Birthing the New

There’s something new being born in my life.  I know this because I’ve felt the desire to go through my house and office looking for things that need a new home – the items that represent the past that need to go.

• You know when something new is trying to come into your life when:
• You feel ready to release the energetic weight of stuff sitting on your shoulders.
• You know, on some level, that your life today has outgrown your life of yesterday.
• You feel overwhelmed by the sight of things you no longer love or need.
• You intentionally avoid or ignore the areas in your home or office that feel cluttered, disorganized, or messy.
• You can’t seem to find the time or energy to invest in new ideas or directions.

I’ve known for a year that I needed to handle some things – the books that no longer fit in our library, the stuff left in our garage from the move five years ago, and a room in our basement filled with unused construction material.  With my busy travel schedule, I’ve had the perfect excuse to put these projects on hold.  But eventually the energetic burden takes it toll.  I know I can’t move forward without going back and letting go.

So, what makes it easier to make physical and energetic space?  Here’s what I learned this time…

• Understanding that physical stuff holds old energy that prevents evolution.  If you don’t release the things you no longer love or use, you can’t fully grow into your next stage.
• Remembering how free and exciting it feels to see an empty room, clean closets, or spacious, organized shelves.
• Recognizing that clearing out the old is a fundamental step in our personal growth therefore time for cleaning and clearing needs to be scheduled so these projects receive the attention they deserve.
• Energetic, loving, and motivated friends who are willing to help makes the process fun, easy, and infinitely more enjoyable.
• Having the perfect place to donate the things you no longer use, need, or love inspires you to let go of more than you think you can.
• Giving your treasured items to treasured people.

Finally, one of the benefits of getting older is the recognition that time is precious. While in the past it might have been easy to go through a stack of books and think, “someday I may want to read these,” you realize that someday is a limited time frame.  It’s how you spend “right now” that really matters.

A few minutes ago I returned from delivering a truckload of items to our local thrift store – a nonprofit organization that shares revenue with food pantries and homeless shelters.  I love giving to these people – they’re excited, grateful and anxious to help in any way they can.

I know I’m preparing to give birth and the de-cluttering process is a necessary step in that direction.  Care to join me?

Life Makeover for the Year 2012(sm) is written and produced by Cheryl Richardson.© Copyright 1999-2012 Cheryl Richardson,P.O. Box 13,Newburyport, MA01950,  www.cherylrichardson.com. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

How and what should I donate?

This is such a common problem – you want to declutter but you don’t want to just put items in the bin, especially if they are still good or if they have cost you lots of money. Unclutterer.com hit the nail on the head so read on for some interesting ideas:

Deciding exactly how to purge your clutter can be a difficult process. Do you trash it, recycle it at a recycling center, recycle it by repurposing it into something more useful, sell it, or donate the item to charity or to someone you know who wants it? And, like you suggested in your question, recycling, repurposing, donating, and selling items can be an excuse to hold onto clutter if you’re never actually following through and recycling, repurposing, donating, or selling the items.

I try to use the following guidelines when purging items:

• Trash the trash. If something is trash, it should be trashed. You can compost the environmentally friendly items, but if a product needs to go to the dump, by all means take it to the dump. And, if something is a hazardous material, be sure to take it to your county’s hazardous waste facility. Trash is clutter and you shouldn’t hold onto it a minute longer than necessary.
• Recycle what can be recycled, but do it now. People who live in city’s with curbside recycling pick up have it the easiest — put your recycling on the curb and be done with your aluminum, glass, paper, and plastic products. If you don’t have curbside pickup in your area (or have larger items, like steel beams) you’ll need to drive to the closest recycling center to make deposits. I recommend incorporating this errand into your weekly schedule so the recycling never builds up beyond seven days. For other recyclable items that aren’t accepted at most recycling centers — eye glasses, electronics, clothing for rags — only recycle these items IF you’ll recycle them in the next seven days. If a week passes and the items are still lingering, trash them. Schedule the recycling action items on your calendar (research to find where you can recycle the item, boxing and shipping of the item or dropping it off), as well as the deadline for trashing the item if you fail to recycle it.
• Only sell, repurpose, or give an item to a friend if you do it now.You can sell, repurpose, or give an item to a friend, but only do this if you’re actually going to follow through on the action. Similar to recycling, schedule the action items on your calendar and a deadline (I give myself two weeks) for when it will be out of your house. If it has been two weeks and you still haven’t rid your home of the objects, trash them.
• Only give good items to charity. As Peter Walsh so aptly stated in his book It’s All Too Much:
  

  Goodwill receives a billion pounds of clothing every year. Ultimately, they use less than half of the clothes they get. Clothing is cheap, and the cost of sorting, cleaning, storing, and transporting the clothes is higher than their value. If you wouldn’t give an article to a family member, it’s probably not good enough for charity. Sure, it’s great to get the tax deduction and it makes you feel like you didn’t waste money buying the clothes, but if you’re truly charitable, be sensitive to the needs of the organization. Charities aren’t dumping grounds for your trash.

