With just a few days until The Holiday Weekend, you are probably going slightly insane. Travel plans, or major entertaining plans, or big party-going plans, or big Kahuna of a Christmas program plans rapidly approaching, like a (almost) head-on collision.
The most important way to declutter your holiday stress is to spend time alone, in a quiet, calm, and uncluttered place.
If you do not have such a place in your own home, well it's time to create one.
Some people simply need a soft chair facing a peaceful scene (poster, painting, window). Others, living with noisy or needy people, may require an entire room to themselves.
Determine your needs: a chair? a desk? a room? your car?
Next, take a trash bag and spend only five minutes (yes, just five) picking up junk in this area. Take the trash out.
Follow that up with a clutter purge: take another trash bag or cardboard box and declutter things that are getting in the way of your peace. Old notebooks, carton of oil paints you never use, jar of candy you won at the white elephant exchange at work last week, a spare phonebook (how many does one household need? ONE PHONEBOOK!), stack of Christmas CD's you haven't gotten around to listening to, or the parka you spent too much money on that you haven't worn since you bought it four years ago. Out they go. (Try to donate, recycle, or give away to someone else before you just trash those things.)
Finally, take a damp microfiber cloth and clean off the hard surfaces in your special place. Sweep or vacuum the floor. Light a scented candle or spray room deodorizer in it (one or two sprays won't kill you).
You should now have a place of your very own in which to destress. And it smells pretty too.
If there is too much clutter in there, or you truly have no time to do anything I suggested, then simply find a quiet church and spend a half hour sitting still in the sanctuary, absorbing the peace around you.
You can declutter your own space once the madness passes.
Have a blessed and Merry Christmas season!
Monday, December 20, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
CHRISTMAS TIPS 2010
The hectic Christmas season has descended upon us, and I have a few tips to save you time and sanity this month.
1. Instead of winding your Christmas tree lights around and around the tree, visually cut your tree in half vertically, and wind the lights from bottom to top, covering only the left side first, then the right side. (What a cool tip! I didn't invent it; I just heard about it.) Saves time and frustration, especially if you have a big tree. Or don't put up a tree this year and just enjoy everyone else's for a change. You can skip a year (or two, or twenty). You can still celebrate the birth of Christ without a decorated tree, you know.
2. If you haven't stored your summer clothes yet, and if you live where it's cold and snowy (like me), now is the time to throw out the worn, torn, dirty, or ratty summer items, and then store the remaining warm weather clothes somewhere away from your cold weather clothes. This will make room in your closet and dresser(s) for winter clothes and boots. More room means fewer wrinkled clothes, without your typical morning tug-of-war as you aggressively extract a long sleeve blouse from the crammed clothes hanging rod. Plus, you'll have more room for hiding Christmas presents in your closet.
3. Don't give clutter. Clutter is stuff that won't be used or enjoyed by the recipient. That pretty much describes 90% of the stuff on your shopping list. Pitch the list in the trash and start over. Think of only NON-CLUTTERING gifts: consumable gifts, really useful gifts, and things the recipients have actually expressed a desire to own.
4. It's kinda late to start early, so don't beat yourself up about not being so organized this Christmas, with your card list, or gift list, or (lack of) twelve dozen cookies cooling on your countertops. The traditions that Americans have created to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ are astoundingly complex. And most of them were set when women stayed home all day, caring for kids and (a small) home, without working outside jobs, commuting in maddening traffic, battling the daily onslaught of advertising messages to "buy buy BUY!,"or having to deal with the insanely complex life we call "the new millennium." Meh. Let it go. Jesus is more concerned with the state of your heart and spirit than with the state of your door wreath or gift list. Time to declutter your life of unreasonable expectations: the ones you have of yourself.
Have a blessed pre-Christmas week!
1. Instead of winding your Christmas tree lights around and around the tree, visually cut your tree in half vertically, and wind the lights from bottom to top, covering only the left side first, then the right side. (What a cool tip! I didn't invent it; I just heard about it.) Saves time and frustration, especially if you have a big tree. Or don't put up a tree this year and just enjoy everyone else's for a change. You can skip a year (or two, or twenty). You can still celebrate the birth of Christ without a decorated tree, you know.
2. If you haven't stored your summer clothes yet, and if you live where it's cold and snowy (like me), now is the time to throw out the worn, torn, dirty, or ratty summer items, and then store the remaining warm weather clothes somewhere away from your cold weather clothes. This will make room in your closet and dresser(s) for winter clothes and boots. More room means fewer wrinkled clothes, without your typical morning tug-of-war as you aggressively extract a long sleeve blouse from the crammed clothes hanging rod. Plus, you'll have more room for hiding Christmas presents in your closet.
3. Don't give clutter. Clutter is stuff that won't be used or enjoyed by the recipient. That pretty much describes 90% of the stuff on your shopping list. Pitch the list in the trash and start over. Think of only NON-CLUTTERING gifts: consumable gifts, really useful gifts, and things the recipients have actually expressed a desire to own.
4. It's kinda late to start early, so don't beat yourself up about not being so organized this Christmas, with your card list, or gift list, or (lack of) twelve dozen cookies cooling on your countertops. The traditions that Americans have created to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ are astoundingly complex. And most of them were set when women stayed home all day, caring for kids and (a small) home, without working outside jobs, commuting in maddening traffic, battling the daily onslaught of advertising messages to "buy buy BUY!,"or having to deal with the insanely complex life we call "the new millennium." Meh. Let it go. Jesus is more concerned with the state of your heart and spirit than with the state of your door wreath or gift list. Time to declutter your life of unreasonable expectations: the ones you have of yourself.
Have a blessed pre-Christmas week!
Sunday, November 28, 2010
WHAT'S HANGING OVER YOUR HEAD?
How many storage areas do you have? Aside from closet spaces, do you have a garage, attic, off-site rented storage unit, barn, outbuilding, tool shed, old van packed to the headliner with junk, a nice little detached potting shed, or an "office" perhaps?
Next question: what are they full of? (You don't have to answer that out loud.)
Whatever the contents of your storage, much of the stuff you have stuffed in there is there for one reason: you are not currently using it.
Certainly, every household, except the most extremely minimalistic ones, requires storage for things used at different seasons ("seasonal storage"). Tents, coolers, float tubes, and waterproof radios are definitely summer time gear. Christmas lights, evergreen garlands from the craft store, and jingle bell door hangers sit in boxes in the garage until it's time to ring in the holiday season.
Those are seasonal "fun" items that simply need to be stored until the right time of the year rolls around for their use and enjoyment. But most of the stuff in storage is not being used, and it probably won't be. At least by you.
The real question to ask yourself about the things in your storage area(s) is: do I like this stuff enough to justify keeping it all year? Hard question to answer because you have a bunch of conflicting emotions and reasons for keeping all those items.
Do you know how to tell if you like something well enough to keep it? Simple. Pick one item in storage, and really look at it. Now ask yourself:
What is my emotional state while I'm looking at that thing?
If you're not feeling any positive emotions, such as happiness, delight, refreshing anticipation, pleasant memories, or peace, then OUT IT GOES.
The things in our lives should bring us only positive emotions, not negative ones. You don't have to keep things that you don't want! They're just stuff. Get 'em out of your life.
And if they're damaged in any way, well it just makes the decision even easier: OUT!
Here's a real life example:
A reader recently asked me what to do with the following items in her attic: bedding for out of town guests (used two to three times per year), travel mementos to be scrapbooked (she doesn't like to scrapbook), craft supplies she likes but rarely uses, and artwork that she likes but tires of after a few months.
She can now apply the above question to each of these items, and determine her emotional state when looking at each one. We all intuitively know what we like and what we don't like; our reasoning just gets in the way sometimes.
If my insightful new technique is not enough to REALLY get you motivated to deal with your stuff in storage, here are a few ways I would personally handle the things in my reader's attic, if I were her. (And consider the symbolism of stuff stored in the attic: hanging over your head, oppressing you with undone tasks, heavy burdens on your brain.)
For the futons, I would invite my guests to sleep on my sofa rather than clutter up my precious storage space with rarely used futons. Donate the futons to a battered woman's shelter. Or buy an air mattress that comes with its own electric air pump. They take up very little space in storage.
Throw a scrapbooking party for myself and ask my friends to help me make a travel scrapbook. I can share my adventures with friends while they help me do something I don't like to do, but that I want done. Friends make anything fun. Two hours later and it's finished! (And you'll think fondly of not only your travels but of the friends who helped you put the pages together each time you look through your scrap books.)
Or pay a stay-at-home mom turned scrapbook consultant to do it for you. Any scrapbooking store owner will have a list of people willing to help. It might cost a couple hundred dollars, but the results will be worth it, and you'll be helping a local family stay afloat in these tough economic times. Or buy pre-made travel scrapbook pages on ebay, and just paste the mementos in. Easy.
