The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.
~JRR Tolkien

I’ve always envied people who put away everything from their vacations the evening they arrive home.  The contents of my suitcase, the piles of CD’s and souvenirs I acquired while on vacation were still scattered on the living room floor a week after I returned.  Do I need a vacation to unpack from my vacation?

No.  What I need is a PLAN.

First, SCOOP:  Put everything vacation-related in a box. Now, everything is together in one place, and the house no longer looks like a souvenir shop gone haywire.  Instant relief.

As soon as possible sort the contents of the box into distinct categories:

Urgent:  Anything that is time-restricted such as refunds, returns, thank you notes and photos.

Put Away: Including things that already have a home, such as presents meant for later and the hand knit sweater purchased for next winter; and things that need a home, such as the wood carving that you want to hang on the wall.

Fun Memory Stuff:  How to keep on relishing the vacation long after it’s over? The beautiful shell from the beach and the coaster from a favorite brew pub remind us of the relationships we made, the sights that moved our hearts and the music that touched our souls.  Joanna’s suggestion, “Create a place for vacation treasures that you can see every day.” I have a just the place – a shelf near my office desk.  The treasures from my trip will remain there until they no longer sing to me, or until other treasures come along to replace them.  Perfect.

Toss:  Even though that brochure looked inviting when I picked it up, is it REALLY something that I’ll ever refer to again?  And what about all those receipts? I don’t need them!  Travel is meant to free us up and give us a new perspective, not drag us down.

Once you have the contents of the scoop box in categories, work on processing one pile at a time.  If that feels too overwhelming, try working for just 10 minutes a day until everything is put away. Start with the most urgent items.  If you find that you’re still struggling to get to the bottom of the piles after a couple weeks, invite a buddy in for coffee and clearing.  You’ll have the fun of sharing some of your vacation stories.

Happy travels … and, happy returns!

I was reminded of one strategy by a lovely woman visiting from New
York who stopped by our neighborhood yard sale last Fall. She and I
got to talking about clutter (imagine that!)and how space is at a
premium living in the city. She said she was pretty good at
keeping her small space livable. For the fun of it, I gave her a
copy of my Decluttering 101.

A few days later she emailed to tell me something she’d been doing
for quite a while with treasures that didn’t really fit in her life
any more. Photographs were her solution! She’d made  a “Treasure
Album.” When she wanted to pass a treasure on BUT didn’t want to
forget it,  she wrote a brief note, took a couple of photos and
could then appreciate that piece of her past without having to pay
for and/or search for it in storage.

A similar solution for any sort of cloth item that is no longer
useable (t-shirts, sweatshirts, tablecloths, whatever)is a “Memory
Quilt.” Keep a small part of the cloth, perhaps a logo or a part of a
sleeve and sew the pieces into a quilt. However,if you are unlikely to ever make a quilt, a photo could work here too.

It makes sense to me to figure out one way or another to actively see
and enjoy those things you consider treasures!

Here’s a proposal- send me a strategy that has worked well for you -
I’ll send you a complimentary copy of Decluttering 101.

I’ve just finished reading a wonderful book – THREE CUPS OF TEA,
about Greg Mortensen, an American high peak climber who turned his
efforts to building schools in Pakistan…building peace, one school
at a time.  A client had read it, didn’t plan to read it again, and
enthusiastically passed it on to me.

It turns out that this book is on my mother-in-law’s AAUW book group
reading list for 2008 and I drew her name for Christmas. I KNOW
that in the “old days” giving her this well read copy might have been
considered cheapskate – a lesser present than a brand new copy. BUT
I propose rethinking this viewpoint. WHY is a brand new copy better?

There’s an animation on www.storyofstuff.com that includes these
statistics:The US has 5% of the world’s population but uses 30% of
the world’s resources and produces 30% of the world’s waste. The
video is worth watching as it gives easy to comprehend information
about HOW we got here and what we can do. Perhaps watch it with your
family and friends.

But in the meantime, how GREEN can you be this holiday? What in
your space HAVE you cherished but no longer really see or use? Who
in your life would love it? In what ways can you express your love
by regifting or giving a gift of service or shared time instead of
stuff?

When you are looking at the ads – and thinking about the frenzy of
rushing around to buy things. Pause. For sure the ads want us to go
for bigger, better and more.

But what do you remember loving? Maybe talk about this with folks
over dinner -or tea or while going somewhere in the car.  What do
your friends or family members recall?

My friend Max says that guys remember food gifts and that Moms
love framed photographs.  True for you?  My husband likes an
“AT YOUR SERVICE DAY”coupon which he can cash in any time in the
year. I love cut flowers always … and when they are done they go
into the compost to feed more flowers.

My perspective may well be a bit skewed as I spend so much time
helping people get rid of stuff that doesn’t bring them joy. But
that’s who I am.  How bout you?

The wheels start turning … what’s in THAT box? Let’s see, well it was
probably two summers ago when you put it up there… hmmm. Tick tick tick
whrrrrrr buzzzzzzzz. Hmm- well maybe the present is in the other closet! This
box isn’t the right size – but what’s in it? No time to take it down now…
supper has to be on the table in minutes and then there’s the Committee Meeting.

As you drive to the meeting you find yourself thinking about that box. As you
head to bed you feel your stomach clench as you think about that present – maybe
it IS in the box on the shelf. Grrrrr.  Tomorrow you will take the time to
pull out the step ladder and get down the box AND see!

How could you save yourself all this?  LABELS!!! A plain old black marker
can save you so much unconcious and concious time. When you stash anything in a box-
LABEL it! Write BIG and where you will see it — perhaps several places top/side.
If it is a present and you don’t want the world to know what’s in the box – mark
it in some way that YOU will understand instantly.

That’s the whole thing. Life is too busy and there’s too much of value to do to
take a bunch of energy (and time) trying to figure out what’s in a box!
LABEL IT!

You know that one box is not a major issue but the fact is that they multiply-especially if they DON’T
have labels! And the time you spend trying to figure out what’s in a box could easily be used
to do something that really matters to you!

REMEMBER – This October- try labels!!!