  Read the entire article and all the other reader’s interesting comments here: http://unclutterer.com/2012/09/07/ask-unclutterer-is-my-desire-to-recycle-an-excuse-to-keep-stuff/

1. Go on a tour around the house and take notice of all your belongings. Ask yourself – do I love it, do I need it, is it useful? If you can’t answer YES to just one of these questions it’s time to go. If undecided, pop it in a “maybe” box to decide again in six months time.
2. “It may come in handy one day” or “It was a gift from my mother/best friend/dead grandmother” are common excuses you need to overcome. If you really need something “one day” then I am sure you will be able to buy it again if and when that time comes. If the item was a gift and you are feeling guilty, change that feeling to one of gratitude and generosity and then pass the item on to someone who really does need it or will love it and use it. Feel free to take a photo of it so you will still have the memory, without the stuff.
3. Sort the items into piles, putting “like” with “like”. Make a Keep pile, a Donate/Sell pile and a Garbage/Recycle pile. Once the items are sorted into these three groups, go through the Keep pile and start sorting again into categories of items that are similar ie stationery, books, shoes etc. This makes it easier to see how many of the same items you have (and no one needs three potato peelers).
4. Get the kids involved with their toys – what have they outgrown or don’t play with anymore? Teach them the value in passing on to others who may not be as fortunate as them, or sell to make extra pocket money to save up for something they really love.
5. Kitchen items – empty utensil drawers and put in a box. Only remove items as you need them to cook. Anything you haven’t used in a month you can let go. And that goes for bigger items too – when was the last time you used that bread-maker? Don’t forget to check the pantry for any out of date ingredients too. If by chance you “may need it one day” then that is the day you can buy another one – but chances are you won’t. This usually applies to melon ballers and egg slicers.
6. Go through your wardrobe in preparation for the warmer weather. Pack away the winter woollies in airtight containers (don’t forget the moth and humidity protection). Anything you didn’t wear last spring/summer – out it goes! Donate to favourite charity or have a swap party with girlfriends.
7. Options to get rid of clutter for good: call Vinnies or Lifeline, hold a garage sale with neighbours or friends, sell things of value on eBay or put an ad in the local paper, and check out consignment stores for good label clothing. “Dress for Success” www.dressforsuccess.org is a great charity to donate your business clothing, shoes & accessories as they help underprivileged women find work. Even leaving items out the front of your home with a “Free” sign works wonders. One man’s trash…
8. Do a little at a time –Romewasn’t built in a day and if you try to do too much at once you will soon tire and get disillusioned. And little rewards along the way help to keep you motivated (think cuppa & chocolate cake!)
9. Don’t tackle it all on your own – ask for help! Decluttering your home can be quite overwhelming and an extra pair of hands can make all the difference. Make sure the kids pitch in and do their share too! Better still, enlist the services of a professional organiser who can help to ensure you won’t be cluttered again!
10. Celebrate your new home – buy fresh flowers and candles, invite friends and family over for a spring bbq or dinner party and enjoy showing off all your hard work!

Why won't they stop???

This recent post from Unclutterer is so relevant for me at the moment and I am sure many of my readers will find it interesting too. Here are 9 tips that may help you to stay on top of the plethora of emails that don’t stop when you are travelling:

1. Tie yourself to a smartphone. If you want to stay on top of email, you have to keep a smartphone on you. Keep the ringer off and the message alerts set to vibrate.
2. Enable automatic sorting and color coding in your smartphone’s email program. Have a filter that automatically routes all messages out of your inbox and into separate folders where you are copied instead of listed as the main recipient, all newsletters or read-only emails you subscribe to, and all emails from sources you know are not going to be must-respond-now messages. Have your system color code messages from your boss and/or other very important folks so these messages will catch your attention when they come into your main inbox. (If you’re on a Windows-based phone, there are macros and add-ins for Outlook you can install. If you can legally route your work email through Gmail, you can also do this. I was unable to find an app for the iPhone that enables these features.)
3. Check messages during lulls in your schedule. As you wait in the line at the airport, switch between sessions at a conference, or grab a snack, process your priority emails then.
4. Only check work email. If someone needs to contact you about an important personal matter, he/she will text or call you. Check your personal email account on weekends or after you get home from traveling.
5. Only respond to items that can be handled in less than one minute. Delegate as much as possible, delete or archive anything that doesn’t need a response, and only send short messages of less than a paragraph to the priority emails you respond to.
6. Manage expectations. Have an automated out-of-office message enabled on your account that says you will have limited access to emails and no one should expect a response until you are back in the office (be sure to list that specific date). Provide detailed contact information for someone in the office who may be able to handle emergencies, and give that person in the office your cell number so he/she can call you if there is a major event. Also, let your office contact know when you expect to be on flights and/or completely out of connection.
7. Manage more expectations. When you reply to someone from your smartphone, have a “Sent from mobile device, please excuse typos and brevity” signature on the bottom of every message. You might also want to consider posting your return date on your out-of-office message as the day after you return so you have a full day to gather your bearings once you’re back in the office. Under promise, over deliver.
8. Have access to cloud file storage. Not all smartphones allow you to attach documents, so you’ll need to be able to send links to documents stored online with services like Dropbox. If your employer doesn’t allow file posting online and attaching documents to emails is essential to your job, you’ll want to get the smallest, lightest laptop you can because you’re going to have to carry it with you instead of a smartphone.
9. Work on email every night when you get to your hotel room. It will add to your workday, but taking 30 minutes or an hour every night to process the entirety of all your email inboxes and folders will guarantee you don’t have an avalanche of messages when you get back to your office.