For craft supplies, as long as I love the things and use them (even once a year!), I would get rid of all the other stuff in storage that I don't like. Then I would make lots of room for the crafty things I do like. I would make sure that I have all the necessary tools and supports to enjoy my craft supplies, such as proper lighting, sufficient work areas/tables, and cute storage shelves, bins, and baskets.
Finally, for artwork I tire of, I would rotate not only the wall art every few months, but its placement in my home. One month the print from Provence would be in the dining room, the next month I might move it to the foyer or spare bedroom, and the third month I might put it in the attic until next year. And if I got really sick of it, I would use the frame for something else, or give it to a friend who helped me put my scrapbooks together, or repaint the frame, or donate the print and buy new artwork. Hey, we buy fresh flowers every so often, why not fresh artwork?
I hope you are inspired to create the storage areas of your dreams, and clear out what's hanging over your head!
Many blessings on you!
Next question: what are they full of? (You don't have to answer that out loud.)
Whatever the contents of your storage, much of the stuff you have stuffed in there is there for one reason: you are not currently using it.
Certainly, every household, except the most extremely minimalistic ones, requires storage for things used at different seasons ("seasonal storage"). Tents, coolers, float tubes, and waterproof radios are definitely summer time gear. Christmas lights, evergreen garlands from the craft store, and jingle bell door hangers sit in boxes in the garage until it's time to ring in the holiday season.
Those are seasonal "fun" items that simply need to be stored until the right time of the year rolls around for their use and enjoyment. But most of the stuff in storage is not being used, and it probably won't be. At least by you.
The real question to ask yourself about the things in your storage area(s) is: do I like this stuff enough to justify keeping it all year? Hard question to answer because you have a bunch of conflicting emotions and reasons for keeping all those items.
Do you know how to tell if you like something well enough to keep it? Simple. Pick one item in storage, and really look at it. Now ask yourself:
What is my emotional state while I'm looking at that thing?
If you're not feeling any positive emotions, such as happiness, delight, refreshing anticipation, pleasant memories, or peace, then OUT IT GOES.
The things in our lives should bring us only positive emotions, not negative ones. You don't have to keep things that you don't want! They're just stuff. Get 'em out of your life.
And if they're damaged in any way, well it just makes the decision even easier: OUT!
Here's a real life example:
A reader recently asked me what to do with the following items in her attic: bedding for out of town guests (used two to three times per year), travel mementos to be scrapbooked (she doesn't like to scrapbook), craft supplies she likes but rarely uses, and artwork that she likes but tires of after a few months.
She can now apply the above question to each of these items, and determine her emotional state when looking at each one. We all intuitively know what we like and what we don't like; our reasoning just gets in the way sometimes.
If my insightful new technique is not enough to REALLY get you motivated to deal with your stuff in storage, here are a few ways I would personally handle the things in my reader's attic, if I were her. (And consider the symbolism of stuff stored in the attic: hanging over your head, oppressing you with undone tasks, heavy burdens on your brain.)
For the futons, I would invite my guests to sleep on my sofa rather than clutter up my precious storage space with rarely used futons. Donate the futons to a battered woman's shelter. Or buy an air mattress that comes with its own electric air pump. They take up very little space in storage.
Throw a scrapbooking party for myself and ask my friends to help me make a travel scrapbook. I can share my adventures with friends while they help me do something I don't like to do, but that I want done. Friends make anything fun. Two hours later and it's finished! (And you'll think fondly of not only your travels but of the friends who helped you put the pages together each time you look through your scrap books.)
Or pay a stay-at-home mom turned scrapbook consultant to do it for you. Any scrapbooking store owner will have a list of people willing to help. It might cost a couple hundred dollars, but the results will be worth it, and you'll be helping a local family stay afloat in these tough economic times. Or buy pre-made travel scrapbook pages on ebay, and just paste the mementos in. Easy.
For craft supplies, as long as I love the things and use them (even once a year!), I would get rid of all the other stuff in storage that I don't like. Then I would make lots of room for the crafty things I do like. I would make sure that I have all the necessary tools and supports to enjoy my craft supplies, such as proper lighting, sufficient work areas/tables, and cute storage shelves, bins, and baskets.
Finally, for artwork I tire of, I would rotate not only the wall art every few months, but its placement in my home. One month the print from Provence would be in the dining room, the next month I might move it to the foyer or spare bedroom, and the third month I might put it in the attic until next year. And if I got really sick of it, I would use the frame for something else, or give it to a friend who helped me put my scrapbooks together, or repaint the frame, or donate the print and buy new artwork. Hey, we buy fresh flowers every so often, why not fresh artwork?
I hope you are inspired to create the storage areas of your dreams, and clear out what's hanging over your head!
Many blessings on you!
Monday, November 15, 2010
CONSUMPTION AND THE RISE AND FALL OF JUNK
Most people in developed nations never give much thought to the process of acquiring, using, and discarding.
We give ample thought--too much time and energy--into just buying stuff, the "acquiring" piece. We give a little thought to "using" stuff, as long as whatever it is we bought does the job we bought it for, and even less thought to getting rid of the darn thing once we no longer use it (the "discard" piece).
This is a three-step, unique process, not three separate processes. It's called consumption, and it includes these steps:
1. acquire
2. use
3. discard.
Although for many of us, the discard piece is often, "Quick! Throw it in the garage (shed, attic, spare bedroom) because company's coming!" Which technically isn't "discard," it's "hide and deal with it later."
Anyway, how does this relate to your clutter?
Clutter can occur at any step in the consumption process. So in order to get a handle on your clutter, you must figure out at which step or steps you have the most trouble, and work to solve that problem.
For example, if you shop every day for things that are not food, then you obviously have an "acquiring" problem. Solve that problem by purchasing fewing things. Voila, less clutter. (I know I'm simplifying this step, but acquiring is not primarily the focus of today's post. Keep reading.)
Or perhaps you have a large amount of useful things--things you YOURSELF know you will use--but for some reason you aren't using them. You're saving them for some special occasion in the far off, nebulous future. This is easy to solve: start using your stash of useful stuff (pens, dishes, towels, knitting wool, fishing lures). Don't keep these things for some future event or perfect time. Now is the perfect time to use what you bought to be used!
And then we have the discard issue. This is where most everyone has difficulty. Americans still retain so much of the pioneer spirit, to such a degree that we have great difficulty letting things go after their useful life has passed, because "you never know when you might need this ________________ " (stripped bike pedal, faded T-shirt, clock that doesn't tell time anymore, pet food dishes you don't use, second-best skis, etc.).
Part of an item's useful life is determined not only by its physical state (faded, ripped, moldy, broken beyond repair, outdated, etc.), but by its owner's real or perceived NEED of this item (i.e. you passed college chemistry; you don't need the textbook anymore). Therefore, you and you alone must carefully define "useful life" for every item in your possession.
At SOME POINT you must ask yourself, "What is this item's useful life for me? Has that point passed?"
If an item has passed its useful life (in your eyes), then it's time to discard it. And discard can mean recycle, sell (as in the chemistry textbook), give to someone who wants it, compost it, or dozens of other options other than pitching it into the trash can.
Acquire-use-discard. If you gum up one step in this cycle of consumption, the result is CLUTTER.
A good exercise would be to start at the acquiring phase, and ask yourself, "Am I really going to USE this thing?" And then ask yourself, "How will I know when its useful life is over for me?" "And when it's life is over, how will I discard it?"
Whoa. This is way too heavy for a Monday.
Go throw away the gum wrappers from your purse. There. Less clutter.
Have a blessed week!
We give ample thought--too much time and energy--into just buying stuff, the "acquiring" piece. We give a little thought to "using" stuff, as long as whatever it is we bought does the job we bought it for, and even less thought to getting rid of the darn thing once we no longer use it (the "discard" piece).
This is a three-step, unique process, not three separate processes. It's called consumption, and it includes these steps:
1. acquire
2. use
3. discard.
Although for many of us, the discard piece is often, "Quick! Throw it in the garage (shed, attic, spare bedroom) because company's coming!" Which technically isn't "discard," it's "hide and deal with it later."
Anyway, how does this relate to your clutter?
Clutter can occur at any step in the consumption process. So in order to get a handle on your clutter, you must figure out at which step or steps you have the most trouble, and work to solve that problem.
For example, if you shop every day for things that are not food, then you obviously have an "acquiring" problem. Solve that problem by purchasing fewing things. Voila, less clutter. (I know I'm simplifying this step, but acquiring is not primarily the focus of today's post. Keep reading.)
Or perhaps you have a large amount of useful things--things you YOURSELF know you will use--but for some reason you aren't using them. You're saving them for some special occasion in the far off, nebulous future. This is easy to solve: start using your stash of useful stuff (pens, dishes, towels, knitting wool, fishing lures). Don't keep these things for some future event or perfect time. Now is the perfect time to use what you bought to be used!
