"Outer order contributes to inner calm."  Gretchen Rubin

When we're surrounded by piles and stacks, mess or clutter,
it can add to our stress and feelings of being overwhelmed and out of control.

By taking even five minutes to put things away, 

deal with the mail,
hang up some clothes, or empty the sink, 

we give ourselves more room.

Putting our attention and effort into physical movement demonstrates to our inner self that we can control parts of our lives and 

make small changes that have impact.

Creating order on the physical level of our lives can help to calm the agitation that is often present on the inside.

The next time you're feeling stressed, look around;
consider the role your physical environment is having
on your inner dialogue.

See if by creating a bit of outside order 

you are able to calm a bit on the inside.

Got Drugs?

If your medicine cabinet is cluttered with expired, unused, or outdated prescriptions:

Saturday, April 26th, is National Prescription Take-Back Day.

Want to find a location near you?  Click here.

Need more information about proper medicine disposal?  Click here.

Chances are, you'll be out and about on Saturday anyway,
so take advantage of the opportunity to properly dispose of your medicine clutter.

A math Story Problem. (No trains leave the station....)

When is a plus really a minus?

In other words: When does adding something actually take away something?

When we add things we get more.
And we've been conditioned to think that more is better.             

If we take something away, 

 we often assume things have been diminished.

However, in the case of the things we bring into our home,
 the activities we add to our calendar,
 the duties we assume out of obligation:
Adding more rarely makes our life better.
In fact, more often adds to our clutter, stress and feelings
 of being overwhelmed, and life being out of control.

Subtracting items from our home that we no longer

 use, need or love, adds space and ease to our lives.
Eliminating activities that drain us gives us time to spend
  doing things we love with people we care about.
Carefully selecting our obligations makes the best use 

 of our time and talents.

The next time you are tempted to add a thing,
an activity, or a commitment to your home, life or schedule-
Do the math.
Is it a plus?
Or will it really end up as a minus?

It is your story to write.

Cheap is, and isn't.

There is more to the price of something than the amount on the price tag.

Even if something is inexpensive doesn't necessarily make it a bargain.

Spending money on something that is poorly made, easily broken , quickly worn out, or doesn't do the job well
wastes not only the money we paid, but our time as well.

Having fewer things of better quality makes the best use of our money, and saves us time and frustration.

There are costs in every purchase we make.
Try being more mindful of the the story of how that cheap thing became available.
Do the math to figure out your cost per usage.
Consider what will happen to the product when it no longer is functional.
(There really is no 'away' when you throw something away.  It goes somewhere......)

Spend a little more now to end up spending less later.

Own things of quality that work well, look good and last.

The next time you're tempted because something "only costs________"consider the real price you are paying.

Act Now! Space is limited.

It's true.
Your space is limited.
You only have so many drawers,
a limited amount of closet space,
and a finite number of cabinets.

Act now to:
Sort a closet.
Un-stuff a drawer.
Clear off a shelf.
Purge under a sink.

More is rarely better.
It is usually just the same thing over and over.
And repetition often creates clutter.

By setting limits on how much or how many,
we keep control over how our spaces look, feel and function.
As well as better mange our time, money and resources.

Act now and make the best use of the space you have.

(Oh, and leave a bit of empty space-you'll breathe easier.  Truly)

Because

Because less clutter means less stress.
Because being more organized means 

 I have more time to relax.
Because being organized opens up space and time to spend with people who make me laugh.
Because routines and habits make it easier to 

 deal with the unexpected.
Because less clutter means I'm not so overwhelmed.
Because kids mimic adults,
  and learning to be organized when you're a kid 

  is easier than learning when you're an adult.

Because I really do want to have a simple, abundant life.

I know it all comes down to the choices I make.
I'm choosing less, in order to have more.

And you?

Permission granted.

If you've been waiting to donate the not your style clothing gift,
or the tea cups from your grandmother,
or the wedding gift you've never used,
or clear the file cabinet of papers from five years ago,
the garage of sports equipment that you paid a lot of money for, or toss sale food from the pantry that you know you'll never eat,
or a pile of your child's art work-
Please, go ahead.
Permission granted.

If you thanked the giver, 

if you know your grandmother isn't the tea cups,
you have no intention of every making waffles,
you've long since broken the small appliance that you've saved the warranty for,
your schedule doesn't have room for tennis or golf or even croquet,
you now realize the bargain Costco multi pack didn't mean you'd eat it,
and that just because your child created it, doesn't mean you need to keep it.

Really, it's okay to let stuff go.
Gifts, items you've out grown (on any level), the repetitive, the redundant, the 'sale' purchases that weren't really a bargain,
the items you've been storing for Justin Case.

Donating the unused, unneeded and unworn doesn't make your life smaller-
it opens up space for you to see and use the things that are important and have value.

Give yourself permission to surround yourself with the things you love,
the people you want to spend time with,
doing activities that speak to your whole hearted life.