Is Clutter A Problem?

10 Questions to Help You Declutter


by Mandi on April 12, 2010
http://organizing.yourway.net/10-questions-to-help-you-declutter/

One aspect of having a simple home is to keep it free from clutter. While there are varying degrees of this and not everyone chooses to live a minimalist lifestyle, there’s no way to get around the need to declutter regularly as part of your simplifying goal.

1. Is this item something I use regularly?

A lot of times we keep gadgets, tools, toys, art supplies, et cetera around because they seem useful. However, it’s important to consider how often you actually use each item when deciding whether it’s worth keeping or should be given away. If you haven’t touched it in three to six months (or more), despite your best intentions, it is a good candidate for decluttering.

2. If not, is it something I love?

Of course, there are obviously exceptions to this rule (including seasonal items that you usually regularly in season). One exception I would always encourage you to make is for items you love. Keeping a painting from your grandmother that you love even if it doesn’t have a place in your current home is much different than keeping a snowcone maker that you have been meaning to use for two summers but never seem to have the motivation to actually pull out.

3. Am I keeping this out of obligation or expectation?

Chances are there is at least one thing in your home that you’re keeping not because it’s useful or you love it but because it was a gift from someone and you feel obligated to keep it. While I completely understand the desire not to hurt someone’s feelings, I think it is also important to remember that this is your home and if it is affecting your life, it’s okay to declutter gifts as well as the things that you’ve bought for yourself.

4. Am I holding onto this because I think I should love it?

Maybe you have a piece of artwork or a trendy outfit you picked up because they were popular and you felt like you should love them, even though you really don’t. Maybe your craft area is stocked with supplies for a hobby that no longer interests you. In all of these cases, it’s important to consider how you really feel and make your decisions based on those feelings rather than the ones you think you should have!

5. Am I saving this just in case?

One of the most common causes of clutter is a fear of needing something that you’ve given or thrown away. The reality is that if you commit to simplifying and decluttering, chances are that this will happen at some point. But for those of us who take the plunge to get rid of the unnecessary, the benefit of a clutter-free home is almost always worth the tiny bit of regret in these situations.

6. Do I have multiples of the same thing?

How many spoons or spatulas do you really need in your kitchen? Obviously your answer will depend on the type of cook you are, but ask yourself this question whenever you have multiples of any item. There’s a difference between being prepared and more efficient and just creating clutter!

7. Could something else I own do the same job?

I think this is a fun question! As you’re decluttering, look at any specialized tools or items you have and ask yourself if you could do the same job with another item, thereby cutting down on the number of different things you keep. To use another kitchen example, I decided to simplify our entertaining by giving away a bunch of our serving bowls once I bought a set of beautiful stainless steel mixing bowls from Ikea. I use these every day for cooking, but they also make great bowls for chips, dip, ice, et cetera.

8. Am I holding onto a broken item to fix one day?

This is another classic cause of clutter. Perhaps you have a piece of broken furniture or a broken electronic that you’re just sure you will have the time and desire to fix at some point. But ask yourself how long it’s been sitting in storage waiting for that day to come and whether you’re really ever going to get to it as you make the tough decisions about what to keep and what to get rid of.

9. Is this item worth the time I spend cleaning/storing it?

It’s important to remember that both your time and the space in your home have value. Think about how much time you spend cleaning knickknacks that you don’t really love. Or how about the time you spend sorting through the things in storage time and again to either find something you do need or want or to try to declutter once more. Would your life have less stress and busyness without those items?

10. Could I use this space for something else?

Think of the possibilities of what you could do with a closet or storage area in your home if you weren’t holding onto everything that currently fills it. What about a shelf full of knickknacks or books that don’t really interest anyone in your home? Your space has value too, and it’s important to look at the cost of everything you keep in terms of the space it occupies as well.

Which of these questions is the most challenging for you? Are there items in your home that you need to give yourself permission to give or throw away?

