Be kind.
To yourself.
To the people you love.
To the people who annoy you.

Grant people safe passage.
Really, you have no idea what’s going on
in their heads and hearts.
Or what challenges life is presenting them in this moment.

No, it won’t always be easy.
But it will always make a difference….

There are serious wild fires burning all over the the West.
Dry conditions, challenging terrain, shifting winds, and crews stretched thin
mean that people are being evacuated quickly and sometimes with very little time to prepare.

If it were you, your house, your belongings, the evidence of your life-what would you grab?
Once you had gathered family, pets, important papers and your phone and computer, what else?

Obviously, there is no right or wrong answer to this question.

What is important and meaningful is different for everyone of us.
What we cherish, what we couldn’t replace, what would we want or
need surrounding us to make us feel at home and safe is as individual as we are.

We think this will never happen to us.
And hopefully it never will.
But that doesn’t mean it might not be a good exercise
to consider the question….

My thoughts go to the victims of these fires
as well as the dedicated crews and support people trying to manage 
these situations.
It is hard for everyone involved.
May they each have moments of grace.

This does present a great opportunity for me to remind people
to spend a few minutes and create an Emergency File.
(Paper if that works for you, digital if you’re more comfortable with that)
Consider keeping this information either in a fire proof safe in your home,
in your bank safe deposit box, or the Cloud.
Have your account numbers, policy numbers, passwords and id information, 
a list or video of your valuables, as well as other important documents
you might need in the event of even a partial loss.
I hope you will never need to access this file.

No, I don’t mean some less than desirable person lurking around.
I am referring to the situation where once you have an area organized,
somehow little bits of clutter start creeping back in.

One way to avoid the creep is before items ever even enter your home.
When you’re at the store and considering a purchase, 
remember the One in, One out rule
and ask yourself,
“What will this replace?”
“Is this better than the one I already have?”
“Do I have room for this and where will it live?”
“Do I have the time and energy to use and maintain this?”
“Does this reflect the life I really want to be living?”

It isn’t necessarily buying things that causes the clutter.
It is when we shop mindlessly or for entertainment or
to impress others that what we purchase ends up being clutter.

Be mindful of the decisions you are making in the store.
Your home doesn’t  have room for the Clutter Creep or Justin Case!

You know, the guy that’s been sharing your home and storage spaces.
The guy that whispers what if when you’re getting ready to donate something you
no longer need, use or value.
The guy that is math challenged and can’t ever figure out how much is enough.
Or keeps encouraging you to pile things higher and deeper on the shelves in the garage, the floor of the basement, and the corner of the attic.

You know the the guy I mean, Justin.
Justin Case.

It really is time for you to kick the bum out!
And have him take his unneeded, no longer used, what if stuff with him.

Chances are really really good that all that stuff you’ve been keeping just in case
you will never need, want or have any use for again.

However, if in a month, or six, you find yourself in need of something you’ve donated, sold or given away;
you certainly have the brains and ability to get another one.
Or repurpose something you own to do the job, 
or borrow the item, buy the item used, 
or maybe purchase a new, better version of the one you let go.

You really only have room in your home and life for things that are
important and valuable to you.
Don’t waste time, space or energy keeping things for Justin Case.
(Trust me, he is taking up valuable space in many people’s houses,
he doesn’t need room in yours!)

One of Gretchen Rubin’s Secrets of Adulthood is:
 Focus Not on Doing Less, or Doing More, but on Doing What You Value.  

Which got me thinking, and considering variations:
Focus Not on Buying Less, or Buying More, but on Buying What You Value.

Or
Focus Not on Working Less, or Working More, but on Valuing your Work.

Or
Focus Not on Saving Time, or Spending more Time, but Value the moment you’re in.

I assume you are getting the gist.
And that your mind may have started generating some Less/More Secrets of its own.

We get to choose where we spend our time, energy and money.
We decide what has value in our lives.
Sometimes we need less of some things
or  more of other things.
Sometimes we have just the right amount.

May your values inform your choices.

Mental clutter.
Repetitive thoughts, circular arguments, replaying past conversations,
holding on to anger, regret, should haves, could haves, would haves,
worrying about tomorrow, picking at past hurts and disappointments;
you get the idea.

For today, decide which piece of mental clutter you’re willing to let go.
Choose one thought, story, memory, continuous sound loop that
no longer supports the life you want to be living.
Just take a breath and let it go.
(And the next time it pops up, let it go again.  And again.)

No matter how many times you revisit the conversation,
no matter how wrong you think they were,
no matter how justified you are in your indignation:
You can’t change the past.

But you can control how you let the past color your present.
Do a bit of mental decluttering and see what opens up…..

Clutter is often the result of a distraction or a delayed decision.

You will get an item from its home, use it and then spot a
bright shining object, oops 
you’re distracted and the item never gets put away.
And you’ve moved onto something else.

Or you buy something,
bring it home, but
haven’t decided where it will live
so it gets left out,
causing clutter.

Make a practice of closing the circle.
Get the item.
Use it.
As soon as it is no longer needed
close the circle
by putting it back in its home.

Before you buy and bring something new home
decide what it is going to replace,
and where it will live.
Then when you bring it home, 
discard the old one and
close the circle by putting the new one away.

You close the circle when you:
Place the dirty dish into the dishwasher,
Put the folded laundry away.
Shred the mail as you open it.
Hang up your towel.
Drop off the bags of donations.

Close the circle.

“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful,
         or believe to be beautiful.”

                                                                         William Morris

Nope.
No fairies to sprinkle magic Make the Clutter Disappear dust.
No witch to wiggle her nose and the counters become clutter free.
No Fairy godmother with a magic wand.
Sometimes you just have to do the work.

Choose the project,
decide on the goal,
make the time,
and then start the process.

If you find yourself denying, delaying,
ambivalent or shoulding on yourself:
Look at why you are even considering the project.
Do you really want a change?
Is it really worth the time and energy?
Do you honestly believe your life will be happier, easier
more alined with your values and beliefs if you 
complete the project and alter your situation?

If so, then do the work.
If not, make peace with that choice.

(ps.  It’s okay to ask for help……)

Just a small bit of happiness can make life better.

Instead of waiting for a big change,
a huge Aha moment,
a totally organized house,
your weight to be perfect, 
more money in your savings account,
or the garden to be weed free.

Make one small change and let that be enough.

Organize one drawer.
Go for a ten minute walk instead of eating a cookie.
Skip the latte and toss the money into your Vacation Fund jar.
Weed the four feet closest to the front door.

Let yourself experience that little flash of joy that comes 
when your small actions reflect your bigger values.

Little bites.
First steps.
Small changes.
It all adds up.

Every choice moves you toward
or away
from the life you want to be living.