January 2024 - Organization Pending Newsroom - Upper Arlington, Ohio
Welcome to Organization Pending's Newsroom, January 2024: Loving Columbus edition.
Mystery Dates are back this year for creating memories with your partner(s), kids, or planning a Galentine's celebration!
Find local and virtual ways to celebrate Black History Month, a podcast episode recommendation on Black nature writing, and a YouTube™ channel recommendation exploring cultures through food, work, traditions, people and more.
Don't miss local tips for after-holiday decluttering, and discussion for Organize Your Home Day, part of January's Get Organized Month, and Declutter for a Cause Month in February!
Thank you for reading! Subscribe to receive the Newsroom in your email monthly, and follow Organization Pending's stories on Facebook and Instagram for daily news, events and organizing inspiration!
If you have an upcoming event, resource, or professional the community should know about, contact organizationpendingllc@gmail.com!
Plan a Date with Your Love(s)
Did you catch the discussion of Mystery Dates last year?
What Should We Do Today Columbus put out an excellent list of ideas to get you started this year, with 57 Unique Date Ideas in Columbus, Ohio, including a number of dates I've enjoyed with my partner. Ideas include outdoor and indoor options to help you plan dates throughout the year!
Take a look at Experience Columbus' Tours, Trails & Attractions Tickets for ready-made Mystery Date ideas, or visit their list of LGBTQIA+-Owned Restaurants in Columbus Perfect for Date Night, including options for a breakfast date, fancy night out, and casual ideas for creating a Mystery Date Day.
Busy Bees Pottery and Arts Studio in Dublin offers private lessons for two on their pottery wheels - choose a 90 minute session for $75, or 120 minutes for $145. Or stop in to create on the fly with their walk-in hours - explore their options for pottery, canvas, glass, clay and more!
Reserve your date now for Glass Axis - take a look at their available classes, or contact them to set up a private class.
Romance is all year long - don't be afraid to have a cozy day at home for Valentine's, and set up a date in the future! Take a look at The Seasoned Farmhouse's cooking classes, covering a variety of tastes.
Interested in the history of technology? Head over to Hilliard's Early Television Museum - over 150 TV sets are on display from the 1920's to 50's, including British sets, and early TV studio equipment. Admission is $10 for adults, and $8 for seniors. Want a deeper dive? Check out their online resources.
Have you or the kids ever wanted to try aerial acrobatics? Aerotique Columbus offers adult (14+), teen (10-14), and youth (6-9) classes, or take a look at their upcoming half-day Circus Camps for ages 6-14.
Want to surprise the kids with a Mystery Date?
Mikey's Late Night Slice Olde Towne East at 892 Oak Street is hosting Little Slice Sundays from 11am-7pm. Each Little Slice Tray is $6.99 and includes build-your-own pizza making essentials, a Unicorn Bar from Bake Me Happy, and a drink. No reservation is required.
Columbus Shorts
Head over to the Lane Road Branch of Upper Arlington Public Library with your friends or Valentines on Thursday, February 1, 6pm-7 for a Valentine Cookie Decorating class with an Our Cup Cakery instructor. Six sugar cookies and royal icing will be provided to each adult - registration is required.
Mozaic's Valentine's Winter Formal is Saturday, February 10, 7pm-10, at Wild Goose Creative on McDowell Street. Formal dress is recommended, but not required for this free event - RSVP for this inclusive "night of dance, romance, and fun!", with gift bags, refreshments, and awards for boldest look, best dressed, best hair, and more. Need a new look for the night? Stop by Mozaic's drop-in hours to shop their free community closet, Threads Revisited.
Stop by the Ohio History Connection to Celebrate Black History Month 2024 for in-person and virtual events, including a talk with author of The Underground Railroad in Ohio, Kathy Schulz, and poetry performance by the Black Woman Rise Poetry Collective, with entertainment by Urban Strings and the Ohio Village historical interpreters. Registration is required for these events.
Visit the Atrium of the Main Branch of Upper Arlington Public Library Saturday, February 24, 2pm-4 for their Black History Month Community Celebration, with entertainment and activities sponsored by the City of Upper Arlington, UA's Community Relations Committee, Upper Arlington Historical Society, Equal UA, and the Upper Arlington Public Library. No registration is required for this event.
Podcast Episode Recommendation
"How do we humans experience nature? And how might we experience nature differently from one another?" In Episode 558, Black Nature Writing (skip to time stamp 15:30 for the interview), The History of Literature podcast explores some of the answers with Erin Sharkey, writer, arts and abolition organizer, cultural worker, film producer, and editor of A Darker Wilderness: Black Nature Writing from Soil to Stars.
