Clutter is often the result of not finishing a task.
Dirty dishes piled in the sink.
Mail half sorted left on the desk.
Laundry folded but not put away.
Bags from the store abandoned  on the table.
Toys or games in the middle of the floor.

I know that distractions happen.
We get interrupted in the middle of a chore.
Someone needs our help and attention; right this minute.

However, if we go back to the task we were working on and
finish it before we move to the next thing, the clutter will be eliminated.

Follow through on your intentions to:
Sort the mail everyday. 
Wash, fold and put away the laundry.  
  One load at a time.
Empty and put away everything from every bag
  when you get home from the store.
Factor in time not only for playing the game, but
  for cleaning up the pieces and putting it away at the end of play time.

Close the circle.
Finish what you were working on before you start on a different task.
Complete the steps necessary to be done with that project.
Focus your energy on one area at a time.

Not only will there be less physical clutter,
there will be less mental clutter too.
There’ll be no need to remember all the half completed jobs clamoring for your attention.
Of course there will still be plenty of tasks,
but you will be taking care of them completely,
one at a time.  

Most of what we do all day is habitual and routine.
Although that makes our lives easy,
those behaviors may contribute to not making changes-
even if we’ve expressed a desire to do so.

Gretchen Rubin’s latest book, Better Than Before is about mastering the habits of our every day lives.

Part of that mastery comes from knowing ourselves.
One way to know ourselves is to become aware of our tendencies.
Paying attention to how we act and react in certain situations,
what motivates us,
why some change is easy for us,
and why we struggle in other situations.

Take Gretchen’s Four Tendencies Quiz and find out if you tend to be
An Upholder, a Questioner, a Rebel, or an Obliger.
According to Gretchen:
“Upholder—accepts rules, whether from outside or inside. An upholder meets deadlines, follows doctor’s order, keeps a New Year’s resolution. 
Questioner—questions rules and accepts them only if they make sense. They may choose to follow rules, or not, according to their judgment.
Rebel—flouts rules, from outside or inside. They resist control. Give a rebel a rule, and the rebel will want to do the very opposite thing.
Obliger—accepts outside rules, but doesn’t like to adopt self-imposed rules.”

These are not necessarily hard and fast rules about behavior or personality.
The quiz and the categories are intended to help you know yourself a little better
by seeing how you ‘tend’ to act.

Changing our actions, reactions and habits can be challenging.
Perhaps with a sliver of insight that knowing your Tendency might offer,
you may find those changes come a bit easier.
You may see how you can use your Tendency to support 
the new habits you are interested in creating.

Here’s a surprise, (not) I tend to be an Upholder.
(Although I never make New Year’s Resolutions)

How often do you think When ______ happens,
Then I will do ___________?

Somehow we think there will be more time tomorrow,
or that waiting to begin on a Monday will be better,
or having new equipment or supplies will make the project perfect,
or that you’ll have more energy later,
or an number of reasons (excuses) to put off starting.

Start today.
Start now.

Don’t wait until you have three free hours to tackle your closet.
Begin today by just pulling out all the empty hangers.
Putting all the known ugly, don’t fit, won’t wear, out of style, what were you thinking clothes
in a bag for donation. 

Don’t wait until life is calmer to revisit your meditation practice.
Sitting for five minutes today will make a difference.

Forget about starting a new diet on Monday.
Go for a ten minute walk at lunch today.
Take the stairs instead of the elevator.

Ignore the pile of mail on the table.
Start with what came today:
Recycle the junk mail, note the due date on the bills,
set aside the items you want to read.

Tomorrow has the same 24 hours as today.
If you’re motivated enough to consider change;
act on that change right now.
Taking a small step today has greater impact
than never taking the big step tomorrow.

Act now.
Your time and space are limited.
Choose to act today to create the life you really want.

Stop waiting.
Start doing.

Before

After

HAPPY FALL!

This evening set aside five minutes, use the timer on your phone if necessary,
and  straighten up  one room.

We’re not talking a thorough cleaning, we’re talking getting rid of the trash and recycle,
picking up the books or clothes, putting things away that have been left out,
loading the dishwasher, folding the clean laundry on the chair, dealing with the day’s mail,
whatever  decluttering you can get done in one room in five minutes.

As you have experienced with the Two Minute Rule (If you can do it in two minutes or less, do it now)
you can get an amazing amount done in just a few minutes.
And it saves you from having to go back later to complete tasks.

Working for just five minutes you’ll see the evidence of which tasks you fail to follow through on.
Dirty dishes left behind?  Piles of papers?   A trail of dropped clothes?  Incomplete projects? 
Small amounts of time and little changes in routines can have a longterm effect on how your space looks, feels and functions.

