Mental & Material Clutter

WHOA! Nothing is more humbling and insightful than lugging all of your belongings up four flights of stairs. That's right, we are finally moved. I am currently sitting in a pile of boxes and stuff in what will one day (hopefully, soon) be our office. I can't believe how much crap I have! Who knew that this silly yogi, who sometimes brags that "there is no sentiment in objects besides the sentiments we attach to them," would have so many silly possessions. I'm actually a little embarrassed, particularly because of all the petty arguments I had with my partner Craig about my wanting to keep this, that, and the other thing for whatever reason. Clutter is so personal...

We did get rid of a lot of stuff before the move, but clearly we have a lot more to do. My friend Tracey Mackenzie, who is a wonderful feng shui specialist, interior designer, and professional organizer offered me some help, which has been useful. I thought I'd share some of her clutter reducing tips, in case anyone else out there is suffering from the pack-rat syndrome.

1- Don't attempt clutter control alone. Seriously, we all need an outside person (not spouse) to point out how ridiculous your arguments are for keeping five old cellphones "just in case".

2- Create sections or bins for "Keep", "Giveaway", "Recycle", or in the rare case, "Toss", if the other sections really don't apply.

3- Here's the kicker: You get five seconds to decide which bin each of your items go in. (Any hesitation is a sign of weakness and will likely result in a forced giveaway.)

4- If there are items that serve no real purpose other than to evoke memories, Tracey's advice is to take a picture of object of sentiment value and send it on its merry way to the next clutter-bug or hoarder.  I had to do this with a several home made crafts given to me by my younger students over the years. Taking a photo of each gift made the parting less bitter.

5- Get rid of whatever you are not keeping for sure right away or you may change your mind and keep that old Easter bunny basket, which is currently staring me down across the room.

6- Tracey's last words of wisdom: "If you get rid of the old, you make room for the new."

Good luck, my friends. Please post any other clutter management or organizational suggestions you might have. Goodness knows, I need it!




.

Day 79 - Cleaning therapy

As discussed yesterday, lately I've been in the mood to organize things probably because Craig moved in and we now have all of his stuff piled into the apartment. I can't stand clutter. It's distracting and confusing. I never know where anything is. Now, people who know me well may find these comments pretty ironic, because I have a reputation for being a little messy, but I'm trying to change. I want to be more organized and one thing's for sure, I don't like being surrounded by useless junk, so I'm continuing the process of purging things I don't want. Today, got rid of two bags of clothing, some books and appliances that need fixing. It feels great.

When I am not falling asleep at the keyboard I will write out some un-cluttering suggestions for you based on Feng Shui and Vastu principles that will hopefully inspire you to do the dame.

As for my 108 today, I did them scattered throughout the day and in air conditioning... It is so hot and humid, I had students texting me throughout the day stating that if I was going to teach outside this evening they were going to stay home.

PS It's supposed to be hot all week. Hope you remembered the cooling breath I taught you about a month ago!