And then we have the discard issue. This is where most everyone has difficulty. Americans still retain so much of the pioneer spirit, to such a degree that we have great difficulty letting things go after their useful life has passed, because "you never know when you might need this ________________ " (stripped bike pedal, faded T-shirt, clock that doesn't tell time anymore, pet food dishes you don't use, second-best skis, etc.).
Part of an item's useful life is determined not only by its physical state (faded, ripped, moldy, broken beyond repair, outdated, etc.), but by its owner's real or perceived NEED of this item (i.e. you passed college chemistry; you don't need the textbook anymore). Therefore, you and you alone must carefully define "useful life" for every item in your possession.
At SOME POINT you must ask yourself, "What is this item's useful life for me? Has that point passed?"
If an item has passed its useful life (in your eyes), then it's time to discard it. And discard can mean recycle, sell (as in the chemistry textbook), give to someone who wants it, compost it, or dozens of other options other than pitching it into the trash can.
Acquire-use-discard. If you gum up one step in this cycle of consumption, the result is CLUTTER.
A good exercise would be to start at the acquiring phase, and ask yourself, "Am I really going to USE this thing?" And then ask yourself, "How will I know when its useful life is over for me?" "And when it's life is over, how will I discard it?"
Whoa. This is way too heavy for a Monday.
Go throw away the gum wrappers from your purse. There. Less clutter.
Have a blessed week!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
OPP
If you recall the hip hop song of the 90's by this same title, I'm truly sorry. This post has nothing to do with the content of THAT song. (And if you aren't familiar with that song, for heaven's sake don't Google it. Trust me.)
THIS post has to do with other people's possessions, and how a person who is clutter-free (or getting there!) should respond to them.
Let's say your spouse has been displaying his pack rat tendencies since you met him in college. What you thought was simple bachelor-like mess (dirty clothes thrown around his apartment, eight weeks' worth of mail burying his kitchen table (i.e. a card table with a wobbly leg borrowed from his parent's garage), textbooks piled randomly next to the stereo, greasy bike parts on the bathroom counter), has become full-blown chronic clutter.
What do you do to help him mend his cluttering ways? How can you change this cluttering behavior that has become so ingrained in him?
Answer: You can't.
The only person whose behavior your have ultimate control over is your own.
And that is where to focus, in order to foster a change in your home environment.
"What?!" you're asking me, annoyed beyond belief. "Why do I have to look at my stuff and my propensity to clutter? Mr. Pack Rat here is the one with the problem!"
He is. And maybe you are too.
If you're reading this, it's likely you are either
a. a clutterer, or
b. a professional home organizer looking for help for your clients.
The focus of your attention should not lie on your husband's mess, but on your own. Oftentimes--but not always--when one spouse dejunks, it encourages the other to throw stuff out too.
Now, this is not to say that if you are absolutely completely clutter-free that all the people around you will be the same (I'm living this as we speak, with two very messy kids at home). But too often we focus on changing other people to try to align their actions/behaviors to what WE think is best for them, or how WE want them to behave so that WE can get and stay happy. This is a mostly a control issue.
Look, you can either change yourself, accept the situation, have a heart to heart with your husband (wife, son, daughter, roommate, tenant, etc.), or (in cases of extreme hoarding behavior) stage an intervention or leave the relationship.
Those are your options.
Entire books have been written on how to handle other people's possessions, and a few of them are helpful in order to understand the pack rat's behavior.
But some people just like keeping junk. THEY JUST DO. You can burn yourself out trying to change them, or you can do what I suggested:
1. clear up your own clutter
2. accept the junk and love them as they are
3. communicate your concern to the pack rat and hope s/he changes
4. terminate the relationship (do not attempt this with your kids!)
5. contact a psychologist trained in compulsive hoarding or anxiety disorders and arrange an intervention (in serious cases only).
Life is too short to argue over dirty laundry and yesterday's mail. Really.
Best wishes on getting your own junk cleaned up. Be prepared for the miracles that follow.
THIS post has to do with other people's possessions, and how a person who is clutter-free (or getting there!) should respond to them.
Let's say your spouse has been displaying his pack rat tendencies since you met him in college. What you thought was simple bachelor-like mess (dirty clothes thrown around his apartment, eight weeks' worth of mail burying his kitchen table (i.e. a card table with a wobbly leg borrowed from his parent's garage), textbooks piled randomly next to the stereo, greasy bike parts on the bathroom counter), has become full-blown chronic clutter.
What do you do to help him mend his cluttering ways? How can you change this cluttering behavior that has become so ingrained in him?
Answer: You can't.
The only person whose behavior your have ultimate control over is your own.
And that is where to focus, in order to foster a change in your home environment.
"What?!" you're asking me, annoyed beyond belief. "Why do I have to look at my stuff and my propensity to clutter? Mr. Pack Rat here is the one with the problem!"
He is. And maybe you are too.
If you're reading this, it's likely you are either
a. a clutterer, or
b. a professional home organizer looking for help for your clients.
The focus of your attention should not lie on your husband's mess, but on your own. Oftentimes--but not always--when one spouse dejunks, it encourages the other to throw stuff out too.
Now, this is not to say that if you are absolutely completely clutter-free that all the people around you will be the same (I'm living this as we speak, with two very messy kids at home). But too often we focus on changing other people to try to align their actions/behaviors to what WE think is best for them, or how WE want them to behave so that WE can get and stay happy. This is a mostly a control issue.
Look, you can either change yourself, accept the situation, have a heart to heart with your husband (wife, son, daughter, roommate, tenant, etc.), or (in cases of extreme hoarding behavior) stage an intervention or leave the relationship.
Those are your options.
Entire books have been written on how to handle other people's possessions, and a few of them are helpful in order to understand the pack rat's behavior.
But some people just like keeping junk. THEY JUST DO. You can burn yourself out trying to change them, or you can do what I suggested:
1. clear up your own clutter
2. accept the junk and love them as they are
3. communicate your concern to the pack rat and hope s/he changes
4. terminate the relationship (do not attempt this with your kids!)
5. contact a psychologist trained in compulsive hoarding or anxiety disorders and arrange an intervention (in serious cases only).
Life is too short to argue over dirty laundry and yesterday's mail. Really.
Best wishes on getting your own junk cleaned up. Be prepared for the miracles that follow.
Monday, September 20, 2010
THE QUESTION
Today is the day I will pull out my two boxes of fall decor and transition from summer colors to autumn tones around my home. Yes, I know I still have a couple more days until it's officially fall, but I can't wait. It's my favorite season.
While I'm elbow deep in boxes of silk flowers and ceramic pumpkins, I have determined to ask myself the following question, to help me weed out the decorative items I no longer care for:
"Is this what you really want?"
What a great question! We can all apply that question to not only decorative objects, but to anything in our lives, including
clothing
pots and pans
furniture
sports and hobby equipment
electronics
your car
your home itself
your job.
If you determine that what you're holding onto isn't what you want any more (maybe it never was something you wanted to begin with), take some small action today to transform your possessions and your life into something more in line with what you really want.
Throw away the lopsided pumpkin spice pillar candle. Pack a small shopping bag with a couple handbags you don't want anymore and take them into work this week to share with your office mates. Take the softball bats and balls that you never use to the neighbor kids down the street. Browse through employment listings in your local newspaper, or sign up at your local job service to look on-line for a different job.
You don't have to take massive, sweeping action today to make changes in your home and life. Small actions build on each other, and the little things you do today will put you in a place to do a little something more tomorrow, then the next day, and the next. Before you know it, your life will look more like what you really want it to look like!
Happy autumn!
While I'm elbow deep in boxes of silk flowers and ceramic pumpkins, I have determined to ask myself the following question, to help me weed out the decorative items I no longer care for:
"Is this what you really want?"
What a great question! We can all apply that question to not only decorative objects, but to anything in our lives, including
clothing
pots and pans
furniture
sports and hobby equipment
electronics
your car
your home itself
your job.
If you determine that what you're holding onto isn't what you want any more (maybe it never was something you wanted to begin with), take some small action today to transform your possessions and your life into something more in line with what you really want.
Throw away the lopsided pumpkin spice pillar candle. Pack a small shopping bag with a couple handbags you don't want anymore and take them into work this week to share with your office mates. Take the softball bats and balls that you never use to the neighbor kids down the street. Browse through employment listings in your local newspaper, or sign up at your local job service to look on-line for a different job.
You don't have to take massive, sweeping action today to make changes in your home and life. Small actions build on each other, and the little things you do today will put you in a place to do a little something more tomorrow, then the next day, and the next. Before you know it, your life will look more like what you really want it to look like!
Happy autumn!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
GETTING PAST THE FUTURE
One of my biggest challenges in decluttering, and one of the biggest challenges that almost every one of my clients face, is overcoming the future: someday. As in, "I might need this someday."
We are careful, prudent people who dislike waste. We plan for the future. We can think of creative and useful ideas for every and any object in our paths. These skills and character traits are admirable, but they are detrimental to our sanity in 21st century living.
