Saturday, December 1, 2012

Decluttering - Again

In my island home I realize that I really can live with less. So once again, I'm setting a goal to intentionally declutter - including my homes, studio, office, computer, life. (Not all at once!!)

Gail Blanke, the author of “Throw Out 50 Things,” has three ways to determine when to toss something:
  • If it weighs you down, clogs you up or makes you feel bad about yourself.
  • If it just sits there, taking up room and contributing nothing positive to your life.
  • If you agonize over it for too long. Don’t make the decision more complicated than it has to be.
Homes:  My own goal is to throw away, donate, or give away at least 10 things a week.  Hopefully as I tackle one room/area/space/drawer at a time, I will beat that number.  And I won't bring anything new into the house without tossing two items in its stead.

Computer:  My goal is to defrag, clean out RSS feeds and bookmarks, really clean out my email logs, and organize the desktop and links into categories.

And there are so many articles, blogs, and books on the subject (no, I'm not going to print out or buy each one - see goal above), I shouldn't lack in inspiration.  Just a few that I've found to motivate me and get started:

http://zenhabits.net/zen-mind-how-to-declutter/
http://www.positivityblog.com/index.php/2006/11/08/declutter-declutter-declutter/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/karen-leland/three-steps-to-declutter_b_186681.html

Yes, it does seem a bit early for New Year's Resolutions - but since those are notoriously hard to keep, it's probably better that I don't call it that.  Let's say more of a life-style change.

   

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