New Year Resolution

May the only resolution you make for 2018 be:
                 Love the life you're living.

The present of your presence

Want to give gifts this year that are meaningful for both the recipient and yourself?

Give the gift of your presence.
Show up in their lives.
Spend time.
Put down your phone and pay attention to 

who is in front of you.
Be present in this moment, now.

Invite someone for a walk.
Plan to meet for lunch.
Visit a museum.
Take the time to connect.

Relationships give our lives meaning.
Share experiences and conversations with the people
you feel close to, or that you'd like to know better.

No fancy ribbons, bows, or wrapping paper needed.
The present of your presence isn't more stuff 

in someone's life.
It is a reflection of what has meaning and what we value.

Make merry.
Be bright.
Show up as love.

Shopping

Here's a challenge for this week.

Don't buy anything.
For one week: Stop shopping.

(The economy won’t collapse, you won’t starve and you won’t have to go out naked….)

And you still have plenty of time to buy experiences (not stuff) for the people on your Christmas list.

This week, use up what’s already taking up space.
Make dinner from what's on the shelf and in the fridge.
Wear the clothes you have.
Just because it’s on sale, doesn’t make it a bargain or a necessity.

Shopping takes time, money, and energy.
Given you have a limited amount of each-where do you really want to spend it?

When you do shop, honestly ask yourself:
Do I need this?
Will I use it?
Is this better or more useful than the one I already own?
Where will it live once I get it home?
Will having this support and enhance the life I truly want to be living?

Mindfulness when you shop will help reduce the clutter and disorganization in your home.
Pay attention to how and where you spend your money and your time.

Value what you already have.

If you value what you have you will have less desire or reason to want more.

If you think what you have isn't enough,
what is the more you're looking to gain?

How will bigger, better, more bring your head and heart
closer to the life you value
and the people you cherish?

Clutter  and disorganization
are in direct proportion to the lack of value
you place on what surrounds you.

Choose to value your time,
your money,
your space,
and your relationships
more than your stuff.

It's your decision what has value in your life.
Choose wisely.

Shoulding on yourself

I should be more organized.
I should have a cleaner house.
I should exercise.
I should volunteer more.
I should spend more time with family.

Should. Should. Should. Ick.

How much stress and anxiety are all these shoulds creating in your life?

The next time an 'I should' thought goes through you head,
check out whose voice is really speaking.
Chances are it isn't your own voice at all.
(Sometimes it takes practice really listening to be able to hear what your own authentic voice is saying)

Trade the shoulds for "I want to, I choose to, I get to,
it's important to me that I......."

If being more organized means you spend less time on the mechanics of daily life and more time doing something you love-then make the effort to declutter and organize.

Exercise because you like the way it makes you feel inside your own body, not because someone else thinks you should.

Spend more time with family and friends because you want to feel connected, not because you feel pressure or obligation.

Over the next week notice when you start shoulding and see if the action demanded resonates with what's really important to your head and heart.

(Oh, and be careful you don't should on anyone else)

Location, location, location

Store the things you use most frequently
where you can most easily access them.

Organize your closet,
the kitchen,
the bathroom cabinet,
the laundry area,
and the garage
so you can easily grab what you need,
use it,
and then put it away.

Eliminate reaching over,
digging through,
shuffling things around
to get things you use on a daily basis.

Do a bit of rearranging.
Make your life and daily routines easier.

A practice and a process

Living a more organized life is both a practice and a process.

The practice of daily repeatable actions:
A place for everything and everything in its place.
Don't put it down, put it away.
Deal with the mail, everyday.
Close the circle.
One in, one out.

A process of changes where you learn:
That a simple life is an easier life.
How many, and how much is enough.
The use and value of having a home for everything.
And that your relationships matter more than your stuff.
(Especially your relationship with yourself)

Repetition builds habits.
Positive results are their own reward.

Practice may not make perfect (perfection is so overrated!),
but it will make changes.

Practice making the life you want.........

Focus on what you want

I found this quote on the Tiny Buddha site,

“Turn your focus from something don’t want to something you do want. This allows you to shift your energy from complaining to taking action.”

This suggestion can apply in many areas of our lives and especially when it comes to dealing with clutter.

Stop getting caught in the endless and berating stories of
My house is such a disaster,
I’m so disorganized,
the kid’s rooms are a mess.
By focusing on:
Find my keys when I need them,
sit at the table and have dinner as a family,
have the kid’s rooms be reasonably tidy;
we begin to articulate what it is we do want.