Spend five minutes this evening and get up to a less cluttered space tomorrow.

Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?  Mary Oliver

Make memories or buy stuff?
Have experiences or collect things?
Accumulate on line friends
  or nuture your in person relationships?
Aquire clutter or create space?

Make choices that support a heartfelt life…….

Oh, it’s tempting, I know.
Prices reduced by 10, 20, 50%.
How can you pass up such a great deal?

But before you grab that bargain
and make your way to the checkout, ask yourself:
“How is this one better than the one I already have at home?”
“Where will this live?”
“Is this what I came to the store to purchase?”
“Is this something I need, or merely want?”
“If it weren’t on sale, would I even be considering it?”
“How many is enough?”

One of the best ways to prevent your home from being cluttered and disorganized
is to make conscious decisions about what you bring home.
Practice the One in, One Out rule.

No matter how much and item is marked down,
how much money you save buy buying it on sale;
if you don’t need it and it is only going to become clutter-
You paid 100% too much!

Become aware of the sources and costs of your clutter.        

It is easy to think if only I had the perfect __________ then I could organize my ___________.
If I could just find the right ______________ then I could keep track of my ______________.

Often we write things down but then can’t find the paper once we want it.
Or we make a list that gets misplaced or forgotten.
Or we have random notes and receipts left here and there all over the house.

Sometimes the solution is closer at hand than you may think.
If not literally in your hand, then certainly within reach; your phone.

Although there are hundreds of apps, you can use the basic Notes/Lists feature.

For example, in Notes I have a list for Fred Meyer and Trader Joes.
That way I always have my shopping list with me.
When someone mentions a book I might like to read, I add the title to my Books note.
Same with Movies.
If I see an idea for an art project, or I get an idea for a blog post; it goes under Ideas.
Restaurants I want to try?  Restaurants.
You can be as specific or as vague as suits your needs.

A receipt you think you may need in the future?  Take a quick picture of it.

You can easily delete or trash items once they are no longer needed or relevant .

Why write things on a piece of paper, if later you can’t find the paper
or you end up entering it in your phone anyway?
(A chance to practice the Two Minute or Less Rule)

If you are looking for more ways to find/search/organize/share your notes,
Evernote or Google Keep are great options.

Changing the habit of writing things on a scrap of paper, 
adding items to the grocery list on the fridge, or
stuffing receipts into your purse or pocket
takes time, but
I think helps uncluttered your life.

Where else in your home and life can you
Use What You Have?

But when we really delve into the reason for why we can’t let something go,
there are only two:
An attachment to the past or a fear for the future.  Marie Kondo

How much room in your current life do you want to fill with items from your past?
How does being afraid of the future serve the life you currently want to be creating?

Is letting go easy?
Not always.
However, holding onto things we no longer need, use or value
doesn’t simplify our lives.
And anxiety or worry about what may happen in the future
keeps us from being present with the abundance we now enjoy.

Practice letting go.
Of clothes that don’t fit.
Books you’ll never read.
Household items you no longer use.
Sports equipment you don’t play with.
Thoughts about situations out of your control.

Be present to the life you have now,
have it reflect who and what are your most heartfelt desires.

Your life.
Your choices.

The visual clutter is usually obvious.
(Unless you’ve gotten to the point where you don’t see it, or just ignore what you do see….)

There is also invisible clutter.
One type is mental clutter.
The plans, the fretting, the worries, the replay of conversations,
the trying not to forgets, the I’ll get to in a minutes.

You know it is effective to spend ten minutes
sorting and decluttering a shelf or drawer.
Ten minutes of mental decluttering can have powerful results also.

A simple way to do this is to grab a pice of paper,
set a timer for ten minutes and do a brain dump.
List everything you’ve been worrying about,
planning, dreading, meaning to get to, hoping to find time for, etc.
Don’t edit, censor or worry about spelling.

Keep writing until the time is up.
(You may be surprised what comes up after the initial few minutes)

Just getting it all out of your head is a relief.
You’ll open up a bit of mental breathing room.
And will ease the tension and some anxiety.

Now go back over the list and figure out: 
What’s important with regard to the life you want to be living?
What can you can let go?

See if there are things
you can take care of with a phone call, an email or text.
Perhaps there are items you can add to a project list.
Or you can delegate to someone else.

Sometimes just the act of writing things down is freeing enough.
Or gives you perspective on how important or silly some of your thoughts and
worries may be.
And helps you see your true priorities.

It’s important to have our physical spaces organized so
we can access what we need when we need it.
Making sure we have mental space available is just as necessary for us
to be able to make good decisions and use our time and energy wisely.