The other day I was commenting to Sue that I pretty much like to
keep my space calm and orderly all the time -that I need to be able
to look around and like what I see.

Well that’s true -but then how was it that this morning I raced
around for more than an hour – put clean laundry away- the phone
book back in it’s place in the kitchen, vacuumed, and so on and so
forth? Ah-hah! – Oh right! My space is not the way I like it all
the time but, I try to get it back there pretty fast.

So perhaps here’s a more accurate theory: It’s all about ebb
and flow. And the problem is when things gets stuck. Hmm – I like
that. Imagine if an ocean wave came in with all the bits and pieces
of sea weed, crabs and small fish and so forth but then it STOPPED
and nothing moved. Stinky?!

I suppose there ARE some people who are always organized but
they’re probably not reading Breathing Space tips! When Sue and I
are contacted it’s because for one reason or another – the wave is
stuck.  How is this a tip?   Well, I want to suggest that you help the
wave go back out!  Help yourself MOVE STUFF OUT more easily. Here
are three immediate ways to do that:

-Always have a smallish “GIVE AWAY” box near the door and deliver
the contents to your chosen location(s) as soon as the box
is full.

-Keep magazines upright in a container (a tall basket perhaps)
that is NOT huge – and when it gets full – it’s time to recycle or
move the magazines to your archives.  I’ve mentioned this before-
but if magazines are upright you can find the one you are looking
for more easily- and the container (rather than a flat
surface)provides a clear limit.

-When sorting mail or paper – STAND UP!! It’s almost magic how
much better this works. AND have a container for recycling right
next to you.You can empty THAT into something larger – later.

Voila– enjoy the tides!

Mini Article: The Importance Of Idleness 

So you’re going/have gone on a vacation, aren’t you? Well, the weekend will come up, and you’ll have some sort of break–your to-do list non-withstanding.

But you won’t take a break. No you won’t. You’ll do something silly. Like filling it up with stuff.

===============================================
How about filling it with idleness instead?
===============================================

Yeah, idleness. As in doing nothing. Yes, we know you’ve got a million things to do. But idleness can’t wait.

The western world in particular have forgotten what it means to be idle. To just sit under a tree and do nothing. Not read. Not scold your kids. Certainly not pick up the phone. Just sit and watch the world go by.

Idleness isn’t as crazy a concept as you think. You DO NOT have to fill your day with stuff. You don’t have visit every monument on your vacation. It’s more beneficial to do nothing. As in N-O-T-H-I-N-G.

===============================================
Can you do nothing?
===============================================
Can you? Can you? Can you do nothing for even a day this weekend?
How about for an hour then?

Try it. Just be lazy. Just watch butterflies. Or watch the mould growing. But be idle.

Because as an ancient Chinese saying goes: Man who sits by river all day, and doesn’t think it’s a waste of time, is a wise man.

——————————————————————————————-

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Please don’t forget to let me know.

“When I read your request for additional strategies that have worked
(it was in regard to keeping treasures), I thought you’d be
interested in one that I’ve come to use quite a lot, especially
after I had to help clean out my parents’ house and its five
decades of clutter.

There were a number of family “heirlooms” that I had a hard time
parting with: the Hallicrafters shortwave radio my Dad kept by his
bed for 50 years, a funky early Sixties sunburst wall clock that
hung in the kitchen of my childhood, and so on.  On a whim, I
looked for these and other “irreplacable” items on eBay, and found
other people had sold these identical items for much less than I
ever would have guessed. Almost the entire contents of my parents’
house could be purchased on online.  The advent of eBay has made a
fallacy out of most one-of-a-kind claims, and it eliminates a
powerful excuse for keeping “treasures.”  I now regard eBay as a
long-term storage locker all the “treasures” I have eliminated from
my life. If I ever really want that shortwave radio badly enough, I
know where I can get one. In the mean time, eBay is storing it for
me safely, out of sight, and rent-free.

A natural corollary to this is the public library, which I regard
as my own personal library, neatly and efficiently maintained
somewhere else by someone else.  I was able to purge an impressive
number of books simply by finding out whether or not the local
library had a copy. If, like 99.99% of books I own, it wasn’t
something I needed to refer to on a daily or weekly basis, I’m
content to store my copy virtually at the public library, with the
added benefit of letting others in the community share it and enjoy
it as much as I once did (and may again).

Both of these mindsets are useful strategies that can ease the pain
of parting with objects that we perceive as being more unique than
they really are.”

On my part- I am not sure that “unique” is my criteria as much as
the “warm fuzzies” that come from some treasures but it certainly
could help lots in some situations. Any questions?

What happened was that I forwarded some warnings that I’d received in my email because I felt that I SHOULD share the information. I was hoping to be helpful.  HOWEVER , I hadn’t verified the info before I shared the warnings.  Thankfully, readers were very patient with me and asked me to PLEASE check things out before I send them onward- for many reasons including using up people’s energy, forwarding incorrect data and even causing worry rather than the opposite.