Stop using your thoughts and energy to complain,
and start taking action.

Bemoaning your lack of organization isn’t helpful-to you or the situation. 

Designating a specific place for your keys to live and
putting them there every time you come home,
is a positive action, and good use of your energy.

Setting up a place to deal with the mail,
instead of piling it on the table,
is a specific action that will leave the table clear for family dining.

Spending ten minutes before bed helping your kids put away their toys is an action that will lead to their rooms being reasonably tidy.

Choose one spot in our house that you feel is ‘cluttered’.
Focus on three things you could do,
actions you could take that would clear the space.

Small, easy actions: Toss a paper into recycle,
take something to the other room where it has a home,
throw something away. 

Focus on what you do want.
End the complaining and take some active steps.

Abundance or excess?

Abundance is different than excess.

Sharing in warm loving relationships is abundance.
Having subscriptions to five magazines you never read is excess.

Choosing to spend time on activities that feed your head and heart is abundance.

Holding on to equipment and supplies for hobbies that no longer interest or delight you is excess.

Choosing quality over quantity is abundance.
Purchasing duplicates of items you already own, but can’t find, is excess.

Knowing your limits creates abundance.
Ignoring your physical, financial, and emotional situation leads to excess.

Abundance lives in your heart.
Excess dominates your surroundings.

By letting go of the excess you choose abundance.

Time flies.

“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”  Annie Dillard

Decide how you want to spend those days.
Shopping?
Scurrying to catch up?
Bent over your phone?
Obsessing over the past?
Overwhelmed by your stuff?
Searching for things you own but can't find?
Hoping things will change, but never changing your behaviors?

This is your one, true, and amazing life.
Live your life so it reflects what's important to you.
Spend your time engaged in activities that are meaningful to you.
(You get to define what those things are)
Spend time with the people you love and cherish.

The days are long, but the years are short...

Bugs you lots

Where is that one space in your house that really bugs you?
Which pile makes you the most annoyed?
What area takes the most effort to keep under control and clutter free?

Take a moment and just look at what's piled up there.
Do the things not have homes?
Are they items you're doing to get right back to (but haven't)?
Did they get left there on the way to somewhere else?
Are they decisions you've been unwilling to make?

Once you have an idea of the why of the clutter,
it will be easier to take care of what's there in an appropriate way.
Figure out if the items are worth keeping and if so, 

find them a home.
If they are things that never get put away, perhaps they need a new home closer to where they are used or needed.

Make a decision about the item.
Move forward.  

Live with the results.

Trade annoyance for action.

A pile for a clean surface.

Small changes.
Big results.

Not why? What.

Forget about asking why things are disorganized or cluttered.
The why answers usually lead backwards 

(and you're not going that way),
or they involve  opportunities to beat yourself up about your past behaviors.
(Put down that stick)

Instead ask what?
What are the results I'm looking to achieve?
What can I do differently so the mail doesn't pile up?
The clothes get put away?
The dishes end up in the dishwasher?

What questions give you a chance to think in terms of actions and results.
You are still taking responsibility for making changes and
initiating different behaviors,
but you are doing it from a place of looking ahead and moving forward.

As they say, "There is a reason windshields are larger than rear view mirrors."

What we do

It is what we do,
not what we own,
that makes life memorable.

Spending time with friends.
Savoring time for ourselves.
Making relationships a priority.
Taking time out to play.
Being absorbed in a good book.
Appreciating a work of art, or a piece of music.

Choose to do things that warm your heart.
Spend time with the people who matter to you.
Trying owning less and see if your life is richer.........

What's the benefit?

Often what keeps us stuck or procrastinating is
our focus is on how hard something is going to be,
or why we don't want to do it.  (Whine, whine)

Instead, try focusing on the benefits of doing the work.

What opportunities might be created?
Remember why you wanted to take on the project.
Remind yourself of the changes your actions will produce.

Procrastination and stalling take energy.
Why not put that effort into achieving the goal?

Weigh the long term benefits against the short time needed to do the actual work.

If you switch your focus from the mechanics of the doingness part,
to the positive outcome and changes having done the work will create; you can change how you feel.

Place your attention where you want your results to be.

Inviting a shift in perspective makes it easier to get things done.

What are the benefits of a less cluttered life?

Make that your focus.

What's the use?

Everything has a use and a purpose.

Hobby supplies are meant to create things.
Clothes are meant to cover our bodies.
Dishes are for dining.
Pots and pans for cooking.
Sports equipment gets you out and moving.
Books are meant to be read.
(I think you know where this is going.......)