As I read through the above tips, I couldn't help but see myself in so many of them.  I am going to print this out and post it somewhere where I will read it every day.  These are excellent questions to help us look at what is cluttering our lives.  Thank you Mandi

Fran

Attract Unlimited Success

7 Laws of Attraction to Attract Unlimited Success
By Michael Lee

Of the laws that govern the universe, the most powerful is the universal law of attraction, which simply states that whatever you put out into the world, the same will return to you. Furthermore, there are 7 Laws of Attraction that define every aspect of this phenomenon. These laws are the ultimate keys to your success. Here are the 7 Laws of Attraction and how they can help change your life for the better:   1. The Law of Manifestation   Your consciousness plays a huge part in the creation of your desired state. It is the architect laying out the blueprint for your success. Every detail is scrutinized by a meticulous eye, designing only what is best and correcting any irregularities in the grand plan. If it is not worthwhile or does not enrich your life, it must be abandoned in favor of an honorable pursuit. Focus on what's truly important, and your deepest desires will manifest themselves to you.   2. The Law of Unwavering Desire If you want something so purely and completely and you believe with all your heart that you deserve it, that you must have it, then you can only be sending out the right vibrations for the universe to receive and send back to you. Let no fear or doubts hold you back.   3. The Law of Delicate Balance Desperation is a negative emotion; and when you are desperate to have something, you may be sending out the wrong signals. It may seem like a contradiction to Law # 2, where desiring is beneficial to the attraction of positive energy towards yourself; but these 2 cases are different. You must strike a delicate balance between the dream you hope to come true, and living contentedly in the moment. Do not make your goal the singular object of your desire that you neglect all other aspects of your life. Just know that it will happen in time and that, while waiting, you need not be so despondent.   4. The Law of Magnetism In school we were taught that opposite poles attract and like poles repel each other. Not so in this case. Energy is as pervasive as air. It is all around us, even within us, and we ourselves radiate energy, though often we aren't even aware of it. But what we must know is that whatever kind of energy we emit-whether positive or negative-is the same kind we attract as it returns to us from the universe. What goes around comes around, as the saying goes.   5. The Law of Synchronization The universe has much to offer in terms of gifts and gains. These fruits are yours for the taking, if you but align yourself and be in close harmony with the 'Giver.' Do not fight the flow or resist the order of things. You are part of a greater whole, not a separate entity; to throw yourself into this realm and bask in it is not only a duty but a birthright.   6. The Law of Universal Influence Do not take the tiniest of actions for granted. Even the most seemingly harmless of deeds can have influence, for we are all connected and, therefore, what I do affects you to a certain extent, and vice versa. Since you are practically glowing with energy, which vibrates and is carried out into the world, it follows that others will pick up on it and be impacted by it. So exude only the positive.   7. The Law of Conscientious Action Much like the principle of karma, this Law of Attraction follows the rule, "What you sow, you shall reap." Carry yourself with dignity and act only in a way that is honorable-to yourself and to others-and the rewards will be plenty.   Make the 7 Laws of Attraction work for you now and you won't need to find your fortune-your fortune will find you.   Resource Box: Michael Lee has unleashed the hidden power of universal laws of attraction and success. Listen to the audio at http://www.20daypersuasion.com/universal-laws.htm.   BANABU - Building A New And Better U / Building A New And Better Universe Fran

Taking Care of Yourself

Just like the airlines say - "Put yourself first" You will be no good to anybody else unless you are feeling your personal best.

Taking care of yourself is not selfish - it is self-care. A person who feels complete, confident, healthy, and fulfilled is a better person. No matter how long your list of things you need to do for others, remember to put yourself at the top of that list and do something nice for yourself first.

Schedule at least 3 "down time" periods a day for yourself - each and every day. Downtime should consist of a minimum of a 5 minute block of time spent completely alone in a quiet space.

Use the time to write in your journal close your eyes, centre yourelf, add some entries to your gratitude list, or jus take a few deep belly breaths to slow yourself down.

Every day is a new opportunity for growth. Expand your mind. Take an evening course, read a book on a new subject, try something new like youga or pilates, or join a book club. (Did you know that if you read for 15 minutes a day you can read 17-18 books in a year? Or that if you waste 15 minutes a day, you will waste 91 hours a year?)

TIP: Each and every day do only those things that will enable yoiu to feel good about yourself later.

