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.........