The skills our parents and grandparents needed to stay alive are very different from the skills we require today. Our parents and their parents kept useful things because often there were not enough possessions or money available to meet their very basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter during the Depression and during the lean years of World War II.
Life has greatly changed since then. Keeping parts of useful things, re-using mayonnaise jars, hoarding scraps of fabric, keeping a garage or shed or even a junk room full of things that "may come in handy someday" is no longer necessary for about 90% of us. We have access to hardware stores, clothing stores, secondhand stores, and superstores (plus adequate transportation to get us to these places) that were mostly absent from our country a generation or two ago. The access we have to rent power washers and tile cutters and folding chairs for a wedding reception precludes the need we have to buy and save all those things ourselves.
But it doesn't stop us from keeping them once we get them.
I propose a change.
Simple, really, but profound: stop saving things for "someday."
Have faith in the infrastructure of our great country, which will assure that you will have access to what you need when you need it. Have faith in your neighbors and friends to loan you extra dinner plates or a couple camping cots when you have out of town visitors. Have faith in your own capable self, to be able to rise to the occasion when faced with a lack of supplies, gear, or materials to do a particular job or task. Have faith that you will be able to earn the $1.99 for a new crochet hook, and will be able to drive to the craft store yourself, if you EVER decide to take up crocheting again.
Have faith that you will be able to find a box in which to send your Mother her Christmas present. And if you can't find a used one, get a brand new one for free from the post office. They will even deliver priority mail cardboard boxes or envelopes to your door, for free. And you can order them online. You don't need to keep a closet full of used cardboard boxes any longer. Recycle them and reclaim some closet space.
You don't need to keep things for "someday." Instead, enjoy the life you have today.
Retain all those excellent character traits and useful skills such as thrift and prudence and creative re-purposing, to be sure! But refrain from cluttering up your home and storage spaces with things you can easily buy or rent when you need them at Home Depot, Joann Fabric, U-haul, or the post office.
Blessings on you this week!
We are careful, prudent people who dislike waste. We plan for the future. We can think of creative and useful ideas for every and any object in our paths. These skills and character traits are admirable, but they are detrimental to our sanity in 21st century living.
The skills our parents and grandparents needed to stay alive are very different from the skills we require today. Our parents and their parents kept useful things because often there were not enough possessions or money available to meet their very basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter during the Depression and during the lean years of World War II.
Life has greatly changed since then. Keeping parts of useful things, re-using mayonnaise jars, hoarding scraps of fabric, keeping a garage or shed or even a junk room full of things that "may come in handy someday" is no longer necessary for about 90% of us. We have access to hardware stores, clothing stores, secondhand stores, and superstores (plus adequate transportation to get us to these places) that were mostly absent from our country a generation or two ago. The access we have to rent power washers and tile cutters and folding chairs for a wedding reception precludes the need we have to buy and save all those things ourselves.
But it doesn't stop us from keeping them once we get them.
I propose a change.
Simple, really, but profound: stop saving things for "someday."
Have faith in the infrastructure of our great country, which will assure that you will have access to what you need when you need it. Have faith in your neighbors and friends to loan you extra dinner plates or a couple camping cots when you have out of town visitors. Have faith in your own capable self, to be able to rise to the occasion when faced with a lack of supplies, gear, or materials to do a particular job or task. Have faith that you will be able to earn the $1.99 for a new crochet hook, and will be able to drive to the craft store yourself, if you EVER decide to take up crocheting again.
Have faith that you will be able to find a box in which to send your Mother her Christmas present. And if you can't find a used one, get a brand new one for free from the post office. They will even deliver priority mail cardboard boxes or envelopes to your door, for free. And you can order them online. You don't need to keep a closet full of used cardboard boxes any longer. Recycle them and reclaim some closet space.
You don't need to keep things for "someday." Instead, enjoy the life you have today.
Retain all those excellent character traits and useful skills such as thrift and prudence and creative re-purposing, to be sure! But refrain from cluttering up your home and storage spaces with things you can easily buy or rent when you need them at Home Depot, Joann Fabric, U-haul, or the post office.
Blessings on you this week!
Monday, August 9, 2010
EASIEST WAY TO GREEN YOUR ORGANIZING
Have you noticed that everyone and their little brother is going green? I think that's terrific. It's vital that we take care of the earth, and quit wasting so many of its resources.
With this same spirit, let me share with you the easiest way to green up your own organizing:
QUIT BUYING SO MUCH.
Frankly, that will save untold resources from being "consumed."
For inspiration, here are a few alternatives to purchasing things you want without having to rush out and buy them:
~ borrow from neighbor, family, library
~ rent tools, movies, wedding attire, sports equipment, musical instruments
~ look through your garage or storage shed to see if you already have one
~ use something else in its place (shampoo instead of liquid hand soap refill, cat litter bucket in place of new bucket, contractor trash bag instead of tarp under your picnic blanket, etc.)
~ Entertain yourself at home with all the great things you've purchased over the years (craft supplies, complete tv series on DVD, your music collection, books, hobby supplies, collections)
~ Clean and repair what you have, rather than drive over to Target or the mall to get what you think you need
Now see how much you can add to this list.
Have a blessed and green week!
With this same spirit, let me share with you the easiest way to green up your own organizing:
QUIT BUYING SO MUCH.
Frankly, that will save untold resources from being "consumed."
For inspiration, here are a few alternatives to purchasing things you want without having to rush out and buy them:
~ borrow from neighbor, family, library
~ rent tools, movies, wedding attire, sports equipment, musical instruments
~ look through your garage or storage shed to see if you already have one
~ use something else in its place (shampoo instead of liquid hand soap refill, cat litter bucket in place of new bucket, contractor trash bag instead of tarp under your picnic blanket, etc.)
~ Entertain yourself at home with all the great things you've purchased over the years (craft supplies, complete tv series on DVD, your music collection, books, hobby supplies, collections)
~ Clean and repair what you have, rather than drive over to Target or the mall to get what you think you need
Now see how much you can add to this list.
Have a blessed and green week!
Thursday, July 29, 2010
ARE YOU STUCK?
Do you find yourself staring at the growing stack of magazines on your coffee table and don't move any of them to the recycle bin? Do you drive into your garage every day after work and silently tell yourself, "I can't deal with this mess today" ? Are you constantly fumbling around your medicine cabinet looking for your allergy medicine, a pair of tweezers that actually work, or the bottle of Advil?
Perhaps you're stuck.
I can help unstick you.
One of the reasons you may be stuck is that YOU HAVE TOO MUCH GOING ON IN YOUR LIFE.
"Well, duh!" you tell me.
If you don't have time (or energy) to do simple little jobs like recycling magazines or cleaning up your medicine cabinet, then YOU ARE TAKING ON TOO MANY COMMITMENTS. Your schedule is creating clutter in your home.
YOU and only you can make changes in your schedule so that you DO have time to recycle magazines, sort through a box of Christmas decorations in the garage, and clean out a shelf in your medicine cabinet.
For today, take one small step to getting unstuck: look at your calendar, and see what one event or commitment you can change or cancel that won't adversely affect your health, job, or family life.
Use that freed up time to make one small improvement to your living space. When you're done, take the time to admire and enjoy the clear and organized space you created, no matter how small it may be.
Blessings on you today!
Perhaps you're stuck.
I can help unstick you.
One of the reasons you may be stuck is that YOU HAVE TOO MUCH GOING ON IN YOUR LIFE.
"Well, duh!" you tell me.
If you don't have time (or energy) to do simple little jobs like recycling magazines or cleaning up your medicine cabinet, then YOU ARE TAKING ON TOO MANY COMMITMENTS. Your schedule is creating clutter in your home.
YOU and only you can make changes in your schedule so that you DO have time to recycle magazines, sort through a box of Christmas decorations in the garage, and clean out a shelf in your medicine cabinet.
For today, take one small step to getting unstuck: look at your calendar, and see what one event or commitment you can change or cancel that won't adversely affect your health, job, or family life.
Use that freed up time to make one small improvement to your living space. When you're done, take the time to admire and enjoy the clear and organized space you created, no matter how small it may be.
Blessings on you today!
Sunday, July 18, 2010
MINI CLOSET PURGE
Let's take a break from paper, and head to our clothes closet(s) and dressers.
Sweltering weather has descended upon the West, and even lil mis "I hate snow" (that's me) is cocooning inside my air conditioned home. It's a perfect day to go through summer clothes! Why not join me for a short and easy clothes purge:
1. Look through your t-shirts and throw away any that are stained, faded, or are wearing along the neckband.
2. Throw away any and all swimsuits that are stretched out, too tight, or ride up on you.
3. How many pairs of flip-flops does one person need? You decide on a number that works for you, then get rid of the rest.
4. Shorts and capris so opaque that your panty color shows through have got to go. So do any that are too tight. Your skin needs to breathe!
IF THERE IS SOMETHING IN YOUR SUMMER WARDROBE THAT
A. YOU WOULDN'T LOAN TO MARTHA STEWART IF SHE CAME TO VISIT, or
B. YOU HATE,
then
GET RID OF IT.