Fran

BANABU

What's Happening?

Hi

I hadn't realized how long it had been since I had posted until today. Since April I was involved in a local event - The Diversity Festival- which was held on July 7th and involved people from all walks of life - health and beauty, massage, cultures, United Way, local vendors, animal rescue, immigration, alternative lifestyles - wow, it was amazing. We had a day in the park and two performances of Dragon's Breath. I was in both and also in the one we did in Almonte in May. It took a lot of my time but it was energizing and satisfying, and it was Building A New And Better Universe for many!

I recently began to listen to Mike's material again and I will soon be able to offer some of it to my blog readers. If you are interested, please leave a comment below. In particular I have been relistening to Mike's 11 Principles. I will be posting some of my thoughts over the next few weeks.

Hope to see you here again soon.

Fran
BANABU

BANABU

I get a lot of email and sometimes I don't read it all (gasp!!)

This morning I was looking for a particular piece of mail and came across some stories that were sent to me around Christmas. They brought tears to my eyes and one in particular stood out as fitting the theme of Building a New and Better Universe and I thought I would share it here today.

The Old Man and The Gas Station

The old man sat in his gas station on a cold Christmas Eve. He hadn't been anywhere in years since his wife had passed away. It was just another day to him. He didn't hate Christmas, just couldn't find a reason to celebrate. He was sitting there looking at the snow that had been falling for the last hour and wondering what it was all about when the door opened and a homeless man stepped through.

Instead of throwing the man out, Old George as he was known by his customers, told the man to come and sit by the heater and warm up. "Thank you, but I don't mean to intrude," said the stranger. "I see you're busy, I'll just go."

"Not without something hot in your belly." George said.

He turned and opened a wide mouth Thermos and handed it to the stranger. "It ain't much, but it's hot and tasty. Stew ... Made it myself. When you're done, there's coffee and it's fresh."

Just at that moment he heard the "ding" of the driveway bell. "Excuse me, be right back," George said. There in the driveway was an old '53 Chevy. Steam was rolling out of the front.. The driver was panicked. "Mister can you help me!" said the driver, with a deep Spanish accent. "My wife is with child and my car is broken." George opened the hood. It was bad. The block looked cracked from the cold, the car was dead.

"You ain't going in this thing," George said as he turned away.

"But Mister, please help ..." The door of the office closed behind George as he went inside. He went to the office wall and got the keys to his old truck, and went back outside. He walked around the building, opened the garage, started the truck and drove it around to where the couple was waiting. "Here, take my truck," he said. "She ain't the best thing you ever looked at, but she runs real good."

George helped put the woman in the truck and watched as it sped off into the night. He turned and walked back inside the office. "Glad I gave 'em the truck, their tires were shot too. That 'ol truck has brand new ." George thought he was talking to the stranger, but the man had gone. The Thermos was on the desk, empty, with a used coffee cup beside it. "Well, at least he got something in his belly," George thought.

George went back outside to see if the old Chevy would start. It cranked slowly, but it started. He pulled it into the garage where the truck had been. He thought he would tinker with it for something to do. Christmas Eve meant no customers. He discovered the the block hadn't cracked, it was just the bottom hose on the radiator. "Well, shoot, I can fix this," he said to himself. So he put a new one on.

"Those tires ain't gonna get 'em through the winter either." He took the snow treads off of his wife's old Lincoln. They were like new and he wasn't going to drive the car anyway.

As he was working, he heard shots being fired. He ran outside and beside a police car an officer lay on the cold ground. Bleeding from the left shoulder, the officer moaned, "Please help me."

George helped the officer inside as he remembered the training he had received in the Army as a medic. He knew the wound needed attention. "Pressure to stop the bleeding," he thought. The uniform company had been there that morning and had left clean shop towels. He used those and duct tape to bind the wound. "Hey, they say duct tape can fix anythin'," he said, trying to make the policeman feel at ease.

"Something for pain," George thought. All he had was the pills he used for his back. "These ought to work." He put some water in a cup and gave the policeman the pills. "You hang in there, I'm going to get you an ambulance."

