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.

Current events, both the hurricane in Texas and the wildfires in the West, have necessitated people leaving their homes with little or no notice.  
Quickly being forced to choose which things they will save
and what will be left to fate or Mother Nature.

Talk about the ultimate Decluttering situation.

I am very grateful that my house isn’t flooding and
the nearest wildfire is 90 miles away.
However, the  situation has given me a chance to think about what would I take?
What means home to me?
If I had to start again, which things have meaning?
Which things reflect the life I want to be leading?

Art, color, and things I’ve created by hand say Home to me.
Living in bright spaces, surrounded by paintings, photographs,
and hand crafted items is meaningful to me.

Take a moment today:
Be grateful your house isn’t under two feet of water, or
fire isn’t threatening to torch your house.

Then try the exercise of “What would I take?”
Consider the stories behind your choices.
See how the choices reflect what’s important to you.

May disaster never force us to have to grab and go,
and may we live each day in gratitude for the abundance which surrounds us.

Painting is by Dawn Winters.
I sewed the quilted wall hanging.
Mixed media sculpture by Kathy Ross.

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.”

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………

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.

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.

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.

“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.

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.