Drowning in Clutter?

Think about some of the words you use to describe your clutter.  Do you ever say you are buried in junk, drowning in clutter, or suffocated by your stuff?  Why do we say stuff like that?  It's not just a saying, that's the way clutter really affects us. 

Besides being bad for your self-esteem, excessive clutter really affects your state of mind and adds to your stress level.  It's just impossible to relax fully when you're in a very cluttered room.  Take a moment and look around the room you're in while you're reading this.  Is it clean or cluttered?  How does it make you feel?  Take a moment and imagine how you would feel if it were more clean or more cluttered?  My guess is that you would be more anxious and stressed if it was more messy and more relaxed and peaceful if it was clean.  Your mind just works that way.  Your eye is always looking for clear and uncluttered surfaces to rest on and your brain is always subconsciously trying to remind you of tasks and chores you should be doing. 

Is your peace of mind worth a few 15 minute cleanups?  I would think it would be.  I know when I get on the ball and keep my house looking nice, I definitely notice an improvement in my mood and also in my family's mood.  My kids tend to get along better, and my husband is less likely to be grouchy.  To me, that's well worth a few minutes a day of extra cleaning! 

Completing the Cycle

You know, I think what gets us into trouble sometimes is that some jobs have multiple steps - a cleaning cycle, if you will. You don't just get to dump the clothes into the washer and be done with it. You have to wash them, dry them, fold them, and then put them away and if you skip any step in that cycle, you may end up with a wet, smelly, wrinkled mess. Same thing with dishes - you can't just put them in the dishwasher, you have to put soap in, start it, unload it and then start a new cycle.

I think it would help us if we could think of our tasks in terms of the whole cycle instead of just one part of it. When you do laundry, make a commitment to complete the whole cycle. Make a plan, set a timer, delegate part of the cycle, basically do whatever needs to happen to make sure that the chore isn't going to get abandoned in the midst of the cycle. I know that we all have a lot going on and some of us (I mean ME) have some ADD tendencies. But that doesn't excuse you from doing what needs to be done, it just means that you have to work harder at it and that you need to use some extra strategies to make it work for you.

I know a lot of us like checklists. I know I do and I get a ton more done when I take the time to use them. But what do you put on your to-do list? Do you just put do laundry and hope for the best? Wouldn't it be better to put each step of the cycle as a separate but related task? That way you'll be reminded to complete ALL the steps and besides, then you get 3 or 4 check marks instead of just one!

Give it a try and then leave me some comments and tell me how it worked for you. I need some comment lovin' here. I'm starting to feel like I'm just talking to myself!

Hide and Seek

When you lose an item in your house, after you find it, put it back in the 1st place you looked for it. That is it's natural home and if you keep it there, you'll always know where to find it.

There are certain items that get lost all the time, so it's a great idea to establish a regular "home" for them. Keys, for instance, they get lost all the time and you end up with a lot of stress and wasted time looking for them when you want to go somewhere. If you install a hook right inside your door and get in the habit of hanging your keys on it, you'll always know where your keys are. I'm always losing my purse. I have about four different places I leave it in, so I always have a little bit of a hunt for it. I picked just one spot to put it in and I'm training myself to always keep it there. What items do you lose the most frequently?

The Power of the Written Word

Word are very powerful things. Amazingly powerful things. On any given day, you can make or break someone's day simply by praising or criticizing them. We talk so much every day, I think we really underestimate the impact of our words.

However, we all know that there are times when our kids or our husband tunes us out or just ignores things we say. Here's something funny. They may ignore what you say, but the will almost always pay attention to something you have written. Isn't that strange?

I've done this many times. I wish I could say that I'm one of those Moms who puts loving, encouraging notes in the lunch boxes, and creates those wonderful Hallmark moments. But that's just not the way my family rolls. My written words are more likely to be do-to lists or other notes. But the important thing is that they get results.