Read more here: http://unclutterer.com/2012/04/03/how-to-manage-email-when-traveling-for-work/

So many books - so little time to read!

Do you have a book fetish?

Read the remaining tips here: http://www.atcbiz.com.au/ems/archives.php?n=edru7syrbw&c=3tgsczjemf

A rainbow of colour may not work for you...

Yesterday I was with a client who despaired at ever finding something to wear – and it all came down to the fact her wardrobe was organised in a way that didn’t work with her organising style. The secret is you don’t have to have your clothes organised in colours and looking pretty – it is all about organising for your individual dressing system, whatever that is.

Kathryn Weber wrote an article recently in her column Living Space for  Tribune Media Services which outlines exactly what I am talking about:

If you’ve ever wandered into the closet and couldn’t find something to wear, the problem might not be your wardrobe. When your closet is disorganized, it’s easy to lose clothes or have difficulty finding items that work together. Investing just a small amount of time in re-ordering your clothes and accessories will pay off every morning!

1. LIKE WITH LIKE
Tempting as it may be to organize by color, grouping like items by style and use is more efficient. While it might seem logical to hang all pants together, it’s best to group the pants you wear most, and move those you wear least to another part of the closet. Grouping clothing by the way its worn, such as casual or work, can also help you get dressed faster in the morning. This technique also makes putting clothes away faster. It’s especially useful for seasonal clothing; stashing all your big chunky sweaters together means the one you’re looking for won’t get pushed back out of sight.

2. SHELVE IT
Closet shelves are seldom used for clothing, but if you wear jeans and T-shirts a lot, why not take advantage of shelves to stack both in plain view? This will help you find a pair of jeans faster and put them away more easily, too. And if items of clothing keep getting lost in your dresser drawers, turn your closet shelves mini-drawers. Line them with baskets or clear bins so you can see everything easily. Another option is to install shallow drawers on closet shelves that pull all the way out.

Read the next 2 steps here: http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/sns-201202140000–tms–livspacectnls-a20120214feb14,0,2792121.story

Make a memory box...

“I have something that I love that recently broke by accident. It has sentimental value (passed to me from an aunt), it is aesthetically my style, it was useful, and it made me smile whenever I saw it. It is still all those things, except that it can no longer be safely used (nor repurposed). It’s also not reparable, and I don’t know where I could get another one to replace it. How do I get rid of it? Any other object like this would go in the trash, but I love it so much. There’s really nothing that can be done with it even if I did save it—it would be clutter. How do I walk myself through this process of getting rid of it? Seems silly to be grieving such a simple object, but I am.”

Response: When accidents happen to objects we used faithfully and loved, it can be difficult to let them go. It’s certainly not easy for me. The objects feel like trusted friends who were there for you when you needed them.

I think the first thing you need to do is thank the object for its service. You could literally say something aloud to it, or you could just spend a minute or two thinking about all the good times you shared. It seems a little silly, but it helps to have the formal goodbye.

Once you’ve acknowledged its service, you can decide how to proceed. Obviously, you can just dispose of the object and be done with it. However, you might need a little more than this to help ease the pain.

You can make a visual tribute to it. Get a shadow box and decorate it with pictures of you and your aunt using the item and maybe a piece of the actual item that broke. Hang the tribute on the wall as long as you need to until your time of grieving has past.

If you’re a journal keeper, you could also glue a picture of it in your journal and then write down the things you thought about it in your formal goodbye.

Since you don’t say exactly what the item is, it’s hard for me to know if you sincerely can’t repurpose it. My guess is that you could break off a chunk of it, drill a hole into it, and make a small piece of it into a bauble on your key ring. If it’s soft, you might be able to sew a piece of it onto a quilt or something else that you use in your home.

