Easy

If you make it easy and keep it simple you exponentially improve you chances for success.

Every step you add to the process, every decision you have to make to complete the task decreases the chances of you following through successfully.

LIfe is rarely black or white, however, many decisions and actions can be reduced to yes or no, this or that, keep or toss.

By making the mechanics of daily living as routine and simple as possible your home is less cluttered, you can manage the constant stream of papers entering your home, laundry doesn't pile up, you stop buying duplicates of items you already own, and things are where you need them when you want them.

Deal with the mail when you bring it in to the house, down't put things down-put them away, fold the clothes as you take them out of the dryer, put things away when you're done using them.

Simple routines, good habits, and making small efforts repeatedly will create an easier life.
Life is complicated enough, make what you can as simple and easy as possible.

I wish I hadn't

spent so much time laughing, being with friends and making memories," said NO dying person ever.

Life isn't about our stuff.
It's about our relationships.

Spend time with the people you care about and love.
Create some memories.
Laugh until you can't breathe, your mouth is open but no sound is coming out, and tears are running down your face.

Trust me, you won't regret it.

Under and in back.

Beneath the bathroom sink, that is.

Oh, come on it won't be that bad.  Really.

Think of it as an excavation.  An archaeological dig of sorts.  Down through layers and other eras.
Each half empty bottle, tried once and abandoned container a relic of some past life or moment of retail weakness.

Take everything out.  Yes, everything.  Have your garbage and recycle cans at the ready.

Toss the dried up, the gloppy, the not quite right color, the expired, the left over and the enviromentally incorrect.

Sort the keepers like with like.

Decide how many kinds of hair product do you really need.
How many half bags of cotton balls are enough?
Do you travel enough to warrant keeping ten travel size bottles of shampoo?  (that you don't even really like?)
Is under the sink the best place to store your ___________?

Whew.  That wasn't so horrible and the amount of things you've kept will actually fit back under there, without piling it four high or six deep.

If you want to use containers to help keep like things together, or some stacking baskets to take advantage of the vertical space or maybe fill a small caddy with cleaning supplies, here's your chance.

If you don't have things around the house you can repurpose and you decide to purchase some helpful containers-measure what you're hoping to store as well as the space you want the container to fit. Armed with that information you can shop knowing that what you buy will help, not add frustration.

Under the sink is valuable real estate in your bathroom.
Don't let it become a burial ground for stuff you don't need, products you don't use or supplies that should live some where else.

Oh, and I will be checking under there next time I'm at your house....
(No. I won't.)

short.

Life is short.
Live accordingly.
                                                           Patti Digh

Independence Day (and not just July 4th)

Not just one day of independence, but how about a week, month, or life time of freedom from unnecessary stuff?

How about celebrating letting go of clothes that don't fit, VHS tapes, the pile of six month old magazines, an unused crock pot, toys and games your children find boring, yarn you will never knit, or the ugly rug you've never liked?

Box up the unused, let someone else get value from your mistaken impulse buys, decide how many ________ is enough and let go of the rest.

Celebrate your relationships'
Ohh and ahh over all the open space in your drawers and cupboards.
Make your home the land of the free from clutter and the home of the brave enough to make choices that reflect what you truly love and value.

Live your life to ignite the fireworks in your heart.

Starting and going.

Motivation gets you started.
Habits keep you going.

Face it, there are certain mechanics of daily living that need to be done on a regular basis or life becomes chaotic, messy and overwhelming.
Bills need to be paid, laundry needs to be done, the floors need sweeping.

Decide for yourself how often these items need your attention and create some habits to address them.

Make Monday evening your time to sit down and pay your bills for that week.
Do a load of laundry every morning while  you're in the shower.
Grab the broom and sweep while the pasta water heats for dinner.

We often spend more time avoiding and dreading a task than it takes to complete it!

The thing about habits is you do them without much thought (which can be the good news/bad news).
Consciously scheduling time into your week to take care of chores frees up time and energy.
Come Friday you don't have to worry or wonder  if you paid the bills, or if you have any clean socks, or if the dust bunnies have taken over the living room.

This week get motivated to make one new habit.

A house with four rooms.

“There is an Indian proverb or axiom that says that everyone is a house with four rooms, a physical, a mental, an emotional and a spiritual. Most of us tend to live in one room most of the time but, unless we go into every room every day, even if only to keep it aired, we are not a complete person.”     Rumer Godden

Because our physical space is the one we're most aware of, we are  most conscious of the clutter in that room.

Take time this week to peek into the other rooms and see if you can do a bit of decluttering in them.

Is your mental room stuffed with To Do's you forget to do?
Write them down.
Is your emotional room cluttered with past hurts, grievances, anger or fears?
See if you could do a bit of forgiving, of others and most importantly-of  yourself.
Does your spiritual space have ideas laying about that no longer resonate with who you are now? Are there voices and stories that someone gave  a younger you that now weigh heavy on your heart?
Spend a few moments in silent reflection, connect to Spirit-however you define that experience.

Not all the 'stuff' is our lives is visible.
Do a little house tour and take the time to declutter each of the rooms.
Open up to all that's possible and relax your spacious new home.