You may know that my company name, Gioia, is an Italian word meaning “joy” and that for me is what it’s all about. I count my joys [and blessings] daily and find them in countless guises. Here are just a few of my joys:

– Wonderful family and friends who enrich my life.
– My business which provides me with the opportunity to meet so many lovely people; it brings me joy and I believe makes a difference.
– I love and appreciate our beautiful city every day.
– And of course, I take joy in my home; it is my haven to come home to each day and the peacefulness and order of my surroundings allows me to relax with a sigh of pleasure.

We all have joys in our lives, such as precious family members, special friends, pets, and the opportunity to enjoy our livelihood. Why wouldn’t we want also the joy of a home which is free of clutter? I know you’re probably thinking – okay she finally got it in there. Yes, I had to say it, because clutter really can cause disruptions, frustration, and in some cases even misery. I can’t stress enough what a difference it makes when you declutter and organise your home, and workplace. [Read more…]

I am a great believer in not cluttering up my mind with things I need to remember to do and I confess I am one of those ‘list makers’. However my idea of fun is not searching through a mass of paper, magazines, newspapers etc to find the reminder note I need. So this month I’m going to purely talk about notebooks. Those practical hard covered little books which fulfill a number of purposes, and are so wonderfully portable if you want to carry one in your bag or briefcase.

There are a number of quite diverse purposes for which you can use notebooks:

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You may have heard me say this before, but it bears repeating: the one thing that will make a huge difference to your decluttering efforts in your home is to “clear the surfaces”. Now I know that many do just that moments before visitors arrive, however I also suspect that everything gets shoved into a drawer, under the bed, or in the spare room with the door shut. And then doesn’t get sorted or put away later, and just becomes a jumble of clutter.

Think about how nice the house looks when you have done this rushed, and sometimes desperate, declutter of the surfaces. Wouldn’t it be nice to keep that look and feel. [Read more…]