"There are quiet essays, there are louder ones, there are ones that are really rooted in research, and other ones that are really about very intimate, personal experiences. There are ones that feel very national historic worthy, and other ones that feel very quiet, and very intimate, domestic." -Erin Sharkey.
Spending time in nature with her family during school vacations first fueled Sharkey's interest, seeing the diversity in nature and communities during their trips, realizing as she aged how few families she met in nature that looked like hers. Together, Sharkey and Jacke explore accessibility in nature, trade childhood stories of nature interaction expectations in their communities, and talk about Sharkey's time teaching writing classes, including a science and nature writing class, at a prison. It was this work that opened her eyes to the small ways imprisoned people connected with nature - "One of the men in the class wrote about the way he has to crane his neck and head to look out the window to see the tiny sliver of sky, and what does it mean to see the different kinds of sky from that vantage point." - inspiring her to see how she connects with nature in daily life, directing her editorial process for A Darker Wilderness. Check out Sharkey's book at the Upper Arlington Public Library for a diverse look at nature from many writers.
YouTube™ Channel Recommendation
"In a time where so much divides us, we want to explore what unites us. Our roots, our communities. The food we eat. The work we do, the people we love, and the traditions that make us who we are." Explore the Black and Latino ballroom resurgence, grieving and death positivity, challenging homophobia in sports, why Gen Z uses humor to cope with death, an ancient indigenous ritual revival,, and more with PBS Digital Studios' YouTube™ channel, PBS Voices - or check out their playlists celebrating specific holidays, cultures, and topics.
After-Holiday Decluttering: Tip of the Month
Sometimes the holiday season starts with the best of intentions to make several dishes and treats, and then other plans are made. I'm dropping off our unused goods before they expire - Columbus Blessing Boxes are located around the city, allowing anyone at anytime to access "non-perishable food items, basic toiletries, baby supplies, pet food, or anything else that might be considered a blessing to someone in need.". Growing to over 100 locations in the Columbus community since January 2018, Columbus Blessing Boxes' founder "wanted our children to know that every good deed counts and that we can all help in some way, big or small," starting Columbus Blessing Boxes so the whole family could participate in a charitable organization directly impacting their community.
Have other items to donate after the holidays? Make sure to visit Organization Pending's list of Decluttering and Donation resources on the Community Recommendation page.
Don't forget holiday lights recycling is available through January 31st behind the Municipal Services Center at 3600 Tremont Road!
Get Organized and Declutter for a Cause: Tip of the Month
January 14 is National Organize Your Home Day, part of Get Organized Month, and February celebrates Declutter for a Cause Month! Take a look at the after-holiday decluttering tip below, and visit Organization Pending's Community Recommendations page for a list of local organizations and charities for donating gently used items.
Decluttering Tips:
Set a timer for a half hour, looking only for trash and donates in the space you're decluttering - repeat as necessary.
Implement an ongoing donation basket in the closet to catch items you forgot you didn't like.
Decluttering with kids? see how quickly they can fill a box with donations for a small prize!
Organizing Tips:
In the kitchen - keep common items used for cooking around the stove, and create a coffee/tea/mug zone for your mornings.
In the office - designate an incoming papers container, and commit to clearing it out when it gets full. Using file folders with all the tabs on the same side makes for easy addition and deletion of files.
Organizing with kids? Most caregivers want to separate by brand, but most kids play by category - consider putting groups of similar objects in baskets for easy clean up!
Feeling stuck or overwhelmed with your pending organization projects? Organization Pending LLC celebrated their 2 year anniversary on January 7, offering savings to new and returning clients!
Until January 31, receive 20% off your work session when you schedule a free virtual assessment - email organizationpendingllc@gmail.com, using code OPG BIRTHDAY2 in the subject line to claim your savings.
Already a client of Organization Pending? Text or email Tabi OPG BIRTHDAY2 to receive a discount on your next session in January or February!
Company News
Organization Pending has updated hours for clients living in zip codes 43212, 43220, or 43221!
To better accommodate kid organization sessions, moving clients, or clients who are unable to meet Monday - Friday, 10am-3pm, or during limited weekend hours, Organization Pending has added limited availability 4-6pm sessions for Upper Arlington residents.
Do your kids want to work with Tabi (they/them)? These sessions are great for kids aged 10+ working directly with Tabi, or for younger kids who will help make decisions in the last half hour of the session.
Moving soon? These sessions are perfect for focused decluttering sessions of your current belongings, making sure everything is together for packing. Moving within UA? Tabi can visit the new home with you, discussing big picture home zones, giving advice on organization during the walk-through, and answering your specific questions.
Are you a working parent whose weekends are booked? A family person themselves, Tabi is familiar with the demands on your schedule, and is looking forward to helping you meet your goals at a time that meets your needs.