The phone was dead. "Maybe I can get one of your buddies on that there talk box out in your car." He went out only to find that a bullet had gone into the dashboard destroying the two way radio.

He went back in to find the policeman sitting up. "Thanks," said the officer. "You could have left me there. The guy that shot me is still in the area."

George sat down beside him, "I would never leave an injured man in the Army and I ain't gonna leave you." George pulled back the bandage to check for bleeding. "Looks worse than what it is. Bullet passed right through 'ya. Good thing it missed the important stuff though. I think with time your gonna be right as rain."

George got up and poured a cup of coffee. "How do you take it?" he asked.

"None for me," said the officer..

"Oh, yer gonna drink this. Best in the city. Too bad I ain't got no donuts." The officer laughed and winced at the same time.

The front door of the office flew open. In burst a young man with a gun. "Give me all your cash! Do it now!" the young man yelled. His hand was shaking and George could tell that he had never done anything like this before.

"That's the guy that shot me!" exclaimed the officer.

"Son, why are you doing this?" asked George, "You need to put the cannon away. Somebody else might get hurt."

The young man was confused. "Shut up old man, or I'll shoot you, too. Now give me the cash!"

The cop was reaching for his gun. "Put that thing away," George said to the cop, "we got one too many in here now."

He turned his attention to the young man. "Son, it's Christmas Eve. If you need money, well then, here. It ain't much but it's all I got. Now put that pea shooter away."

George pulled $150 out of his pocket and handed it to the young man, reaching for the barrel of the gun at the same time. The young man released his grip on the gun, fell to his knees and began to cry. "I'm not very good at this am I? All I wanted was to buy something for my wife and son," he went on. "I've lost my job, my rent is due, my car got repossessed last week."

George handed the gun to the cop. "Son, we all get in a bit of squeeze now and then. The road gets hard sometimes, but we make it through the best we can."

He got the young man to his feet, and sat him down on a chair across from the cop. "Sometimes we do stupid things." George handed the young man a cup of coffee. "Bein' stupid is one of the things that makes us human. Comin' in here with a gun ain't the answer. Now sit there and get warm and we'll sort this thing out."

The young man had stopped crying. He looked over to the cop. "Sorry I shot you. It just went off. I'm sorry officer."

"Shut up and drink your coffee " the cop said.

George could hear the sounds of sirens outside. A police car and an ambulance skidded to a halt. Two cops came through the door, guns drawn. "Chuck! You ok?" one of the cops asked the wounded officer.

"Not bad for a guy who took a bullet. How did you find me?"

"GPS locator in the car. Best thing since sliced bread. Who did this?" the other cop asked as he approached the young man.

Chuck answered him, "I don't know. The guy ran off into the dark. Just dropped his gun and ran."

George and the young man both looked puzzled at each other.

"That guy work here?" the wounded cop continued.

"Yep," George said, "just hired him this morning. Boy lost his job."

The paramedics came in and loaded Chuck onto the stretcher. The young man leaned over the wounded cop and whispered, "Why?"

Chuck just said, "Merry Christmas boy ... and you too, George, and thanks for everything."

"Well, looks like you got one doozy of a break there. That ought to solve some of your problems."

George went into the back room and came out with a box. He pulled out a ring box. "Here you go, something for the little woman. I don't think Martha would mind. She said it would come in handy some day."

The young man looked inside to see the biggest diamond ring he ever saw. "I can't take this," said the young man. "It means something to you."

"And now it means something to you," replied George. "I got my memories. That's all I need."

George reached into the box again. An airplane, a car and a truck appeared next. They were toys that the oil company had left for him to sell. "Here's something for that little man of yours."

The young man began to cry again as he handed back the $150 that the old man had handed him earlier.

"And what are you supposed to buy Christmas dinner with? You keep that too," George said. "Now git home to your family."

The young man turned with tears streaming down his face. "I'll be here in the morning for work, if that job offer is still good."

"Nope. I'm closed Christmas day," George said. "See ya the day after."

George turned around to find that the stranger had returned. "Where'd you come from? I thought you left?"