Right now. No worries. That stuff is just STUFF, not a beloved friend or child or pet.
Pitch it.
Happy July!
Sweltering weather has descended upon the West, and even lil mis "I hate snow" (that's me) is cocooning inside my air conditioned home. It's a perfect day to go through summer clothes! Why not join me for a short and easy clothes purge:
1. Look through your t-shirts and throw away any that are stained, faded, or are wearing along the neckband.
2. Throw away any and all swimsuits that are stretched out, too tight, or ride up on you.
3. How many pairs of flip-flops does one person need? You decide on a number that works for you, then get rid of the rest.
4. Shorts and capris so opaque that your panty color shows through have got to go. So do any that are too tight. Your skin needs to breathe!
IF THERE IS SOMETHING IN YOUR SUMMER WARDROBE THAT
A. YOU WOULDN'T LOAN TO MARTHA STEWART IF SHE CAME TO VISIT, or
B. YOU HATE,
then
GET RID OF IT.
Right now. No worries. That stuff is just STUFF, not a beloved friend or child or pet.
Pitch it.
Happy July!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
HOW TO FILE, THE OFFICIAL BTFS POST
So, now that you have caught up with your old papers and have a system in place to deal with incoming mail, let's move onto HOW to actually file the papers you wish to save.
First, understand that SOME (successful!) PEOPLE DO NOT FILE PAPERS. They go to school, grow up, find jobs, keeps jobs, get married, have kids, raise kids, send their kids to college, retire, and move into assisted living ALL without keeping file folders full of paper.
There are people out there like this.
You and I aren't among them. (But we could be if we really wanted to. We just choose not to.)
We like to keep papers. And since we do like to keep papers, here's how to keep them without going crazy:
Take those bulging folders full of "to file" papers that you gleaned by following the instructions in my previous posts. Take a stack of third-cut manilla file folders and a pen (skip the fancy label maker that Real Simple and Martha Stewart insist you must have: making perfectly uniform labels slows you down and creates much more work for you in the long run).
Pick up the first paper in the folder and ask yourself:
1. What is this?
2. Why am I keeping it?
3. Can I get this information on-line?
If you determine you STILL want to keep it, think of a title for the file folder that would make retrieving that paper easiest for YOU. Write that title on a file folder and stick the paper inside.
Repeat with every paper you have, filing like papers with like inside appropriately named folders.
For example:
You rip out articles from various magazines and newspapers about decorating ideas. Put all of them in one folder. If that folder starts bursting at the seams, THEN separate your articles into categories such as "kitchens, gardens, bedrooms, home office ideas" etc. Too many categories too soon with slow you down and is too nit-picky to maintain in our busy lives.
When your "to file" folders are empty and you have a stack of labeled files folders, file those file folders into hanging files and put them in a file drawer in broad categories. You can find inexpensive ones that aren't ugly at target.com or at any office supply store.
If this is too much work for you, and you still have a pulse and a job, then pat yourself on the back and say, "I am a successful person even WITHOUT filing all my papers! I don't need another system!" Now go outside and forget about this paper mess.
If you're still reading, you must like papers, but you may hate file folders. I have a few ideas that work for many people: use three-ring binders.
Three-hold punch those papers, or stick them inside sheet protectors, and make binders for your areas of interest, such as financial papers, medical papers, home upkeep and ownership papers, personal documents (social security cards, birth certificates, marriage license, diplomas, awards, special letters, etc.), etc. I use file folders for most everything, but I also have several binders of things I print off the internet and read for personal enjoyment (I am not a Kindle kind of person).
Do what works for you.
And if you only have a few papers you want and need to keep, here's a cute file that can hold everything necessary to life and liberty, and you can get it on amazon.com too. Maybe someday I'll reduce all my papers to just the amount that can fit into this tote, but I suspect not, since I still love my paper. But isn't this file tote cute?
Go here: http://tinyurl.com/2vlahya
First, understand that SOME (successful!) PEOPLE DO NOT FILE PAPERS. They go to school, grow up, find jobs, keeps jobs, get married, have kids, raise kids, send their kids to college, retire, and move into assisted living ALL without keeping file folders full of paper.
There are people out there like this.
You and I aren't among them. (But we could be if we really wanted to. We just choose not to.)
We like to keep papers. And since we do like to keep papers, here's how to keep them without going crazy:
Take those bulging folders full of "to file" papers that you gleaned by following the instructions in my previous posts. Take a stack of third-cut manilla file folders and a pen (skip the fancy label maker that Real Simple and Martha Stewart insist you must have: making perfectly uniform labels slows you down and creates much more work for you in the long run).
Pick up the first paper in the folder and ask yourself:
1. What is this?
2. Why am I keeping it?
3. Can I get this information on-line?
If you determine you STILL want to keep it, think of a title for the file folder that would make retrieving that paper easiest for YOU. Write that title on a file folder and stick the paper inside.
Repeat with every paper you have, filing like papers with like inside appropriately named folders.
For example:
You rip out articles from various magazines and newspapers about decorating ideas. Put all of them in one folder. If that folder starts bursting at the seams, THEN separate your articles into categories such as "kitchens, gardens, bedrooms, home office ideas" etc. Too many categories too soon with slow you down and is too nit-picky to maintain in our busy lives.
When your "to file" folders are empty and you have a stack of labeled files folders, file those file folders into hanging files and put them in a file drawer in broad categories. You can find inexpensive ones that aren't ugly at target.com or at any office supply store.
If this is too much work for you, and you still have a pulse and a job, then pat yourself on the back and say, "I am a successful person even WITHOUT filing all my papers! I don't need another system!" Now go outside and forget about this paper mess.
If you're still reading, you must like papers, but you may hate file folders. I have a few ideas that work for many people: use three-ring binders.
Three-hold punch those papers, or stick them inside sheet protectors, and make binders for your areas of interest, such as financial papers, medical papers, home upkeep and ownership papers, personal documents (social security cards, birth certificates, marriage license, diplomas, awards, special letters, etc.), etc. I use file folders for most everything, but I also have several binders of things I print off the internet and read for personal enjoyment (I am not a Kindle kind of person).
Do what works for you.
And if you only have a few papers you want and need to keep, here's a cute file that can hold everything necessary to life and liberty, and you can get it on amazon.com too. Maybe someday I'll reduce all my papers to just the amount that can fit into this tote, but I suspect not, since I still love my paper. But isn't this file tote cute?
Go here: http://tinyurl.com/2vlahya
Monday, June 14, 2010
PAPER AGAIN
Now let's get down to the nitty gritty with paper.
I am sharing with you the "secrets" that I share in seminars and with one-on-one clients. And these secrets WORK.
1. Copy the following text into a word document and print it out:
TO DO
TO FILE
TO PAY
TO READ
PENDING
OUT
--TRASH
--SHRED
--RECYCLE
--DELEGATE
2. Collect the following items in one area, within easy reach of a comfortable chair:
flat, clear surface to sort on (kitchen table works great, or set up a long folding table)
trash can
recycle bin
cross cut paper shredder (line it with a trash bag, plug it in, and set it right next to your chair)
box of 100 manilla file folders (third cut, cheapest you can find)
file cabinet
pencil and eraser
large, bold marker
your stacks, boxes, or bags of paper
3. Take six file folders, and on the front cover AND on the tab, write the following in bold marker (one phrase per folder): "to do, to file, to pay, to read, pending, delegate."
4. Arrange your six folders in front of you on your table. These will be where you start sorting your stacks of paper.
5. Take a small stack of paper (couple inches high), and start with the top paper. Ask yourself the following questions:
Is this paper necessary to keep me and my family warm, sheltered, safe, or employed?
Do I need to keep this paper for legal, tax, or financial reasons?
Is this paper precious to me?
6. Once you determine the answers to these questions, it will become glaringly obvious whether or not to keep it. If you decide to keep it, then put it in one of the six folders. If you decide NOT to keep it, then trash, shred, or recycle it.
7. Repeat until your little stack of papers is gone.
8. Repeat with another stack of paper, at another time. Don't spend all day processing an office-full of paper. You'll burn yourself out. Moderation in all things, including paper processing.
YOU ARE ON YOUR WAY TO PAPER HANDLING NIRVANA. Keep at it over the next few weeks until all your old papers have a file folder (make more as necessary).
I'll help you with how to file in another post (i.e. what categories to write on those little tabs).
Blessings on you!
I am sharing with you the "secrets" that I share in seminars and with one-on-one clients. And these secrets WORK.