I will typically leave notes like - This must be put away by 5:00 today. Please sweep and mop the floors today. Please do not leave dishes on the counter. Do not put mail on the table - please put in the mail basket. Or I will leave a honey-do list on the white board and even if I've verbally asked him to do the exact same things, he won't actually do them until I put them on the board. Isn't that weird?

Anyway, give it a try and see how it works for you. And be sure to thank your family when they comply with your requests.

Money is not for Spending

This is a great essay from Mary Hunt. If you have a spending problem (and I know some of you do), you really want to print this one out and tape it to your mirror or something. I think it's some very powerful information that might really help you to change your ways.

Money is Not for Spending

It took me a long time to fully understand that money is for managing first and then for spending. It takes courage to believe that, but when you do it will profoundly change the way you think about and manage your money.

Imagine this: It's Friday, a day you have come to know and love as cake day. You want cake, you love cake and doggone it, you deserve to eat cake. You stop at the store and pick up the ingredients necessary to bake a cake. But even before you can get home, you begin eating the ingredients because you are so hungry for cake you simply cannot help yourself. You gulp a couple of eggs; chew up some butter and sugar; and down a load of flour and cocoa. You pull into the driveway completely disgusted with yourself. You try to hide the evidence but it's all over your face. The worst part: Eating the cake was not nearly as satisfying as you'd dreamed. It was anything but enjoyable. The ingredients for your chocolate cake are gone and now you feel ashamed and embarrassed.

An absurd analogy for sure, illustrating the foolishness of eating food that has not yet been prepared. The very same ingredients that made you sick could have become a culinary masterpiece had you exposed them to a recipe. Those ingredients were not for eating; they were for preparing first and then for eating.

It is equally foolish and unsatisfying to spend money that has not first been managed. To manage money means to take full possession of it, to subject it to a specific plan and direct it accordingly. It is a matter of creating a season of ownership between receiving and dispersing.

Managing money is a learned discipline, a gratifying process. When money flows into your life, you are responsible for where it goes and how it performs. You are the boss. You can watch it drift out of your control or you can manage it according to a formula that you have developed.

It doesn't matter if you are a single parent struggling to survive with no outside help or the CEO of a prosperous business. You need to know ahead of time exactly how you will manage your money.

There are certain mandatory elements that must be part of your management system, like giving and saving. When you bring reason to the management of your income, feelings of dissatisfaction, worry and hopelessness will quiet down. You will be driven to plug the money leaks in your life. A commitment to spending no more than you earn will become so important, you'll find yourself keeping track of where the money goes.

No matter your situation--single, married, old, young, whether you're deeply in debt, unemployed or at the top of your career--you need a system through which to process every dime that enters your life. Only then will you fully understand why money is not for spending. It is for managing first, and then for spending.

Declaring Laundry Bankruptcy

I came across this term in an old post on Unclutterer. I think this is such a great concept. Every once in a while, we just get too far behind to catch up. Their suggestion was to pack it all up and take it to the local Fluff & Fold. Even if it costs you a few extra bucks, wouldn't it be great to get caught up once and for all so you can start fresh? And besides, they FLUFF and FOLD it for you, what could be better than that?

Another idea would be to take it all to a self-serve laundromat and stake out a whole bank of washers and dryers. You'd be done in just a couple of hours and the kids would probably think it's a great adventure.

Here's my secret for climbing Mt. Washmore - when I get too overwhelmed with laundry, I do it production-line style. I sort it all into baskets and then I set a timer and put a fresh load in every 40 minutes. Then I sit and watch TV while I fold it. Then I just give everyone their own basket and tell them no one eats until they put it all away! I can usually get caught up in one evening, or one weekend morning.

Empowering your Kids

Laura over at Organizing Junkie had a great article, one that really impressed me. It's all about organizing your kids rooms, but it has to do with involving your kids in the process rather than dictating to them or imposing your organization on them. Click HERE to pop over and read it.