If you're not knitting a sweater,
wearing the pants,
drinking from the mug,
baking a souffle,
using your tennis racket,
reading or rereading that novel:
Let it go.
Let the stuff serve its purpose.

Quit wasting the stuff's potential and usefulness
while you wait around to find the time,
lose the ten pounds, or
keep it for Justin Case.

Clearing out your excess, unused, under valued and unloved stuff will create more room for you to find and 

live your purpose. 

And I'm willing to bet your purpose has more to do with people and relationships than it does to things.

Know what you need.

You can't know what you need if you don't know what you have.

Much shopping, impulsive and otherwise, comes from thinking you need _________.

So you toss __________ into your cart,
you get home and discover you already have 

two boxes of __________ on the shelf.
Or three pair of ____________ hanging in the closet.
Or four bags of _____________ in the freezer.

Having items organized, grouped like with like,
and stored where you use them creates a visual inventory.
When you can see and are aware of what you already have,
and you've decided how many is enough, you'll know if you really 'need' more of something and 

your shopping habits will change.

Use lists (a great use of your smart phone) so you can note when you need to make a purchase.
If you write it down you don't have to try to remember how many you have left or if you emptied the container.

(Oh, and just because it's on sale, doesn't mean you need it)

Know your limits.
Shop accordingly.

Aim lower

"The perfect is the enemy of the good."  Voltaire.

Set aside perfection.
Abandon your inner Pinterest wanna be.

Aim for small improvements, little changes.

Don't worry about eating off the floor. 

Start with being able to see the floor!

Sometimes people wait to declutter and organize until
they have a whole day to work on the project,
or they have the perfect storage containers,
or they purchase another bookcase.

Realistically, you can find an hour to work on one area.
Realistically, matching baskets look nice but won't solve the problem.
Realistically, you will be less cluttered if you sort the books you already own.

It's okay to lower your expectations from perfect to good.
(and much more likely that you'll arrive in that place.)

Accept that you only have a limited amount of time, energy and interest.
Remember who and what is most important in your life.

Having a color coded, neatly lined up sock drawer would be perfect.
But unnecessary.
Having a drawer where socks live, and are easy to access.
That's good!

Let good be perfect.

More space in under ten minutes

This week's idea:
Three things you can do in ten minutes or less to create space in your life.

Remove all the empty hangers from your closet.

Toss the cheap and flimsy ones.
Take ten of the good ones to the laundry room so you'll be able to hang things directly from the dryer.
Gain space in your closet without having to try on a thing.

Sort the container of pens on your desk.

Sort the contents.
Remove anything that doesn't really live there.
(I won't ask how some of that stuff ended up in there...)
Test every pen/pencil.
Throw away the dried up ones, cheap ones, stubby little pencils.
Figure out how many is enough and limit the container to that amount.

Clean out your wallet.

Take out every item, scrap of paper, card, receipt, photograph, fortune cookie fortune.
Toss/recycle the expired, unnecessary, unreadable and irrelevant.
Decide what really needs to live in there.
How many credit cards do you need?
What id needs to be with you all the time?
If you're keeping receipts-why?

Choose one little project.
Spend a few minutes.
Change the look and feel of one space in your life.

Putting things away when you're finished with them is key to eliminating clutter.

However, before you toss a dried up pen back in the drawer,
put a chipped cup back on the shelf,
hang up a shirt that's a tiny bit too tight,
or make room for another book on an already crowded shelf;
ask yourself, “Is it worth keeping?” 

Take a moment to stop and consider if you really need
or want to keep the item.

If you don't, then let it go. (You know-recycle, donate, toss.)

No matter the size of your home, your space is limited.
Don’t waste space storing things that don’t support the life you want to be living.

Oh, and let's not forget the mental or emotional items we're keeping.
Is it helpful to hold onto that grudge or resentment, anger or fear?
Would letting go of those stories and memories make space in your head and heart?

It’s your decision what you need and want in the life you're living right now.

Thoughtful decisions about your home and relationships reflect what you care about and value.

Crazy talk. Or is it?

 

DADDY'S HOME

 

 

 

 

 

Be lazy.

"Organized people are just too lazy to look for things."

This quote made me laugh and rang totally true.

Being organized means I can be lazy.
And that isn't necessarily a bad thing.

I don't have to spend my time looking for misplaced items or
shopping for duplicates or digging through piles.