1. Copy the following text into a word document and print it out:
TO DO
TO FILE
TO PAY
TO READ
PENDING
OUT
--TRASH
--SHRED
--RECYCLE
--DELEGATE
2. Collect the following items in one area, within easy reach of a comfortable chair:
flat, clear surface to sort on (kitchen table works great, or set up a long folding table)
trash can
recycle bin
cross cut paper shredder (line it with a trash bag, plug it in, and set it right next to your chair)
box of 100 manilla file folders (third cut, cheapest you can find)
file cabinet
pencil and eraser
large, bold marker
your stacks, boxes, or bags of paper
3. Take six file folders, and on the front cover AND on the tab, write the following in bold marker (one phrase per folder): "to do, to file, to pay, to read, pending, delegate."
4. Arrange your six folders in front of you on your table. These will be where you start sorting your stacks of paper.
5. Take a small stack of paper (couple inches high), and start with the top paper. Ask yourself the following questions:
Is this paper necessary to keep me and my family warm, sheltered, safe, or employed?
Do I need to keep this paper for legal, tax, or financial reasons?
Is this paper precious to me?
6. Once you determine the answers to these questions, it will become glaringly obvious whether or not to keep it. If you decide to keep it, then put it in one of the six folders. If you decide NOT to keep it, then trash, shred, or recycle it.
7. Repeat until your little stack of papers is gone.
8. Repeat with another stack of paper, at another time. Don't spend all day processing an office-full of paper. You'll burn yourself out. Moderation in all things, including paper processing.
YOU ARE ON YOUR WAY TO PAPER HANDLING NIRVANA. Keep at it over the next few weeks until all your old papers have a file folder (make more as necessary).
I'll help you with how to file in another post (i.e. what categories to write on those little tabs).
Blessings on you!
Thursday, May 13, 2010
PAPER CLUTTER AND SOME NEW IDEAS ON WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT
You have no doubt read articles in women's magazines on paper clutter and how you need to touch each piece of paper only once, set up a file system, get your name off mailing lists, purge old papers, save tax papers, yada yada yada. Sure you've done some of that, but you're still on the brink of a full-blown paper panic: the feeling of impending doom that sweeps over you when you throw your car keys down on the kitchen counter at the end of a hard day's work, and glance at the stack of today's mail, on top of yesterdays' mail, on top of who knows what else.
Do you want a simple and easy to use method to upgrade your paper handling skills? Here are three basic steps to reduce the piles on your counter and your stress level simultaneously:
1. USE THE SHREDDER. Shred anything with your name and address on it to deter identity thieves. Just rip off the small section and shred it. I shred envelopes too, that carry my banks' names on them, to leave no paper trail for identity thieves. The majority of identity thefts still occur with real paper, not on the internet.
2. USE THE RECYCLING BIN. Once you rip your name off catalogs and magazines and shred those little pieces, toss the rest of the catalog/magazine in the recycling bin.
3. USE THE TRASH. Whatever can not be recycled or does not need to be shredded, throw away. Yes, just do it.
THESE ARE NOT DIFFICULT OR TIME-CONSUMING STEPS.
If you follow these three steps each day, your paper processing stress will plummet, and your piles will shrink.
Want more specific ideas on what to do with the papers you choose to keep?
We'll get to that soon. But you GOTTA GETTA GRIP ON THE CURRENT MESS BEFORE SETTING UP A BETTER SYSTEM. Shredding, recycling, and trashing are the first three steps. So get practicing. It will only take a minute or two each day.
Just do it.
Do you want a simple and easy to use method to upgrade your paper handling skills? Here are three basic steps to reduce the piles on your counter and your stress level simultaneously:
1. USE THE SHREDDER. Shred anything with your name and address on it to deter identity thieves. Just rip off the small section and shred it. I shred envelopes too, that carry my banks' names on them, to leave no paper trail for identity thieves. The majority of identity thefts still occur with real paper, not on the internet.
2. USE THE RECYCLING BIN. Once you rip your name off catalogs and magazines and shred those little pieces, toss the rest of the catalog/magazine in the recycling bin.
3. USE THE TRASH. Whatever can not be recycled or does not need to be shredded, throw away. Yes, just do it.
THESE ARE NOT DIFFICULT OR TIME-CONSUMING STEPS.
If you follow these three steps each day, your paper processing stress will plummet, and your piles will shrink.
Want more specific ideas on what to do with the papers you choose to keep?
We'll get to that soon. But you GOTTA GETTA GRIP ON THE CURRENT MESS BEFORE SETTING UP A BETTER SYSTEM. Shredding, recycling, and trashing are the first three steps. So get practicing. It will only take a minute or two each day.
Just do it.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
ARE YOU A HOARDER?
Your garage is so packed it's difficult to squeeze your car in. The laundry basket is overflowing and has been for the past month. You're having trouble keeping up with the daily newspaper and have started a growing pile of unread papers by the recliner in the living room. And you're afraid to call me to help you.
At some point, with most every client I work with, usually while knee-deep in boxes and general household "stuff," I will hear the question, "Do you think I'm a hoarder?"
And for every case I have worked with--every case where the client him or herself contacted me--the answer is "No." Here's why:
Hoarders don't call me.
A spouse of a hoarder might call. A child of a hoarder might too. But as a general rule, hoarders themselves do not seek out the services of a professional home organizer.
Hoarders do not see their problem until it has grown to such an extent that authorities threaten to condemn their home, cite them for littering, nail an eviction notice to their front door, or remove their children (through child protective services) or themselves (through adult protective services) from their home.
It takes an outside agency or close family member or friend to see the mess first.
Hoarding is no longer believed to be the natural result of the behaviors of a lazy, good-for-nothing slob. Thanks to a growing body of psychological research, hoarding has finally been labeled a mental disorder, for which treatment is becoming more available and viable.
So don't worry; if you call me on your own accord, you are most likely NOT a hoarder.
At some point, with most every client I work with, usually while knee-deep in boxes and general household "stuff," I will hear the question, "Do you think I'm a hoarder?"
And for every case I have worked with--every case where the client him or herself contacted me--the answer is "No." Here's why:
Hoarders don't call me.
A spouse of a hoarder might call. A child of a hoarder might too. But as a general rule, hoarders themselves do not seek out the services of a professional home organizer.
Hoarders do not see their problem until it has grown to such an extent that authorities threaten to condemn their home, cite them for littering, nail an eviction notice to their front door, or remove their children (through child protective services) or themselves (through adult protective services) from their home.
It takes an outside agency or close family member or friend to see the mess first.
Hoarding is no longer believed to be the natural result of the behaviors of a lazy, good-for-nothing slob. Thanks to a growing body of psychological research, hoarding has finally been labeled a mental disorder, for which treatment is becoming more available and viable.
So don't worry; if you call me on your own accord, you are most likely NOT a hoarder.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
GOOD, BETTER, BEST
Are you saving things for a later time, for a more Special time?
Are you purposely NOT wearing a particular favorite pair of shoes because you don't want to get them dirty or wear them out too fast?
Are you saving that imported, leather-bound journal you received as a gift, waiting for the Perfect thing to write about?
Are you slouching around the house in a ratty pair of sweats while that brand new pair of yoga pants sit untouched in a dresser drawer?
Why are you doing this?
Why don't you USE the best things in your life? Why are you waiting for some Perfect Future for them and for you? Why not enjoy those things right now?
You probably have never stopped to ask yourself these questions. You may not even be conscious of your choices to keep the "best" things for later, while you limp along in the land of mediocre: using things that are good enough, but that don't really thrill you all that much to use.
I'm not talking about being a "thing snob," and refusing to purchase or put to use anything that is remotely imperfect. I'm talking about using the best things that you have, given your space and purchasing (financial) limitations, on a regular basis, rather than saving them for later.
Go ahead and wear those fancy shoes, or write in your imported journal, or set the table with your "best" china. Why not? Delight in the best that you have.
Don't let your best things become clutter. Use and enjoy them now!
God bless you today and every day.
Are you purposely NOT wearing a particular favorite pair of shoes because you don't want to get them dirty or wear them out too fast?
Are you saving that imported, leather-bound journal you received as a gift, waiting for the Perfect thing to write about?
Are you slouching around the house in a ratty pair of sweats while that brand new pair of yoga pants sit untouched in a dresser drawer?
Why are you doing this?
Why don't you USE the best things in your life? Why are you waiting for some Perfect Future for them and for you? Why not enjoy those things right now?
You probably have never stopped to ask yourself these questions. You may not even be conscious of your choices to keep the "best" things for later, while you limp along in the land of mediocre: using things that are good enough, but that don't really thrill you all that much to use.
I'm not talking about being a "thing snob," and refusing to purchase or put to use anything that is remotely imperfect. I'm talking about using the best things that you have, given your space and purchasing (financial) limitations, on a regular basis, rather than saving them for later.
Go ahead and wear those fancy shoes, or write in your imported journal, or set the table with your "best" china. Why not? Delight in the best that you have.
Don't let your best things become clutter. Use and enjoy them now!
God bless you today and every day.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
GIVING UP OR MOVING UP
The economy stinks.
And people are hurting because of it. People are losing their jobs, their homes, and their cars. If you have been so blessed to have avoided losing any of these thing in the past few years, then you know someone close to you who has lost something big. I'm not talking about loss as in death or other physical or emotional tragedy: I'm talking purely about the loss of "things."