Read the original article and readers comments here: http://unclutterer.com/2012/01/20/ask-unclutterer-parting-with-a-cherished-item-that-has-been-broken/

Every January, people rush out and get a gym membership, set a list of goals or resolutions, and get ready to take on a new year of frenetic activity.

Unfortunately, we don’t often clear space to make room for all this new stuff.

The beginning of the year is a great time for renewal of energy and taking on the things we’ve always wanted to tackle — clutter, fitness, work we’re passionate about, debt, and so on. But it’s also a great time to clear out your life, starting out the year on a blank page that’s ready to be filled.

While everyone’s life is different, I’ll share some of what I do to clear out my life.

• Review the year to think about what I learned, what mistakes I made, what I accomplished.
• Clear my schedule as much as possible. That often means saying no to people.
• Wrap up old projects, end commitments to people, so that my work plate is clearer than normal.
• Toss out old fitness and eating plans, to make room for new experiments.
• Clear my email inbox. If I haven’t answered the email recently, it’s probably not important, so I archive it. Act on or answer other emails, so that my inbox is emptied.
• Clear out other inboxes. That might be an inbox on a social network, or a list of things I wanted to do or read, or any kind of list really. File them away under someday, or delete or archive. Anything that’s taking some mental energy because I know I need to get to it, gets cleared.
• Clear my computer files. Usually this means deleting a bunch of files I don’t need, but I also just consolidate files into one folder or put them in an online archive (like in Dropbox).
• Clear paperwork. I rarely have any papers these days — I’ve slowly turned everything digital. But I still get things in the mail sometimes, so if I have any lying around, I dispose of them to clear out any remaining paperwork.
• Clear clutter. If there are areas that have become cluttered, I clear them out. Often it just means taking a box or bag of things that I’ve been meaning to donate to Goodwill.
• Clear my errands. I’ll make a list of all the errands I’ve been putting off, and do them in one afternoon.
• Clear my finances. I’ll take a few minutes to review my checking and savings accounts, Paypal, investments, etc. and make sure everything is in order. If there are little things that need taking care of, I do them so that my mind is cleared.
• Clear pantry and refrigerator of junk. Old crap that’s been lying around. Junk food if there’s any there (I don’t usually have any anymore, but I used to). Left with just good whole ingredients for healthy foods.

This might take a couple days, working off and on in little bits. For some, it might take longer. But when you’re done, it’s amazing. Your mind is clear and refreshed. You feel like you’re ready to take on anything. To be honest, I do these things regularly throughout the year, and it’s great to keep a clean slate most of the time. But the new year is always a perfect opportunity to clear everything at once.

Hear Hear Leo!

Read the original post from Zen Habits here: http://zenhabits.net/clear/

Please help to set me free!

The Chinese New Year starts next Monday 23rd January and no doubt there will be celebrations across the world to ring it in.

Some Chinese residents will not be joining them however – they are kept in cages no bigger than themselves and milked daily for their bile. They are Moon Bears.

To help Animals Asia eradicate this horrendous practice and to set them free, I am raising  money by having a Chinese New Year High Tea and Yum Cha event in Brisbane on Sat 11 Feb 2-4pm called Moon Cakes and Moon Bears.

The Moon Cakes & Moon Bears event will feature different Chinese teas and savoury and sweet treats that are traditionally eaten at this special time of year.

Tea expert May King Tsang from May King Tea will be giving a talk on her extensive knowledge of teas, plus an insight into the fascinating customs celebrated for Chinese New Year. Follow her on Twitter @MayKingTea or her website: www.maykingtea.com

Fabulous raffle prizes will be on offer plus there will even be a Chinese Market Stall selling pre-loved clothes, shoes, handbags & more with items selling for as little as $2! Attendees will also receive a gift bag with some Chinese New Year goodies including your horoscope, a good luck scratchie ticket, a Fortune Cookie and more!

Indulge in Chinese delights!

All profits, raffles sales and stall sales from the day will go directly to Kerri’s China Moon Bear Rescue Challenge which aims to raise $10,000 for Animals Asia to continue their rescue and rehabilitation of Moon Bears from the extremely cruel practice of bear bile farming in China. http://www.facebook.com/Help.Rescue.The.Bears

For more information and to book your spot at Moon Cakes and Moon Bears high tea, please go to the event page on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/events/104287263026145/

If you are unable to make it to the event but still wish to make a difference to eradicating bile farming of bears in Asia, you can visit my online donation page here: http://chinamoonbearchallenge.gofundraise.com.au/page/KerriChinaMoonBearChallenge

Thank you so much for your support!

Kerri and all the Moon Bears in Asia!