In these days of so much computer traffic I think this is a valuable decluttering and organizing tip to share.

If you don’t already know about and USE the following two sites-please join me in the commitment to check out information before sending it on to others.  Got a warning in your inbox?  Confirm that it’s valid by going to http://www.snopes.com or http://www.truthorfiction.com

Even though I’d heard about these sites before, they had not truly established themselves in my radar. They are worth being kept in place for all of us. If anyone has additional information on this topic- you are invited to share it.

At the least, using the above sites will save you and others both time and energy. It may also prevent unneeded worry or even troublesome misinformation.

Here’s to a less cluttered future for us all!

You know, people often think that because I help people get
organized, I am EXTREMELY organized myself. Well…. Though I do
like the space around me to be as clutter free as possible, at times
I get mired myself, especially when I’m avoiding something that
needs to be done.

What was my glue this time? Well, way back on June 2nd, after a
pretty difficult day, I was typing at my computer when suddenly our
downstairs neighbor was hollering to me! When I rushed to see what
was happening I discovered a major waterfall streaming onto the floor
from my kitchen sink. I hadn’t heard a thing! Turning off the water
I raced downstairs and found water pouring out of her ceiling light.
Oh my gosh! Turn off the electricity. Get flashlights and towels!!!

We live in an old house- with plaster, lath and so forth and the
downstairs apartment has a painted tin ceiling! I dealt with the
immediate water and mess but over the next few days the ceiling
started breaking out in rust spots. Since the problem was 100% my
creation, it was also mine to fix.

The reasons why I didn’t get to that ceiling? I can’t remember half of
them. Every time I saw the ceiling I would mentally cringe. Meanwhile
other things that felt hard to do were adding up. I’m talking about
WEEKS of avoidance… and luckily a very patient neighbor.

But this afternoon as I write to you whole project is done. Once I
started it only took me a COUPLE OF HOURS and nine dollars at the
hardware store to do the job. PLUS, I got several other things done
while the primer dried! Oeeeeeee.

So.. .dear reader, may you use this tip as a magic wand. It comes with
my hope that in the next couple of days you will jump in and tackle
ONE task you have been avoiding like the plague… don’t THINK about
it any more, just take the first step! Go get the ladder and start.

Wishing you a fine two weeks … do let me know if you there’s any
specific organizing challenge you’d like to have discussed!

Decrease the volume and you will find it easier
to stay organized.

Mind you, it  takes an odd kind of bravery to be able to admit,
“In reality I DON’T have time to read that __________  every week.”
It takes courage to say, “I know enough about that topic for right
now. I can go to the library or re-subscribe when I REALLY need
more info.”

BUT piles of unread magazines or dozens of unread e-zines won’t make
you happier or smarter.  I promise.

Once you are clear about that, you CAN (yes- you really can)
cancel a subscription. Sure you can GIVE away the extra magazines
AFTER your receive them, or delete an e-zine but even that takes
time and attention. It IS possible to unsubscribe!

If you feel burdened by the ton of subscriptions piling up… try
cancelling at least one and see how it feels.

At that time her daughter (I’ll call her Sara) was 4. Toys,craft
materials, and children’s books were taking over the kitchen and
living room as well as Sara’s bedroom and it was making the whole
family miserable. These young parents wanted to provide as much
opportunity as possible but knew that something wasn’t working.

We talked about it for a while and I finally asked,”How much can
she (Sara – not the Mom! ) manage well. What I meant was — what can SHE cope with/use and then put away so it isn’t all over the place and what does she REALLY love?”

The answer to that was simpler than either of us expected and working with that as our measuring stick we were able to figure out how much should be available for daily use, what should be tucked away, and what was way too much for any little girl (and her parents) to have to manage.

The question of manageability has continued to be one of the key concepts in helping folks make their spaces work for them.

***

Then last week a long time friend and I stayed at a lovely monastery for a
brief retreat. During lunch one of the monks asked what I do and we
were instantly into a discussion about clutter – yes, even monks!

Asked for my most important piece of advice, I said, ” If you are
doing what you want to do and clutter isn’t causing problems, then
don’t worry about it. After a few seconds I added, “and less is more.”

There are so MANY helpful strategies. I keep a running list of them to
share with you over time, but bottom line, you have my most crucial
advice right here:

1)If you are doing what you want to do and clutter isn’t causing
problems, then don’t worry about it
and

2)Ask yourself: How much (of _______ ) can I manage well?

Give it a try… and let me know what you discover.

I want to also wish you all – a HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY! The way I
see it- we all (female and male) take on the mother role at times !

