You'll discover how to:

* lose weight, without going hungry

* trim up, with simple, fun exercises anyone can do

* keep your spirits, and your energy, high

* feel the best you've ever felt in your life, inside and out

* apply daily, do-able healthy living advice

* keep your body and mind strong and healthy

* make meals that are delicious and easy to prepare

* stay motivated and inspired...the most important component to sticking to healthy living

With GON GLOW, you will get sound advice, motivation, and (most important) support and guidance...ALL FROM ME...to help you throughout your journey to a thinner, healthier you. And you'll be able to do this WITHOUT starving, WITHOUT food restrictions, WITHOUT smoothies/supplements/vitamins, and WITHOUT intense exercise.

P.S. It gets even better and brighter! When you get GON GLOW BEFORE Friday, January 21...you will also AUTOMATICALLY get 5 COMPLIMENTARY bonuses valued at over $100. For details, visit:

getorganizednow.com/rd-gonglow.html

___ 1. Do today's task on my January Monthly Organizing Checklist. The January 16 TO DO focuses on doing something in memory of someone. Visit GetOrganizedNow.com to access my January Monthly Organizing Checklist.

___ 2. Are you cleaning and organizing too much or too little. Determine how much time you're dedicating to both. An hour a day is reasonable. Four hours a day is not.

___ 3. Start each day feeling great. Begin every day with a sense of accomplishment. To find out how I do that, visit: GetOrganizedNow.com to access my Dirty Little Secret on this topic.'

'There are no goodbyes, wherever you are, you will always be in my heart.' (Mahatma Gandhi)

I'd love to hear from you.

I LOVE GON reader mail! Whether it's a comments, suggestions, or just a note to say hello, REPLY to this email with a short note.

And remember...there's no better time to get organized, than to Get Organized Now!

Warmly,

Maria Gracia
Get Organized Now!
getorganizednow.com

(c) Copyright 2022 by Maria Gracia, Get Organized Now!

* Copyright, contact and reprint information:
getorganizednow.com/contact.html

* You signed up to receive our Idea-Kit and/or our Newsletter at our Get Organized Now! Web site. We never add names unless you have voluntarily opted in.

* We never rent, trade or sell our email list to anyone. You'll never get an unsolicited email from a stranger as a result of joining this list.

* If you happen to purchase anything I recommend in this newsletter, or any of my communications, I may receive compensation. Still, I only recommend what I truly believe in and share with my friends and family. If you ever have an issue with anything I recommend, please let me know. I want to make sure I am always serving you at the highest level.

* To subscribe, visit:
getorganizednow.com/free-ezine.html


* To unsubscribe, if you absolutely must go, please click the link below. However . . .

YIKES! - If you unsubscribe, you'll lose all the complimentary organizing resources I share with my loyal readers each week. You'll lose the tips, reader ideas, reader clinics, complimentary videos, ebooks, resource recommendations, and the many valuable bonuses I offer each month. Please don't go. I love sending you all of this free training. I'd be lost and lonely without you. If there is something more you would like from my newsletters, then please reply to this email and let me know.
-- Maria Gracia