And I'm here to help you (help them) to make the hurt sting less.
Whenever you face the loss of personal items for financial reasons, whether something as large as a home or as small as a favorite set of earrings, TRY TO REPLACE WHAT YOU'RE LOSING WITH SOMETHING THAT HAS A PERK.
"What are you talking about? How can being in foreclosure be a perk?!"
So you're losing your home, and you've done everything you can to prevent it from happening, but it's too late. You're moving next month, into a rental you have yet to find. Rather than wallow in the "woe is me" muck of self-pity, look for the perks. FIND SOMETHING IN THE REPLACEMENT THAT GIVES YOU A SENSE OF MOVING UP RATHER THAN GIVING UP.
Let's say your house in foreclosure was large and had great landscaping, but you've always wanted a pool. Rent an apartment that has a pool. Voila, a perk!
Or move closer to your job to cut commute time and gas expenses.
Or find a newer (albeit smaller) home with nicer closet space, or vaulted ceilings, or a gas fireplace, or a playground on site for the kids.
Look for the perks!
You have to give up your minivan with the hefty monthly payments, and make do with a very used compact car. Find one in the color you've always wanted, or with heated seats, or a sunroof. Perks!
You decide to eBay the set of pearls you never wear, in order to have enough to pay for the electric bill. Take some of your profit and spend a couple bucks on enlarging that photo of your vacation to Jamaica three years ago, and hang it up so you can daily be reminded of happy memories. A perk!
Losing things is not tragedy; they're just THINGS. Look for the perks in your situation, and be encouraged!
And people are hurting because of it. People are losing their jobs, their homes, and their cars. If you have been so blessed to have avoided losing any of these thing in the past few years, then you know someone close to you who has lost something big. I'm not talking about loss as in death or other physical or emotional tragedy: I'm talking purely about the loss of "things."
And I'm here to help you (help them) to make the hurt sting less.
Whenever you face the loss of personal items for financial reasons, whether something as large as a home or as small as a favorite set of earrings, TRY TO REPLACE WHAT YOU'RE LOSING WITH SOMETHING THAT HAS A PERK.
"What are you talking about? How can being in foreclosure be a perk?!"
So you're losing your home, and you've done everything you can to prevent it from happening, but it's too late. You're moving next month, into a rental you have yet to find. Rather than wallow in the "woe is me" muck of self-pity, look for the perks. FIND SOMETHING IN THE REPLACEMENT THAT GIVES YOU A SENSE OF MOVING UP RATHER THAN GIVING UP.
Let's say your house in foreclosure was large and had great landscaping, but you've always wanted a pool. Rent an apartment that has a pool. Voila, a perk!
Or move closer to your job to cut commute time and gas expenses.
Or find a newer (albeit smaller) home with nicer closet space, or vaulted ceilings, or a gas fireplace, or a playground on site for the kids.
Look for the perks!
You have to give up your minivan with the hefty monthly payments, and make do with a very used compact car. Find one in the color you've always wanted, or with heated seats, or a sunroof. Perks!
You decide to eBay the set of pearls you never wear, in order to have enough to pay for the electric bill. Take some of your profit and spend a couple bucks on enlarging that photo of your vacation to Jamaica three years ago, and hang it up so you can daily be reminded of happy memories. A perk!
Losing things is not tragedy; they're just THINGS. Look for the perks in your situation, and be encouraged!
Monday, March 1, 2010
SPRING HAS SPRUNG
Well, maybe not technically, but it's a beautiful day out west, and the perfect time to go through your winter clothing and purge what you never bothered to wear in the past few months of cold weather.
You don't need to over-think this. Go to your closet and drawers and pull out any sweater you never wore, silk long johns that were a great idea at the time (but too much trouble to actually put on underneath your work blouses), long sleeved t's that you like having but don't like wearing, those droopy knee-high boots that hurt your toes, the parka fit for the Iditarod with the price tag still dangling from its sleeve, and the hand-crocheted scarf your best friend gave you for Christmas that looks like a pink poodle gone mad.
Really, it's perfectly FINE to get rid of those things. Hypothermia won't suddenly overtake you if you donate it all. Stuff them into a clean trash bag and call a charity thrift store to pick them up.
Make way for spring!
You don't need to over-think this. Go to your closet and drawers and pull out any sweater you never wore, silk long johns that were a great idea at the time (but too much trouble to actually put on underneath your work blouses), long sleeved t's that you like having but don't like wearing, those droopy knee-high boots that hurt your toes, the parka fit for the Iditarod with the price tag still dangling from its sleeve, and the hand-crocheted scarf your best friend gave you for Christmas that looks like a pink poodle gone mad.
Really, it's perfectly FINE to get rid of those things. Hypothermia won't suddenly overtake you if you donate it all. Stuff them into a clean trash bag and call a charity thrift store to pick them up.
Make way for spring!
Friday, February 12, 2010
THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
Yes, we're going to address the Big Ones today: those things that are physically large and take up way too much space in your home, but that you don't want to talk about.
That too-heavy-to-lift desk from your self-employed brother-in-law whose business went belly up. It's sitting silently in the corner of your family room, piled with unused coats, DVD cases, your bicycle helmet, and books to return to the library.
The extra sofa you bought and are storing in the garage for your daughter who's away working on her graduate degree.
The four-wheeler parked out back that you haven't ridden in eight years.
The five-piece suitcase set stuffed in the spare bedroom closet. You used the carry-on bag once, but don't want to get rid of them all because you paid so much and "it's a set."
The piano you never play but bought for your son when he was taking lessons twelve years ago. He's a military man now.
The extra refrigerator you keep in the garage and plug in once a year when you host your family barbecue.
The chalkboard from your unsuccessful attempt at homeschooling.
The antique bed frame, in pieces, awaiting repair.
The rototiller.
The jogging stroller.
The tent trailer.
The sewing machine.
The kayak.
The pool table.
The wooden console tv.
These examples may not be your elephants, but if you mindfully walk around your home, garage, and property, you will instantly know your own elephants. If you're honest with yourself, you will admit you don't currently use any of those things, yet there they sit, taking up valuable floor and mind space, nagging at you to DO SOMETHING, to BE SOMETHING "better" than who you are: "Exercise! Travel! Take up music! Garden! Educate! Refinish! Camp! Quilt! Play! Watch!"
Listen to me friends: who you are is PRICELESS. You are enough, just as you are.
If any of your elephants can easily and safely be carried out to your car without hurting yourself, go do that. If your elephants are too bulky, heavy, or awkward, call a charity thrift store or a nearby church and offer to give them to whomever can move them (please be safe around people you don't know well). Donate those guilt-mongers to someone who loves to jog while pushing a baby stroller, refinish antiques, kayak, camp, stitch, or till up dirt.
You are enough, just as you are.
That too-heavy-to-lift desk from your self-employed brother-in-law whose business went belly up. It's sitting silently in the corner of your family room, piled with unused coats, DVD cases, your bicycle helmet, and books to return to the library.
The extra sofa you bought and are storing in the garage for your daughter who's away working on her graduate degree.
The four-wheeler parked out back that you haven't ridden in eight years.
The five-piece suitcase set stuffed in the spare bedroom closet. You used the carry-on bag once, but don't want to get rid of them all because you paid so much and "it's a set."
The piano you never play but bought for your son when he was taking lessons twelve years ago. He's a military man now.
The extra refrigerator you keep in the garage and plug in once a year when you host your family barbecue.
The chalkboard from your unsuccessful attempt at homeschooling.
The antique bed frame, in pieces, awaiting repair.
The rototiller.
The jogging stroller.
The tent trailer.
The sewing machine.
The kayak.
The pool table.
The wooden console tv.
These examples may not be your elephants, but if you mindfully walk around your home, garage, and property, you will instantly know your own elephants. If you're honest with yourself, you will admit you don't currently use any of those things, yet there they sit, taking up valuable floor and mind space, nagging at you to DO SOMETHING, to BE SOMETHING "better" than who you are: "Exercise! Travel! Take up music! Garden! Educate! Refinish! Camp! Quilt! Play! Watch!"
Listen to me friends: who you are is PRICELESS. You are enough, just as you are.
If any of your elephants can easily and safely be carried out to your car without hurting yourself, go do that. If your elephants are too bulky, heavy, or awkward, call a charity thrift store or a nearby church and offer to give them to whomever can move them (please be safe around people you don't know well). Donate those guilt-mongers to someone who loves to jog while pushing a baby stroller, refinish antiques, kayak, camp, stitch, or till up dirt.
You are enough, just as you are.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
NEEDS, WANTS, AND JUNK
Think for a minute about your BASIC HUMAN NEEDS. Not wants, but needs. Shelter, food and water, clothing, and medical attention when necessary. That's it. EVERYTHING ELSE YOU OWN IS OPTIONAL.
