Limit your options

Having more options and more choices makes us think 

  we will arrive at the perfect solution or 

  we’ll make the ideal choice.
More options equates more time spent choosing,
  and more opportunities to feel we might have 

  made the wrong choice.
Too many options can feel overwhelming, and
  leads us to believe insignificant choices have 

  greater weight and importance than they really do.
We use valuable mental band width on decisions that 

  may have little long term effect or benefit.

Where are some easy places to limit your options?
When filing papers (most of which you know you’ll never look at again)
  keep the categories general.
Buy the same color towels for all the bathrooms.
Find products you like and consistently use them.
Keep like things together so you only have to look in 

  one place to find them.
Once you choose, move on.
"That decision has been made."

Don’t let trying to find the perfect solution keep you stuck.
Trust me, imperfection is okay.
In fact it’s quite comfortable.

It's okay to set limits, make easy choices
  and opt not to exercise every option.

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This week’s idea. Verbal clutter.

Gossip.
Sarcasm.
One upping.
Getting in the last word.
Playing the devil’s advocate.
Exaggerating for dramatic effect.
Arguing to prove an unnecessary point.
Chattering on to fill what we perceive to be uncomfortable silences.

Just as we rethink our possessions in order to have less clutter in our lives, pausing before we speak may prevent us from verbally cluttering our relationships.

As a result, we may experience ourselves as being kinder and more patient as we communicate with family, friends, and colleagues.
And you will have fewer conversations where your lips engaged before your brain, or you may have been right, 

when you could have been kind.

Our thoughts,
our speech,
our buying habits,
what we choose to find space for and honor in our lives.
It is all about making conscious choices.

Choose wisely.

Chew toys

They should.
He always.
She never. 
Why do I have to?
Don't they see?
Isn't the solution obvious?
I can't believe he said/did/did't/can't/won't/doesn't.

Such indignation.
So righteous.
And all the right solutions too.
(Or so you think)

The stories we repeat.
The conversations we replay.
The if only I'd saids.
Repetitive thoughts rushing down those 

old worn grooves in our minds.
How many of our thoughts are repetitious, 

circular and don't move us forward?
How much of what we chew on only 

keeps us annoyed and hurt?
It's all Mental Clutter.

We want our physical spaces to hold only the things we love,
value and reflect the life we want to be living.
Our mental space needs to be as clutter free as possible also.

Which thoughts and stores can we let go?
What judgments get in our way?
How might our lives be different if we spent more time in thoughts of gratitude and thanks?

Funny thing about our they should, he always, she never, etc.:
There is always another point of view.

Just for today, try not whining.
Put down your righteous chew toy.
Replace a complaint with a gesture of kindness.
Do some Mental Decluttering.

"Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time."
Thomas Merton

Have we stopped seeing the art on our walls, the photos on the shelves, the collection in the display?
(Just like we stop noticing the piles of clutter?)

When we first displayed  these items it was because they had meaning and we felt connected to them and the memories they evoked.

Is that still true for you?

Thoughtfully consider if your taste is the same.
If now the book shelf is over crowded or
your mementos have just become dust magnets.

Maybe rearranging some items could give new feeling to a room or space.

Or editing a collection down to just a few of the most special items.

Reframing the photos in similar frames would unify the look and draw your attention to the subjects.
(Perhaps it is time for updated photos of the people you love and care about?)

We each get to decide what is art in our lives.

The items we hang on our walls,
display on our shelves and have homes on our desks should be things that make our hearts happy.

Choose and display items which continue to have meaning,
inspire you,
remind you,
and make you feel at home in your own house and life.