"I have been here. I have always been here," said the stranger. "You say you don't celebrate Christmas. Why?"

"Well, after my wife passed away, I just couldn't see what all the bother was. Puttin' up a tree and all seemed a waste of a good pine tree. Bakin' cookies like I used to with Martha just wasn't the same by myself and besides I was gettin' a little chubby."

The stranger put his hand on George's shoulder. "But you do celebrate the holiday, George. You gave me food and drink and warmed me when I was cold and hungry. The woman with child will bear a son and he will become a great doctor.

The policeman you helped will go on to save 19 people from being killed by terrorists. The young man who tried to rob you will make you a rich man and not take any for himself. "That is the spirit of the season and you keep it as good as any man."

George was taken aback by all this stranger had said. "And how do you know all this?" asked the old man.

"Trust me, George. I have the inside track on this sort of thing. And when your days are done you will be with Martha again."

The stranger moved toward the door. "If you will excuse me, George, I have to go now. I have to go home where there is a big celebration planned."

George watched as the old leather jacket and the torn pants that the stranger was wearing turned into a white robe. A golden light began to fill the room.

"You see, George ... it's My birthday. Merry Christmas."

George fell to his knees and replied, "Happy Birthday, Lord Jesus"

As it said on the bottom of this particular email -- "This story is better than any greeting card." (Although the season has passed) - MERRY CHRISTMAS AND GOD BLESS!

BANABU
Fran

Familarity

Familiarity breeds contempt - This means that the more you know something or someone, the more you start to find faults and dislike things about it or them.

However familiarity can also cause us to look pst someone or something and not see the true beauty of the person or thing.

This morning I was reading "The Messages of Easter" by Elizabeth Peal Allen of Guideposts and was struck by the following in the message: "Our vision is so often dulled by familiarity. We go along in our habitual way, maybe looking at the ground, or so distracted by our thoughts and inner stress that we don't really see what's around us. We even miss miracles."

How many times have you driven somewhere, only to arrive and think, "when did I pass the gas station or traffic lights or whatever...." We put ourselves on auto pilot and just drive. Have you ever automatically turned a certain way when you were planning on going somewhere else?

"One of the messages of the Easter story is simply this: Open your eyes. Look for a touch of beauty and brightness in an unexpected place. Search for a trace of Christ's likeness in the face of the person serving you in the grocery store, or riding with you on the bus, or sitting beside you in the doctor's waiting room. Be alert for wonders and you'll find them everywhere." (EPA)

What a wonderful message - Open your eyes. Just look around you at all the wonders of spring - the trees are budding, the grass is growing and soon the flowers will begin to peek through the ground. People will begin to come out of their houses and go for walks. Take the time to really see them, to say hello. Your life will be better for this.

BANABU

Fran

Have You Ever Had One of Those Days?

Have you ever had one of those days? You know, the kind where you know you should be doing something specific, like writing your blog post, but you just can't wrap your brain around it at the moment and so you search endlessly through various files on your computer, reading this, watching that and thinking about what you should be writing but nothing materializes? Well that's where I am today.

I looked at some articles on removing clutter from my life and I removed a few papers from a few file folders, and deleted some emails. I watched a video on leadership and posted it to my Toastmasters Facebook page. I made a couple of phone calls and that was about it. Oh yes, and I did attend a one hour Webinar on creating Teleseminars (which was very good). But I didn't really feel like I accomplished anything and I finally realized why. I didn't write out a list of what I wanted to accomplish today. I simply let the day take me by the hand instead of me managing it. (Oh, perhaps I should mention I am self-employed and work at home.)

Now, it is ok to let that happen every now and then, but if this becomes a pattern for your life, then it can create some major problems. If you have some projects you need to accomplish and you just let the day take you, you will find yourself rushing to complete them at the last minute, or just letting them slide.

So, I am now going to sit down and plan my day for tomorrow so that by the end of the day I will have a feeling of accomplishment. I will book the appointment for my oil change and a hair cut to start and then plan the rest of the day around those appointments.

I hope you are not having "one of those days" and that your day has been much more fulfilling than mine was.

To Building A New and Better Universe (BANABU)

Fran Watson