By employing the adage "Work smarter, not harder",
I am able to make many of the mechanics of daily living  routine and habitual,
so they require minimum effort on my part.

In this case lazy doesn't mean I don't get things done or
I spend my time gazing out the window avoiding projects or responsibilities.
(Although I do enjoy the view outside my windows.)

It does mean I have more time to work on projects because
I know where my supplies are and I can easily access them, use them, and put them away when I've finished.

It means I have time to honor my responsibilities and relationships because I have made them, not my stuff, 

my priority.

True, it is going to take some non lazy effort to sort through your stuff, prioritize and then organize it.
Create homes, systems and habits to insure that the things you use, love and treasure are where you need them when you want them.

Then the laziness can begin in earnest!

Live the life you truly want.
Why would you do otherwise?

Admit it's over.

 "That was then. This is now" is one of the mantras I teach my clients.
(In my least bossy voice, of course)

One source of clutter comes from holding on to items connected to a life we no longer live.
(Or ever did for that matter)

Supplies for a hobby we stopped engaging in years ago.
Sports equipment from an activity we abandoned.
Clothes from a different body or life style.
Supplies for a Do It Yourself project that will never happen.

We want to believe that our lives, tastes 

and commitments haven't changed.
That we have the same bodies, abilities and interests we had two, five, or ten years ago.

What's true is that isn't the case.
If those hobbies and activities were important to us,
we would be making time and room in our current lives to do them.

Admit it's over.

Take an objective look at what's living in your closets, stacked on your shelves, or piled in the garage that no longer has use or meaning in your life. 

Get rid of the unused, excess, nagging, guilt inducing stuff.

If you're not quite ready to let go of things
(or is it what they represent that has the hold on you?),
set yourself a deadline. 

If you haven't pulled out the yarn, played tennis,
or refinished the chair by X date,
be willing to admit it and let the items go.

I invite you to take look at what you've been holding on to that no longer serves the life you want to be living now.

Admit that yes, you're done with that hobby, activity or project.

It's okay, really.

Give the supplies, equipment and clothes to people who will use them, right now, for the lives they are presently living.

Your letting go will create space in your house and life; physically, mentally and emotionally. 

You'll have more room for this life, the one you're engaged in right now.

Make that life a reflection of the people and activities that feed your soul and fill your heart.

Change your mind.

Choosing to live an uncluttered life starts with wanting to get rid of distractions. 
Once this desire is present, you begin to see your life from this new perspective. 
When your mindset has changed, your actions will follow. Unclutterer.com
                                                                                                     

What's distracting you?
What action could you take today, in the next five minutes,
that could move you forward to a less cluttered life?

Your life.
Your choices.

The next three inches.

We're all pretty aware of what's in the first three inches of our cupboards or cabinets,
a drawer or a stack of papers.
But what's in the next three inches?

When we move past the items in the front-those things we use most often, wear most frequently and
left so we'd be sure to find them; what would we find?

Food we'll never prepare,
expired medications or supplies,
a sweater with padded shoulders,
an over due bill or over looked check?

This week, try digging a bit deeper.

Choose a cabinet, drawer or pile of papers 

and sort through it.
What really needs to live in that place?
What needs to be donated or tossed?
What paperwork needs a few minutes of your time and attention?

Maybe spend a few minutes digging a bit deeper personally too.
Are there activities you might be willing to step away from?
Judgments about yourself or others that you'd be willing to let go?
Kind thoughts you'd be willing to articulate in a note to someone special?

It's good to have important things up front and accessible,
and it's wise to be aware of what we're holding on to a bit deeper too.....

Keeping up is easier.

Secret of Adulthood
It’s easier to keep up than catch up.  Gretchen Rubin

Mail, laundry, dishes, house keeping
friendships, work email, putting things away...
Keeping up with these mechanics of daily living,
doing a little bit every day,
prevents them from becoming overwhelming tasks.

Repeating actions on a daily basis creates habits.
Actions become automatic,
and through repetition your situation changes.

Leave the sense of scrambling behind,
and settle into a calmer easier routine.

What can you do today to create the life you want tomorrow?

Move along, move along.......

Sometimes we give up when we need to just move on.

Decluttering and Organizing are processes, not destinations,
and it often takes experimenting with different methods and systems to find the ones that work best for you.

There is no one size fits all approach.
There are certainly guidelines and hints that many people have found useful:
Like with like.
Knowing how many is enough.
That was then, this is now.

However, you will be more successful if you know yourself.
And act from that knowledge.

