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?
Thanks you’d be willing to articulate in a note to someone?

It’s good to have important things up front and accessible,
and it’s wise to be aware of what we’re holding onto a bit more deeply.

You make all the choices.
Choose people, activities,
the things that support the life you really want to be living.
Consider what’s possible. 

It isn’t about your stuff.
It’s about your connections with others.

Be generous.
Be grateful.
Make time to do what lights you up.
​Be with the people you love.
Say Thank you.

“The mind is clever, but the heart is truly intelligent.” David Montgomery


Our minds can help us figure out where to keep the scissors.
By listening to our hearts; we’ll know what we want to use our scissors to create.

Use your brain for sorting, prioritizing and organizing.
Allow your heart to guide your use of the time and space you create.

 “That was then. This is now”  
I often comment to 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.

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.

“Things do not change, we change.” Henry David Thoreau

How often do we wish situations in our lives different than they are?
How often do we want someone else to act or respond in ways that we believe 
would be easier for us, and ‘better’ for them?
How many times have we thought, “When this happens
or that changes then I’ll do _________”?

Waiting for things to change is just that, waiting.
How much of life do you want to spend waiting instead of being?

You only have the power to change your own behaviors and habits. 
You get to choose what’s important in your life; which things have meaning,
what activities to spend your time engaged in,
and which relationships feed you head and heart.

“They say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” Andy Warhol

Save yourself.
Then save the world.

Don’t let your need to make certain all your donations go to just the right people or place,
keep you from actually giving things away.

Focus your mental energy on your goal of clearing space in your home.
Make your priority having closets, shelves and drawers that
offer accessibility and room for what’s needed and important in your life.

Trust that people who need and want your things will find them
at the thrift store, or through a service organization.

(Sometimes all that research to find the perfect organization to accept your donations,
is just a way to procrastinate and not deal with the real work of sorting and prioritizing.)

Goodwill or Value Village or the Senior Center Thrift store
are good enough  solutions to your donation dilemma.

Let good enough help you move forward, one donation bag at a time.

Focus on the things you’re keeping.

Why is this mug special?
How do you feel when you wear this pair of pants?
What recipe works perfectly in this pan?
Why does this tablecloth always remind you of your grandma?

One box, three bags, a truckload.
It isn’t about how much you let go when you declutter.
It’s about how and why you value what you’re keeping.
Not Justin Case, or not because you paid good money for it, or not because it was a gift.

Your choice to keep it in your home reflects who your are, 
what you value, and the story of your life you want to be living.

No is a complete sentence.
No apologies, no excuses, no guilt.
No to making other peoples lack of planning your problem.

Saying No makes room to say Yes.

Be kind to your future self.

Load and run the dishwasher tonight so your future self 
doesn’t get up to a kitchen full of dirty dishes.

Fold the laundry when it’s done drying,
so your future self has something unwrinkled to wear.

Pay your bills on time,
so your future self isn’t paying late fees.

Say no to another commitment,
so your future self has time to read or take a walk.

Call a friend, so your future self
doesn’t regret not staying in touch with the people you love.

Do small things now, in this moment:
Your future self will be grateful.
​

Give someone the benefit of the doubt.

Give away something you haven’t touched in months.

Give up on being perfect.

Give someone Grace.
(Give it to yourself)

Give someone a compliment.

Give to a cause you believe is changing people’s lives.
(Any amount moves their mission forward)

Give someone the gift of your full attention.

Give yourself five extra minutes in the morning to linger over your breakfast.

Give up the need to be right; be kind instead.

Give yourself permission to love the life you have right now.