Organize Your Family History

Stay focused and happy while exploring your roots

We’re offering Declutter Happy Hour again!

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Each Wednesday in February, my podcast co-host, Shannon Wilkinson, and I taught a Declutter Happy Hour to a group of about 15 lovely participants. It was so much fun, we’ve decided to offer it again. The next session of the four-part class  will be held April 7, 14, 21, and 28 from 6 to 7:30 pm central daylight time. Click here to learn more and register.

As I said in my January post about the first session, Shannon and I created Declutter Happy Hour way back in 2009.  It started as a teleclass then morphed into an ecourse before we retired it. And it ended up being a precursor to our podcast.

We were thrilled to be invited by our friends at Fly Paper to bring Declutter Happy Hour back to life, this time via Zoom. And we’re doubly delighted to be offering a second session!

Declutter Happy Hour is a live experience where you get to do some decluttering during the class. I think it’s really special because it infuses the decluttering process with a secret ingredient: mindset change (plus fun and laughter).

Each of the four sessions starts with a discussion led by Shannon and me about an important aspect of the decluttering process and the mindset shift that can go along with it. Then, during the class, you get time to work on a small decluttering project. It could be something to do with your decluttering your genealogy research papers. Or you may want to tackle your linen closet (or any other space in your home). Or your hard drive. Whatever you decide to work on, Shannon and I will stay in the Zoom room, ready and waiting to answer any questions and provide support and encouragement.

By the end of four sessions you’ll have let go of more than just stuff and you’ll have the tools to take on decluttering projects on your own. (But you’d be welcome to  sign up for another session!)

Again, Declutter Happy Hour runs on Wednesdays in April starting at 6 pm central time. You can register at eventbrite. Let me know in the comments if you sign up!

Join us for Declutter Happy Hour!

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This isn’t strictly genealogy-related (though it could be). I wanted to let you all know about a fun opportunity to learn live from me and my podcast co-host, life coach Shannon Wilkinson. We will be presenting Declutter Happy Hour, a four-part class that will be held February 3, 10, 17, and 24 from 6 to 7:30 pm central time.

Shannon and I created Declutter Happy Hour way back in 2009.  It started as a teleclass then morphed into an ecourse before we retired it. It ended up being a precursor to our podcast.

We were thrilled to be invited by our friends at Fly Paper to bring Declutter Happy Hour back to life, this time via Zoom!

Declutter Happy Hour is a live experience where you actually get some decluttering done. I think it’s really special because it infuses the decluttering process with a secret ingredient: mindset change (plus fun and laughter).

Each of the four sessions starts with a discussion led by Shannon and me about an important aspect of the decluttering process and the mindset shift that goes with it.

Then, during the class, you get time to work on a decluttering project. It could be something to do with your decluttering your genealogy research. Or you may want to tackle your linen closet (or any other space in your home). Whatever you decide to work on, Shannon and I will stay in the Zoom room, ready and waiting to answer any questions and provide support and encouragement.

By the end of a month of Declutter Happy Hours you’ll have let go of more than just stuff and you’ll have the tools to take on decluttering projects on your own.

Again, Declutter Happy Hour runs on Wednesdays in February at 6 pm central time. You can register at eventbrite. Please don’t delay! Space is limited so we can make sure your questions get answered.

I’d love to see you there!

The Power of Enough (Zoom presentation)

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You may know from reading this blog that I am passionate about embracing imperfection. My RootsTech talk earlier this year was called “The Imperfect Genealogist.” Each week, I co-host a podcast called Getting to Good Enough with life coach Shannon Wilkinson. It’s all about letting go of perfectionism so you can do more of what you love.

Shannon and I were tickled to be invited by the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals (that’s my professional association as a professional organizer) to do a virtual presentation for their chapter (and anyone else who wants to buy a ticket) on the Power of Enough. Professional organizers are accustomed to talking with clients about identifying when they have enough physical stuff. In this presentation, Shannon and I will be talking about when to know you’ve put enough effort into something.

We embraced our motto “Let it be easy” when we set a couple of parameters before saying yes to the invitation. We requested a very informal presentation: No Powerpoint, no pre-set talking points. Instead, this will be an unrehearsed Zoom conversation where Shannon and I will discuss the power of enough (like we do on our podcast) and then answer questions from the audience.

The presentation will be on Wednesday, November 11, from 6:30 to 8:00 pm Pacific time. (This is the time frame for the chapter meeting; our presentation will take about 60 minutes of it, but I’m not sure which 60 minutes.) It occurs to me that some of you who read this blog might enjoy attending. The fee for those who aren’t NAPO-SFBA members is $30. For more information and to register, visit the event page on the NAPO-SFBA website.

We’re excited to model the power of enough in our presentation (as we do in our podcast)!

Speaking topic suggestions?

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questionmarkI’m going to be giving a talk again at the St. Louis Genealogy Conference, which will be held October 13. I’ve been given a choice of repeating last year’s session, which was on Going Paperless in Your Genealogy Research, or coming up with a different topic.

I’m on the fence. On the one hand, it would be really easy to repeat last year’s session, on a topic I enjoy. I’ve already prepared it and I have a Powerpoint presentation ready. (Though I’d probably update the talk a little.) But on the other hand, I’ll grow if I develop a new presentation, and it will keep things more interesting for me. Plus repeat attendees who went to my talk last year will have the option of hearing a new talk from me.

But what would I speak about? The one topic I’ve thought of is Staying Focused in your Genealogy Research.

I thought I’d turn to you my blog readers, because you always have great ideas. Most of you probably aren’t going to be in a position to hear this talk in St. Louis, but perhaps one day I’ll speak at a conference near you.

In the comments, please tell me what topic, within the genealogy organizing arena, you would want to hear a 60-minute presentation about. I would appreciate your input!

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When you first join the list, I’ll send you a few emails to help you organize your family history. After that you’ll hear from me at the end of every month when I send an email with links to that month’s posts. And every now and then, I’ll let you know when I have something special to promote.