Say Thank You.

Quietly to yourself.
Out loud.
In a text.
With a gesture.
Send an email.
Write a small note.
Make a phone call.

Small moments.
Tiny kindnesses.
Loving and being loved.

So much to be grateful for……..

Trying to get a space decluttered and organized?
Just start by bagging up the trash.

Don’t worry about what you’re going to donate,
or where you’re going to find homes for keepers,
or how overwhelming the project feels
Start with the trash.

That one step will make space in the area,
help you see what’s left behind to deal with,
and let you feel like you are making progress.

Pick an area.
Grab a bag.
Start.

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Looking to create more space in your home?
Try letting go of something big.
​
The chair in the family room that isn’t comfortable and is usually piled with clean clothes in need of folding.
The coffee table that’s merely a flat surface magnet for papers, unread magazines and dirty dishes that haven’t made it to the dishwasher.
The second dresser in your bedroom that’s filled with clothes you don’t wear.
The stacking drawers in the office filled with supplies for a hobby you quit doing years ago.

You will be pleasantly surprised how much more living space you have once you let go of things
you’re always running into, or ignoring, or no longer fill a need in the life you are living right now.

Look around.
Choose something big, but unnecessary,
and let it go.

Work is what you do for money.
Time is what you spend.

Take a moment to consider your daily spending habits.

Do you spend time with friends and family you say are important to you?
Do you spend time doing hobbies and activities 
that use and express your talents and interests?
Do you spend time in routines and habits 
that make the mechanics of daily living easier?

Given your time every day is limited:
Spent it wisely.

We can accept ourselves and also expect more from ourselves.  Gretchen Rubin

We can accept that our house will never look perfect,
and we can still  make an effort to keep it uncluttered.

We can accept that we are sentimental,
and we can still let go of things from our past.

We can accept that we may still buy things on impulse,
and we can expect ourselves to make use of what we do bring home.

Accepting ourselves does not mean we are  resigned to things never changing.
It does mean that we see ourselves as perfectly imperfect,
and that we treat ourselves with compassion.
We know and expect that we can and will do better as we are able.

All that clutter used to be money.
Perhaps you purchased some of that stuff on a credit card.
Now, not only do you have clutter; you’re paying interest on.
(And you may not even find the stuff that interesting, or useful!)

One way to save money by spending it is:  Pay down existing debt.

Take a break from buying and use the money to pay off the debt on things you already own.
The quicker you pay off the debt, the less you’ll pay in interest
and the more money you will save.
(and really, who couldn’t benefit from saving money?)

“If you died yesterday, what would you most regret? 
Forget imagining if you died tomorrow……what if you were already dead?  
What would you regret the most?  
What would you wish you had done differently, saw differently, responded to differently?”
​Brianna Weist

Living a less cluttered and more organized life isn’t really about getting rid of stuff or
having an organized closet.
You do those things to have the time, the space, and the mental bandwidth 
for the people and things that are truly meaningful for you; to live an intentional life.

Literally.

Often things get put away or tossed into the laundry or put back in the drawer when they really should be discarded.

The pen that doesn’t write that gets stuffed back into the cup, the stained tee shirt that gets tossed into the laundry hamper, the toy that is missing a part going back into the toy box.

Deal with the broken, used up, worn out, unnecessary item while it is in your hand.
(Make it easy by having trash and recycle containers available in every room.)

Don’t spend your time and energy saving and storing things you don’t need, 
don’t use and don’t value. 

The solution to less clutter is in your hands.
​

That was then.  This is now.

You used to watch dvds, now you stream movies.
You used to play tennis, now you go to yoga.
You used to cook for five, now you cook for two.
You used to wear a large, now you wear a medium.  (or vice versa)

Look around your house.
Some things you used to do, but now don’t; are a source of your clutter and frustration.

It’s okay that you’ve changed.  Really.
That your priorities are different.
That how you spent your time then, isn’t how you spend it now.

What can you let go from then
to free up space in your now?
(Don’t get sucked into thinking that you need that stuff for Justin Case…)

Focus your attention on the people and things you currently enjoy.