September 2024 - Organization Pending Newsroom - Upper Arlington, Ohio
Welcome to Organization Pending's Newsroom, September 2024: As Seasons Turn edition. This month, we're taking a closer look at The Cognitive Load of Your Home, with Clutter and Your "Messy" Home, and Upper Arlington Updates to help you out. Don't miss Company News, and a brief podcast series recommendation on grief as the holiday season comes up.
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Clutter and Your "Messy" Home
"If your house is a mess, you're still awesome. If you can't find your keys, you're still awesome." Professional singer and home organizer, The Organized Soprano, wanted to take a minute to let people know you can Stop Apologizing About Your Messy Home. in a recent YouTube™ video. An experience all home organizers have is potential clients sharing their shame surrounding their homes and their items, and I loved The Organized Soprano's approach of speaking more kindly to ourselves, and discussing our homes in a more neutral manner.
"Regardless of what you see on social media, having a perfectly organized, minimal home is literally just a state, and has nothing to do with your value as a person. Having an organized home is not a virtue - it's not. It's literally just a state - it doesn't have any bearing on whether or not you're a good person or not - it's literally just a state. Yes, maybe, it says something about the amount of stress you are experiencing and dealing with because, let's be honest, when I am very busy and when my life is a little more stressful, my home can fall apart a little bit - but I'm still a good person."
The Cognitive Load of Your Home
"In cognitive psychology, cognitive load refers to the amount of working memory resources used. Heavy cognitive load can have negative effects on task completion, and it is important to note that the experience of cognitive load is not the same in everyone. The elderly, students, and children experience different, and more often, higher, amounts of cognitive load."
Lisa Woodruff of The Organize 365® Podcast sat down to discuss her research and thoughts on mental load of administrative household management in episode 581 - The Physical Weight of Cognitive Load, including her theory that the physical act of writing out tasks for the Sunday Basket® relieves the bearer of the need to keep it in their working memory, unburdening them through them week. Unfamiliar with the Sunday Basket®? This physical basket is a place in the home where to-do tasks gather daily, and is decluttered regularly once a week.
As a PhD student, Woodruff has been adjusting her podcast episodes to reflect what she's learning, and how it's connecting to her research and experiences as a home organizer - I know I've been an avid listener! Take a listen to this episode if you and/or a partner have struggled to understand the invisible workload that exists in the household, and give the Sunday Basket® a try and a weigh. I can't wait to hear more about Woodruff's research on this topic in the future!
Minimalist Home, the YouTube™ channel brought to you by home organizer and ER nurse Robyn Buchanan, discussed how to Uncover the Secret Dangers of Clutter - End the Mess for Good! I'm sure you know clutter can cause stress, but did you know that stress can raise your blood pressure, causes us to make less healthy decisions overall, and affects our mental health? Clutter also captures and increases allergens, and increases the risk of accidents. "It's almost like trying to walk through molasses - you get bogged down, and that is what is happening in your mind."
"There's a little bit of us in all of our stuff. It felt like there were invisible strings tying me to every scrap of paper, every worn out t-shirt, every book I had planned to read, and didn't. And when I got rid of the things, I snipped the strings. Instead of my energy going out to my stuff, I could focus it in."
Former journalist Eagranie Yuh invites listeners to consider their metaphorical suitcase in her recent TEDxHobart talk, What I learned from getting rid of 99% of my stuff. "When you choose what to let go of, you get the clarity to see what you actually need to move forward."
In 2022, Yuh and her family moved halfway across the world, downsizing and minimizing belongings to a single suitcase each. In 2021, they started their decluttering journey, Yuh realizing her attachment to paperwork was tied to a sense of belonging, and proving credibility - realizing how items can physically hold us back, and recycling these items - "recycling my old life" - didn't affect how she felt about herself. Tune in for the discussion on how her feelings transitioned through the process, and her advice on the questions to ask when our lives shift.