Look around wherever you're at right now. All the things you see, unless they are sustaining your very life, are not necessary. You do not need an eight piece living room set in order to stay alive. You do not need a hybrid in your garage. You do not need forty three pair of shoes. You don't need a laptop. You don't need three hundred music CD's. You might want all these things, but you do not need them to sustain your life.
Every purchase you make can be easily classified into one of three categories:
1. life-supporting
2. life-enhancing
3. life-draining.
Basic human needs are life-supporting. Those purchases are necessary and are NOT (usually) clutter. The home you're buying, the food in your shopping cart, the shoes to protect your feet, the blood pressure medication you require. NONE OF THESE PURCHASES ARE CLUTTER.
The objects that bring you joy and delight are life-enhancing. Maybe you love music so much that your collection of 300 CD's is not clutter to you, because music enhances your life. You don't need them to sustain life, but you desire them for the joy and pleasure they bring to you. The living room furniture enhances your life by it's beauty and usefulness to you, your friends, and family. The nail polish collection in your bathroom makes you happy and smile because it's FUN for you. NONE OF THESE PURCHASES ARE CLUTTER, although as your interests change and you grow and bloom into a more authentic version of you, some or all of what you currently enjoy may become clutter.
The objects that do nothing to sustain or enhance your life are life-draining. The bridesmaid dress hanging in your closet, the baby clothes from your youngest child who's now nine and playing little league, the bulky computer monitor you don't know what to do with, the boxes of left-over supplies from your attempt at direct sales, the ab cruncher machine (like anyone uses those), blue eye liner you wore once last year, files full of papers you don't know if you should keep, mismatched mugs in your kitchen that you use but don't really like. ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE CLUTTER.
And you can get rid of them, right now.
Look around wherever you're at right now. All the things you see, unless they are sustaining your very life, are not necessary. You do not need an eight piece living room set in order to stay alive. You do not need a hybrid in your garage. You do not need forty three pair of shoes. You don't need a laptop. You don't need three hundred music CD's. You might want all these things, but you do not need them to sustain your life.
Every purchase you make can be easily classified into one of three categories:
1. life-supporting
2. life-enhancing
3. life-draining.
Basic human needs are life-supporting. Those purchases are necessary and are NOT (usually) clutter. The home you're buying, the food in your shopping cart, the shoes to protect your feet, the blood pressure medication you require. NONE OF THESE PURCHASES ARE CLUTTER.
The objects that bring you joy and delight are life-enhancing. Maybe you love music so much that your collection of 300 CD's is not clutter to you, because music enhances your life. You don't need them to sustain life, but you desire them for the joy and pleasure they bring to you. The living room furniture enhances your life by it's beauty and usefulness to you, your friends, and family. The nail polish collection in your bathroom makes you happy and smile because it's FUN for you. NONE OF THESE PURCHASES ARE CLUTTER, although as your interests change and you grow and bloom into a more authentic version of you, some or all of what you currently enjoy may become clutter.
The objects that do nothing to sustain or enhance your life are life-draining. The bridesmaid dress hanging in your closet, the baby clothes from your youngest child who's now nine and playing little league, the bulky computer monitor you don't know what to do with, the boxes of left-over supplies from your attempt at direct sales, the ab cruncher machine (like anyone uses those), blue eye liner you wore once last year, files full of papers you don't know if you should keep, mismatched mugs in your kitchen that you use but don't really like. ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE CLUTTER.
And you can get rid of them, right now.
Monday, January 11, 2010
MOVE IT OUT!
Are you deep into the winter doldrums? Are the overcast skies and dark mornings creating a blah-ness that permeates not only your mood but your home?
Well, shake it off with a 10 minute trash purge!
Take a fresh 13 gallon garbage bag (not the flimsy little ones you get at the grocery store) and turn up some fast music that makes you dance.
Start in your bathroom medicine cabinet and collect all lotions, facial scrubs, spot treatments, and eye wrinkle creams that you haven't used in three months. NOW THROW THEM OUT.
Next, pull back the shower curtain or open the shower doors and look at all the bottles and tubes you have amassed there. THROW OUT THINGS YOU ARE TRYING TO USE UP BECAUSE YOU DON'T LIKE THEM. Who said you have to use something you don't like? Pitch 'em.
Now go to your sock and pantyhose drawer. ANYTHING WITH HOLES BELONGS IN THE TRASH. Do it. Toe holes do not bring a smile to your face. All they do is pull you down further by nagging you to either use them up 'til they fall apart, or go buy new ones. Well save yourself 50% of that stress by throwing them away. And schedule a shopping trip to replace your socks and hose. Do it this week,
Pilled and faded sweaters depress you. The little metal shavers don't work. Re-dying clothing is too much trouble. THROW THOSE OLD CLOTHES AWAY. The charity thrift stores would have to do it for you if you donated those sweaters to them. They don't sell junk, and you shouldn't have to wear it, or keep it either. You would be taking money away from your favorite charity if you donate pilled and faded sweaters because they have to pay for disposal costs for unwanted or un-salable merchandise. Why pass the cost of disposing of your trash onto charities?
Throw those sweaters in the bag.
And if you still have that live evergreen wreath hanging on your front door, take it down NOW and pitch it. It is NOT "the holiday season" anymore. It's January, and spring is just around the corner.
OK, 10 minutes are up. Tie that bag and take it out to the trash cans/dumpster/trash chute. That wasn't difficult! And I bet you feel better now, too.
These mini-purging sessions are addictive. We'll do more soon. In the mean time, keep warm and keep smiling!
Well, shake it off with a 10 minute trash purge!
Take a fresh 13 gallon garbage bag (not the flimsy little ones you get at the grocery store) and turn up some fast music that makes you dance.
Start in your bathroom medicine cabinet and collect all lotions, facial scrubs, spot treatments, and eye wrinkle creams that you haven't used in three months. NOW THROW THEM OUT.
Next, pull back the shower curtain or open the shower doors and look at all the bottles and tubes you have amassed there. THROW OUT THINGS YOU ARE TRYING TO USE UP BECAUSE YOU DON'T LIKE THEM. Who said you have to use something you don't like? Pitch 'em.
Now go to your sock and pantyhose drawer. ANYTHING WITH HOLES BELONGS IN THE TRASH. Do it. Toe holes do not bring a smile to your face. All they do is pull you down further by nagging you to either use them up 'til they fall apart, or go buy new ones. Well save yourself 50% of that stress by throwing them away. And schedule a shopping trip to replace your socks and hose. Do it this week,
Pilled and faded sweaters depress you. The little metal shavers don't work. Re-dying clothing is too much trouble. THROW THOSE OLD CLOTHES AWAY. The charity thrift stores would have to do it for you if you donated those sweaters to them. They don't sell junk, and you shouldn't have to wear it, or keep it either. You would be taking money away from your favorite charity if you donate pilled and faded sweaters because they have to pay for disposal costs for unwanted or un-salable merchandise. Why pass the cost of disposing of your trash onto charities?
Throw those sweaters in the bag.
And if you still have that live evergreen wreath hanging on your front door, take it down NOW and pitch it. It is NOT "the holiday season" anymore. It's January, and spring is just around the corner.
OK, 10 minutes are up. Tie that bag and take it out to the trash cans/dumpster/trash chute. That wasn't difficult! And I bet you feel better now, too.
These mini-purging sessions are addictive. We'll do more soon. In the mean time, keep warm and keep smiling!
Sunday, January 3, 2010
NEW DECADE, NEW JUNK
Happy 2010!
Is your Christmas tree still up? Is there a holiday wreath on your door? Did you take down the inflatable Santa?
If not, don't beat yourself up.
Most people who are not professional home organizers still have most if not all of their decorations still out and up and decking their halls.
My halls are ready for spring. Before January 1st, I un-trimmed my tree, de-wreathed my door, packed away the silk poinsettias, and boxed up the stockings. And it took less than 30 minutes to do.
Time yourself this year when you take down your decorations and pack them away. You might be surprised at how little time it actually takes to clear out the old year to make way for the new one.
While you're at it, GET RID of at least ONE decoration that has seen better days, that you really don't like anymore, or that brings sad memories to you.
You deserve to live in a home that brings joy to your heart, at every season of the year!
Is your Christmas tree still up? Is there a holiday wreath on your door? Did you take down the inflatable Santa?
If not, don't beat yourself up.
Most people who are not professional home organizers still have most if not all of their decorations still out and up and decking their halls.
My halls are ready for spring. Before January 1st, I un-trimmed my tree, de-wreathed my door, packed away the silk poinsettias, and boxed up the stockings. And it took less than 30 minutes to do.
Time yourself this year when you take down your decorations and pack them away. You might be surprised at how little time it actually takes to clear out the old year to make way for the new one.
While you're at it, GET RID of at least ONE decoration that has seen better days, that you really don't like anymore, or that brings sad memories to you.
You deserve to live in a home that brings joy to your heart, at every season of the year!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)