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.

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How about filling it with idleness instead?
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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.

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Can you do nothing?
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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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In Feng Shui however, they say that the basement is like your unconscious… bothers you even when you aren’t aware of it. And I definitely had a sense of being plagued – at least each time I went down with the wash.

But life is real and there’s TONS else that’s more important to do. No question about that! Whenever I thought about dealing with the basement it was a no-go. No matter how many times I put it on my TO DO list -it just sat there. YUCK!

Finally last week, despite the holidays just around the corner – I’d HAD IT with the basement.  I phoned my friend Suzette, who used to be my assistant, to ask if she could possibly come over and help ME.

Well, it took us FOUR hours last Friday working together! No way would I have done it on my own ! At one point, Suzette asked me what was in the old work bench with drawers. NOTHING!  It’s been
sitting there with a bit of gardening stuff on it since we moved in. Well she said, ““What about THAT for paint brushes, rollers, scrapers, clean rags etc etc.”  So we put the stuff in the drawers and labeled the drawers. Not rocket science but feels BRILLIANT!

You wouldn’t believe how much better I feel. I have a yummy sense of the order and calm that are down there below me!  And there was clearly NO WAY I was going to get it done by myself .

I am SOOOOOOOOOOO glad I asked for help and can start the New Year with an UN-annoying basement. I think most of us have more than enough good intentions! And then bang our heads into whatever it is that makes it hard to DO what we intend! Thus my advice to myself and you is:  if you are STUCK in any way ASK FOR HELP! That, in fact, is going to be my ONLY New Year’s Resolution! Want to join me?

Wishing you an incredible 2009!

Remember the ads “For the man who has everything!…” and then there’s some expensive gadget you’re supposed to buy to show that you love him and have been thinking of him.

WAIT! STOP! HALT! Consider the purpose of a gift! It seems to me that the main purpose is exactly what the ads suggest- to let the receiver know that you love them and have them in your radar. I think that most of all we want that sense of caring both from giving and receiving…a sense of kindness in the air. But can that happen without STUFF? I think so.

Here are some possibilities:

A. Think about the person- their favorite dreams and activities -and find a related non-profit group and donate to it. Then put  together information and a card saying that a donation was given in that person’s honor. (This may take a leap of faith at first but I know families where this has become the major present each year.)

B. Give some “warm fuzzy time” … coupons for time together! A promise for a shared activity that might not happen otherwise. Coupons -good for three long walks together or whatever it is that you know the person especially loves to do with YOU.  Or give a service instead of stuff - something you or someone else can do - snow shoveling, a massage … *

C. Agree to only re-gift this year! Who says that NEW is better? Is there a book you really LOVED reading that your friend would enjoy? Is there something wonderful in your space that you really don’t notice anymore- that would be very welcome in someone else’s life?

I bet you will have more ideas. Some may involve money; some may not. Some people like to ask for wish lists; other’s find that annoying. To me the bottom line is - does the gift express your warmth toward
the person? Put on your thinking cap for gifts that don’t add to an already overstuffed life or landfill.

Wishing you warm sharing and happy celebrations!
Blessings,  Joanna

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* I suppose this is the time to remind you that Breathing Space Gift Certificates are available and can be a perfect gift!

3705 Quinaby Rd NE, Salem, OR 97303, USA

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In my workshops I always say  that a DECLUTTERED and ORGANIZED space
is not the end all and be all. In my universe it isn’t even a major
goal. If your space works well enough for you- if it helps you do
what you want to do - SUPER.

But, with that said yet again — please email me about your specific
most troublesome or annoying space and clutter problem! You can
be sure that you are not the only one dealing with it. And
solutions for you will also be helpful to other readers.

My upcoming tips are planned to be VERY hands on - ABC - XYZ kind of
things. Yet for sure, we all - worldwide - are living in a bigger
world that affects us every day at least as much as our spaces.

So just before heading to the basement/attic or closet I want to
mention a fantastic new book that is VERY readable and VERY timely
given our current world with all it’s challenges and opportunities.

The book is called The GREEN COLLAR ECONOMY : How One Solution Can
Fix Our Two Biggest Problems by Van Jones, foreward by Robert J.
Kennedy, Jr…I’m going to be reading it in the next few weeks-
want to join me?

HAPPY NOVEMBER!    Joanna

Ahhhhhhhhhhh. Now take a long deep breath - and have a sip.

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It’s early morning here. The moon is going down in the west over the rosy red/gold trees that seem to color the air even before the sun comes up.

It seems to me that this is very much a time in our lives,in our country and in our world for GETTING CLEAR. What I mean, from a Breathing Space perspective and also a spiritual one (whatever your personal faith)is that this is a time to be quiet and get clear - for me too. I am very much including myself in this.

It seems to me a truly right time to get clear

About what really matters to you
About what you truly need
About how to live according to your highest principles.

Perhaps this is the key to what I experience on Sister Parish trips El Salvador. In the small community I go to there is almost nothing of the daily stuff that we might consider NECESSARY yet I get a tangible sense of the people having a huge amount of love and joy.

So maybe now is our time to practice a bit of what they seem to know — for getting clear about priorities.

In the world of STUFF — it’s a good time to again look at all the stuff you already have … and yes, to use the “KEEP TEST”. A really good time to consider what you have around you and why. Does it feed your heart and soul?

If there is something in your space that you neither use nor love, if it doesn’t make your heart sing…pass it on to someone else who WILL love or use it!

As a result, you will have more time and energy to focus on the people you love and the things you love to do.

A small example — Three weeks ago I brought home some very nice corduroy slacks from a church rummage sale thinking I would add to my Fall/Winter choices. They were by donation and looked nice when I tried them on. BUT - for some reason the pant legs REALLY aren’t long enough.

I could keep them around and keep on trying to make them work- but do I really need them? Will they make my life easier in any way?
NO!

I figure I will take them to our local Hospice store today and someone else will be able to get a warm pair of nice looking pants at almost no cost…and I won’t keep wishing they were slightly different. Why spend even one second more wrapping my brain around my pant legs!!!

Although I have had bunches of other tips that I’ve been planning on sending to you– this is decluttering at it’s most basic.

Wishing you a growing sense of peace and clarity with warmest regards,  Joanna

“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!

Having lived in our current home for 4 years this month, we finally solved a space problem by taking a somewhat radical step. It’s worked out GREAT!

Why didn’t we do it before? I think because the idea was too “out of the box”, at least our box.

In it’s briefest telling - what we did was shrink our living room and music room/dining room into one room, making the living room which had been seldom used into our bedroom and making our bedroom into my office. Voila! A) No more renting office space, B) We are relaxing more on the sofa in the living room because it is now central, and C) We love our new bedroom!

From our bed we can look out into the trees instead of at the house next door and the French doors to the porch make the bedroom feel quite luxurious whereas we hardly saw them when they were “living room” doors.

Why am I telling you all this?… Because, I want to encourage you to consider your current use of space. Is there a way to rearrange things to create a space you’ve been wanting? Whose rules are you following? And whose home is it anyway?

Do send news about any radical space changes you make! OKAY?

p.s. Questions? Ask away!