Grief on Struggle Care
As someone who's grieved before, episodes 59 and 60 of the Struggle Care podcast caught my eye when host KC Davis took a deep dive into grief with multiple guests for A Grief Observed, and Grieving Someone Who Still Lives.
Joined by three friends who have dealt with the death of a friend, husband, and child, host KC Davis strives to understand how the people close to grieving people can help in the aftermath of loss, including asking each friend how the questions "What do you need?" and "What can I do for you?" affected their grieving and healing processes. A Grief Observed helped highlight how different each person views death and grief, and how each person can find different actions and common turns of phrases useful...or not. One of my favorite tips was to specifically reach out with a task you're able to accomplish for the grieving person or family - here they used the example of picking up donations on your way there.
"Make the messy, human effort." Grieving Someone Who Still Lives is a fourth interview in this Struggle Care mini-series, with a friend who is experiencing anticipatory grief after their mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Davis and her friend Meg discuss the same questions as episode 59, and also talk about "why the only thing that is NEVER helpful is to disappear, disengage, and not make any effort with a grieving person."
Upper Arlington Updates
Don't miss out on SWACO's free Recycle Right at Home webinars! Offered monthly, webinars are able to be sent to your inbox if you're not able to attend live, and include valuable information about how to recycle properly in Franklin County. I was surprised to learn we don't separate by number, papers should be larger than a credit card for the machines to catch them, and shredded paper can be put in a clear bag with your regular recycling - check out their search tool for other specifics here.
After learning about the Hefty ReNew™ program at a recent webinar, signing up for a free first bag was easy - and the kids are happy to be able to recycle their chip bags, candy bar wrappers, and other hard-to-recycle plastics. These orange bags get recycled with your regular recycling when they're full, getting sorted out at the SWACO plant, and additional bags are available at some chain grocery stores.
If you've been keeping up with Columbus news, you may have heard about the recent ransomware cyber attack potentially compromising the personal information of close to half a million private citizens and city employees. Due to this breach, free Experian credit monitoring is available to all residents for two years. Visit columbus.gov/cyber to sign up, or call 1-833-918-5161, using code B129833.
Join the Upper Arlington Public Library, Tremont Road Branch, for an adults-only Throwback Book Fair on Friday, September 27, 7-9pm. Visit nostalgia as you peruse childhood favorites, discover read-alikes, meet local authors, and more! Registration is required for this event.
The Murder Mystery Company is returning to the library Saturday, October 19, 6pm-9:30, with Midnight at the Masquerade. Costumes are highly recommended for attendees, and registration for this adults-only event fills up fast - put a reminder in your phone that registration opens October 1!
Head over to Fancyburg Park Sunday, October 6, 1pm-5, for UA Parks and Recreation's all-ages Fall Fest! Join them for hayrides, a petting zoo, cider pressing, caramel apple dipping, and more, including a new-this-year kid's costume swap!
Company News
UA Village, a new branch of the Upper Arlington Commission on Aging (UACOA), invited the Owner/Operator of Organization Pending, Tabi (they/them), to speak to their members at the Upper Arlington Public Library Tremont Road Branch on August 15.
Decluttering vs. Downsizing: What's right for you, and how to do it in UA, included a handout, books referenced in the presentation available for checkout, and additional resources from Organization Pending and UACOA.
Tabi discussed the similarities and differences between decluttering and downsizing, including questions we're able to ask ourselves for both, and how to talk to adult children and parents; they also included two key concepts with the Container Concept, and Swedish Death Cleaning; and they concluded with highlighting some frequently used local decluttering resources on the Community Recommendations page.
A note from Tabi: Thank you again to UACOA and UA Village, UAPL, and to everyone who created such a warm and welcoming audience! I enjoyed connecting with so many of you before and after the presentation, and I loved how motivated you were to start your projects after lunch! I hope to hear from you on your progress, and I'm here for you if you need professional advice, tips for your own home, and a little extra motivation.
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