Life Balance: It isn't all about the clutter either

In light of being a recent breast cancer survivor and probably just naturally as I age, I realize it isn't all about clutter clearing, even for me, maybe especially for me. I start to look at clutter more philosophically. If it (the clutter) isn't interfering with the important aspects of my life like my faith and relationships, then is it something that really needs to take my time and energy to weed out or organize? Maybe as I get older, I am just slower or maybe I am working a little smarter. I start to ask better questions, I think, to keep my life in balance.

As I look around my home, I ask myself:

1. Do I need to weed it out or organize it right now, or is there something more important I could be doing right now?

2. What is the worst thing that will happen if I just walk away from it right now?

3. Is the clutter interfering with the lives and happiness of the people who live here, or is it just hanging out right now?

Life is about staying in balance and making good choices. If the answers to the above questions are "No. Nothing. And, no." then I may be more in balance to continue with my life flow than to stop and deal with the clutter.

Clutter can wait, but maybe my life and relationships can't. In the end, life is a marathon rather than a sprint, and the joy is in the moments of the journey. How do you balance living life with organizing and clutter clearing it? 

Simplify Your Holidays Seminar: Free to the public

Gift giving! Baking! Decorating! Entertaining! Mailing! Don't worry - we've got the holidays all wrapped up. Just in the nick of time, it all gets easier with these tips on how to simplify and organize this busy time of year!

Saturday, November 6 "Simplify Your Holidays" free seminar, 1:30-3p.m., L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, 400 Eau Claire St., Eau Claire, WI. No regristration required. For more info. call Info. & Reference at: 715-839-5004 or e-mail librarian@eauclaire.lib.wi.us.

Oh, Christmas Tree! Clear Christmas tree clutter

The "perfect" Christmas tree for each family looks a little different. Some folks want them to be short and round. Some folks look for trees that are tall and skinny. Some want room between the branches for ornaments to dangle, and others want the tree to be full and thick. Some prefer short needles, and others like longer needles. Some choose a cut tree, and others keep an artificial one. Some people even have more than one tree! Sometimes our definition of the perfect Christmas tree changes over time, maybe as the kids grow up.

We haven't even talked about Christmas tree ornaments! They can be inherited, home-made, purchased for looks, or purchased to remember a vacation or other event. Is there a solution to Christmas tree clutter? Maybe it isn't even clutter at all? I do know our family tree has gotten smaller over the years. We used to live in a house where the tree was put in a room with a really high ceiling. Now we opt for a smaller tree in our present home. We used to put a small "kid Christmas tree" in the family room of our old house. Now, the one tree that we put up is in our family room. We seem to have extra lights and ornaments these days.

I have weeded out and donated some of the extra lights and ornaments. Some of the ornaments I will keep until my kids are ready for them when they have their own households. I look forward to giving them each a "starter set" of ornaments that will be a mix of inherited ornaments, ornaments they will remember from their childhood here, and ornaments they have made over the years. I think that will be fun.

Maybe it will be a little sad too because our perfect Christmas tree may become even smaller by then. But, I think I have to separate the Christmas tree from Christmas itself. The tree is, well, a tree. It is a decoration that we enjoy for about three weeks per year. What is Christmas? A lot more than that. It is a holiday that I try to keep in my heart all year round. Merry Christmas to you and your family!

Simplify Christmas Cards

I received a Christmas card from a friend, and I think her idea is brilliant! What was it? It was an e-mail with a brief holiday wish and a .JPG photo of her family. It didn't require paper, postage, or ink. The receiver could choose to e-mail it to fellow family members so they could enjoy it too, delete it, or print it. What do you think of this? What do you do to simplify Christmas cards?

Simplify Thanksgiving or Christmas?

It can be tough to change holiday traditions because they involve other people's plans and wishes too. Thanksgiving can be used as a time to discuss simplifying Christmas while the family is gathered together. Maybe it is too late to simplify the holidays this year, but you can plant seeds to simplify things for next year!

Please share your thoughts of what works and doesn't work to simplify holiday get-togethers. Thank you!

Gradual Change Creates Clutter

I was thinking about my previous post where I say life change creates clutter. Part of the clutter problem is that gradual life changes create clutter. Our children often don't outgrow toys or clothing or anything else overnight, and neither do adults.

Something that wasn't clutter one month or six months or two years ago may now have become clutter. I discover this as I begin to go through my closets and my basement. Oops! I am finding items that weren't clutter when they were first deposited in these areas, but now I wonder...

Should we beat ourselves up when we find this gradually outgrown clutter? I don't think so. Instead, be vigilant! Regularly review these less visited locations and make the tough decisions that may have gotten less tough as stuff has aged from marginal clutter to clearly clutter. Life is a process.

Clutter Clearing Isn't Rocket Science: We Can Do This!

I think sometimes we over-think things. Clutter clearing isn't rocket science. What is clutter? Clutter is too much stuff. Clutter happens because our current routines/procedures/habits aren't adequately allowing stuff to flow out of our lives when that stuff has outlived it's usefulness.

Why does clutter happen? There are lots of reasons. We may bring home too much. We may be given too much by well-meaning family or friends. Perhaps our lives change. Maybe the lives of people around us change. Any of these things can bring clutter into our lives.

How can we improve our current clutter situation? We can weed out by recycling, donating, selling, or gifting our excess.

How can we keep clutter from coming back? Be vigilant! Modify routines on an ongoing basis to keep clutter from building up again.

See, we can do this!

Spring Cleaning Thoughts

"No matter how large a home you buy, keep donating!"

"Just because you can store it, doesn't mean you should keep it."

In tough economic times, donating clutter is a win-win situation. We can make our homes less clutter and more peaceful and we can help those who are in need.

What do you think?

Christmas Clutter

Here it comes! More stuff! If cupboards, closets, and drawers are already crammed full, now what? My solution is to try to weed out and restore order by donating anything we aren't using any more. I try to do this before or right after Christmas.

The charities are calling our home. What a great way to share, help others, and, at the same time, improve our own quality of life in our over-stuffed home. It is a win-win situation. Those are getting harder to find.

Does this make sense to you?

Merry Christmas!