If you find yourself wanting to just give up and
abandon your decluttering and organizing efforts,
perhaps you just need to change your approach.
Find a different way to deal with mail.
Rethink your laundry routine.
Assign someone else to take care of the doing the dishes.

Try other solutions.
Move on....

The challenge of letting go of things isn't about the item itself, it is about the story surrounding the item.

This is especially true of items with sentimental value.

When you find yourself reluctant to part with an item,
even when you know you don't have the space or the need for it:
Ask yourself what's the story you tell yourself about this piece?

Has it been in the family for years?
Do you associate special events or people with the item?
Does it represent a significant time or place in your life?

Remember the stories and the memories.
Perhaps write them down.
Take a photo of the piece and put it with the story.

Then, be honest about the life you have now.
The amount of space you have in your home.
The real value or usefulness of the object.

Keep the story.
Let go of the stuff........

Begin again.

Feel like you've fallen off the being organized wagon?
It happens.

Begin again.

Today, hang up your coat.
Sort the mail when you bring it in.
Put the folded clothes away.

Take little steps.
Make small changes.
Pay attention.

Seriously, every moment is a chance to begin again.
You have the knowledge, the power and the ability
to create the life you want.

Spending or investing?

This was in my email In Box today and I thought it was too good not to share:

Here's a question for you to ponder: do you spend your money or do you invest it? Do you spend your time in various activities or do you invest it? How about your energy and physical abilities: spend or invest? The difference in these two words can make a big difference in the results you are enjoying in your life.

For my word-buddies, here are some synonyms for invest: devote, provide, advance, supply, entrust.
And here they are for spend: give, pay out, expend, deplete, waste, cast away.

What are you thinking every time you purchase something? Do you think you are giving the money away, depleting your bank account, and wasting or casting away the funds you have in your possession?

What about changing that to devoting, supplying, and entrusting your money to the provider you are handing it to?

This simple word change makes an enormous difference in the attitude we have towards our money, energy, time, and work. 

Changing our attitude, of course, changes the results. This week when you use money, time, or energy, mentally change your thinking to the idea that you are investing your time, investing your money, investing your energy - and, yes, you expect a return on your investment!
 Krysta Gibson

Annoying....

What space in your home annoys you?
Which area bugs you every time you have to deal with something there?
Where do you avoid because it's just too much to even think about?

Too many shoes in the bottom of the closet?
No room to put things under the sink?
Piles of papers, bills, receipts, and to do lists on the desk?

This week identify one place in your home that you've been avoiding and pay some attention to it.

Decide what would make it helpful instead of hopeless.
What really belongs in the space?  

What has just ended up there?
How could you make the space useful?
What would you be only too happy to get out of your life?

Sort.
Prioritize.
Organize.

Clear it.
Clean it.
Use it.

Make space for a life you love.

Tricky retailers......

The Unclutter recently had a great article about how retailers influence what you buy.

How retailer's tricks contribute to clutter.

Pay attention next time you're in a store.
Make conscious decisions about what you purchase 

and why.
Every purchase is a reflection of what you need, use, love and value.

Making it.

We don't find time for what matters-
We make time.   Anne Lamott

As one of my teachers used to say, "You are your results."

Looking at your results: What is important to you?
How do you really spend your time and your money?

Where do you put your effort and attention?
How often do you walk your talk?

If an uncluttered life is truly important to you:
Put things away when you're done with them.
Stop buying things you don't really need.
Give experiences, not things.
Pay your bills when they are due.
Take care of the mail on a regular basis.

Spend your time, energy, money and heart
making the life your really want to be living.....
Start today.

More or less.

Which things do you want more of in your life?
Which things less?

More time to spend making memories with people you love?
Less time spent taking care of the mechanics of daily living?

More space to be arty and crafty?
Less distraction from your technology?

More opportunities to get outside?
Less time watching tv?

More Laughing?
Less worrying?

A little less clutter and a little more organization can 

set the stage for you to 

make the commitment to a life of more or less.

Not the end.

Getting organized isn't the end.
Organization is a choice of daily actions.

Having homes for the items you use, need, love and value
contributes to being organized.
Making conscious decisions about what you buy and bring home is part of being organized.
Putting things away, instead of just down,
handling paperwork in a timely and consistent manner,
being specific with others in your home about chores, tasks and expectations all are part of the daily mechanics of 

being organized.

Creating the habit of conscious decisions with regard to what you own, why you have it, and where you'll keep it will support you in having an organized and simpler life.