From Amelia:

Dear Joanna,

I’ve been doing massive deep cleaning, sorting, purging and
organizing for some months now.  And I’ve been following your tips,
after having hired a Feng Shui specialist two years ago.

In regard to your 3/13 e-tip, I would have to differ.  I decided I
could not wait to buy organizing tools, having lived with heavy
chaos for the past 11 years.  I purge, sort and organize all at the
same time.  I’ve found that having and using organizing tools
before I’ve finished purging and sorting gives me some peace of
mind while tackling the rest of the task at hand.

I began my creating order odyssey with my smallest room, the
bathroom; it happens to fall in my Wealth Gua. And I knew I needed
money or wealth to complete the rest of my home.  I organized and
painted the bathroom so well that magical money and resources
landed in my lap that enabled me to go back to school and start my
own business.  I didn’t even have a car that would drive me back &
forth to my school.  But the car happened, too.

I was tackling my work desk the other week and I realized that in
order for me to keep my sanity and to keep up my motivation to
continue purging, sorting and organizing I had to use organizing
tools as I went along–not at the end.  Even if only one corner of
one room is clear and organized, that space provides clarity of
mind.  In fact, as I think back, I began my efforts two+ years ago
with clearing the kitchen table, that is, taking everything off of
it and wiping it down.  A clear kitchen table:  just that amount of
external clarity provided enough internal clarity not to be
overwhelmed with a whole houseload of chronic and severe chaos.

I also hire a friend from time to time to help me keep up with the
basics, like doing dishes and vacuuming.  When I have no money I
barter services or goods for services.  In the beginning, in
exchange for an hour’s cleaning I would cook a complete homemade
dinner.  That way we both ate and my house was clean–if still
cluttered.

Get a paper shredder.  I got mine off of Freecycle.com

Getting bookshelves was a very important event for me.

If you’re are like me, make sure you date boyfriends or girlfriends
who like to clean and organize.  That helps immensely.  Myself, I
hate cleaning, sorting and organizing.  It’s just not where my
aptitudes lie.

1. The past is the past is the past: when in doubt throw it out.
2. When shopping for new or recycled things:  when in doubt, leave it out (don’t buy it).

Sincerely,
Amelia Kinney—Yes, you can use any of my suggestions!

Here’s a short summary…

Luckily Sunday was cold so it wasn’t so bad spending the WHOLE
afternoon and evening – NINE HOURS- inside reading old letters etc.
There were a couple of sermons my grandfather wrote in 1915;letters
my mother wrote to my grandmother in 1944 – and letters I wrote
in 1955 and so on. Yoiks! Reading those letters corrected some
of the “facts” I thought I knew about my life. But do they matter?

Here’s the thing — the plus and minus of stuff.

There are current activities I really care about…the El
Salvador scholarship project, learning Spanish, time with my family,
my 91 year old dad and so on.

I think there is a real questions about the importance of old papers
(sorry historians). If my mother hadn’t held onto those boxes after
my grandmother died and if I hadn’t kept them when my Mom died –
would I be any worse off?

I think of my dear friends in the little village in El Salvador who
have NO boxes of old papers — does that make their life worse or
better? And their kids have no toys or at most ONE…yet they play
joyfully.

I’ve agreed with my daughter that I will keep a SMALL sampling of the
old papers to pass on to her- ONE BOX. But I really do think that moment
by moment or day by day it comes down to a decision of HOW DO I WANT
TO SPEND MY TIME? What matters most to me- TO YOU?

STUFF definitely uses up time.Today I leave you with a QUESTION.
How do you want to use YOUR spare time?

What about one client’s photo albums from 30 years of teaching?
What about the Doonesbury cartoons from the ’70s? For me – it’s what
about all the letters I’ve saved? And what about the 12 years of
newspaper articles on organizing?

The spaces I currently have for storage are full and I have NO desire
to create additional storage. I know by experience that at some point,
someone will have to deal with my stuff. So what to do?

If I want to declutter I have to take some time to consider my
personal reality with questions like:  When I have free time how do
I truly choose to use it? Is that likely to change radically? If I
couldn’t go anywhere (due to physical challenges) how would I
actually spend my time? What IS this stuff all about for me?

I know that the Doonesbury books were taken to a used bookstore
where you can put credit on an account for future book purchases. I’ll
let you know what the teacher does with her albums.

And me? I’ve decided to do a major paper sorting in the next month and pare
way down. I’m not a historian and have no desire to be one.  So I’m
going to try keeping SAMPLE letters and SAMPLE articles and see how
that goes. I’ll also follow my own advice to write the date of when
I make the KEEP decision – on each item. Then on down the road I
can see how long it takes me to look again at the things I’ve kept.

What is the STUFF that gives you trouble?  Want to make April the
month for dealing with it?  I’d love to hear what you do!  And if
you get stuck, feel free to email or call.