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Mental Clutter - STUFFology101 graphic

The Future of STUFFology 101

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In the book Chrysalis, coach and author, Ann Vanino writes about cocooning. The caterpillar knows nothing of what the future holds and yet, prepares a cocoon for a metamorphosis into a beautiful creature that takes flight.

Fifty Years of Clutter Awareness

For over fifty years, since I was a pre-teen, I have been aware of clutter due to my parents’ penchant for saying “yes” to anything that was free and then not being able to let go. Forty-five years later, after my mother died and my father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, I cleared their home. We’ve all read the stories of apartment-sized dumpsters of possessions being discarded. That was my experience. Forty years after those childhood experiences, and in my fifties, I realized I had a talent for helping others release their own life cocoons created by physical, mental, and temporal clutter.

Eric Riddle joined me, and together we have written articles about decluttering and a book, STUFFology 101: Get Your Mind Out of the Clutter. We advocate the process of S.T.U.F.F.—that is, Start. Trust. Understand. Focus. Finish.

Success Requires Commitment

The truth is, many of us need stronger faith and commitment to the task we set our minds to. Consider all the New Year’s resolutions that are broken long before the change of seasons.

To be able to stand back and truly marvel at one’s success is often the result of dedicated and focused effort. Like the caterpillar, our unyielding effort magnifies into an unexpected magical creation.

Larger Impact for Limited Time

We need to have a larger impact if we want to ensure our limited time is well-invested.

Mental Clutter - STUFFology101 graphicLate last year, I posted, We NEED Your HELP – Please Read and Comment. Surprisingly, we did not receive a single comment or email answering the questions I posed in the article. We did receive one heartfelt and thought-provoking email, which still warms my heart.

While the clutter world is filled with extremes—Marie Kondo’s anthropomorphic approach of imbuing life-energy to possessions before letting go of those that don’t spark joy to the tough love and therapeutic approach with extreme hoarders—STUFFology 101 continues to urge clutter bugs to define an area of clutter and to take the S.T.U.F.F. steps in letting go.

Time passes more quickly, the older I grow. How I invest my time is more important, because it is time I can never get back. The same is true for you.

I know what it means to live without a lot of STUFF. I feel lighter after working through an area of accumulated clutter. I feel JOY after gifting someone with something I no longer need. I find pleasure knowing I have no desire to accumulate possessions.

Do I share these experiences in weekly articles on STUFFology101.com? Bi-weekly articles? Monthly articles? Do I work on another book? Do I totally reconfigure the website? These are some of the questions I will begin asking as I take time to enter a STUFFology cocoon.

In the interim, look for a major announcement Eric will be sharing this month.

Unexpected Gifts for Christmas

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As December winds to a close I wish everyone reading this Happy Holidays!

I have an injury (broken foot) that has limited my mobility for several weeks but have discovered some Unexpected Gifts as I continue to heal.

One such Unexpected Gift is appreciation. That is, I have a much better appreciation for mobility in terms of walking and driving. Since I am supposed to keep my foot elevated as much as possible, I cannot walk much. Since I have a splint and protective boot I cannot drive either. Fortunately, my wife can take me where I need to go, so I appreciate her more than usual.

Another Unexpected Gift is simplicity. I enjoy Christmas and particularly like outdoor lights and lawn décor. My injury has restricted my ability to do much outdoors, including using a ladder. I therefore had to cherry pick only a few items that I could easily put out for decoration.

Each has special meaning to me and has the added benefit of a clean and simple yard presentation.

The final Unexpected Gift is organization. I have written about Christmas Clutter in the past. I have made progress with my garage clutter over the last few weeks. My lawn decorations are more organized since I could only put a handful out this year.

What Unexpected Gifts can you find in a less than ideal situation? My injury uncovered three for me. I leave you with a quote from Bill Keane, creator of The Family Circus:

“Yesterday’s the past, tomorrow’s the future, but today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present.”

Understand Your Clutter

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Clutter builds up over time. We use the acronym S.T.U.F.F. to help deal with that clutter. Today I’ll discus the ‘U’ in S.T.U.F.F., which is UNDERSTAND.

One definition I like for our acronym in STUFFology 101: Get Your Mind out of the Clutter is “to know how (something) works or happens.” In other words, how did I accumulate all this clutter?

Using myself as an example, I have generational clutter in my garage. Sometimes temporarily, sometimes not. Small amounts of my deceased parents’ stuff, small amounts of my kids’ stuff, and variable amounts of my own stuff are in my garage.

While I have made progress, there remain setbacks. The Holiday Season in the United States causes our family to rearrange portions of the house for Thanksgiving guests, Christmas decorations, and so on. Random stuff invariably ends up in my garage until after the New Year.

Since I understand this process, I am not frustrated. I know when we pack away the Holiday Season, we will declutter garage items before returning them inside the house. I am thankful for the clutter in this case. Why?
Because it reminds me of a poem I read by Mary Stuber:

Thank God For Dirty Dishes

Thank God for dirty dishes;
They have a tale to tell.
While others may go hungry,
We’re eating very well
With home, health, and happiness,
I shouldn’t want to fuss;
By the stack of evidence,
God’s been very good to us.

I understand the clutter because it reminds me that we have home, health, and happiness to share with family and friends. That is, I know how the Holiday Season works for our family.

Clearing the clutter in the New Year is a process not an event.

Clutter Disrupts Routine

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I find comfort in the routine of daily life. But the cluttergories of life can easily disrupt your routine. What do I mean by that? Simply that physical, mental, and/or temporal clutter often disrupt our everyday routine and weekly plans in both simple and profound ways.

Consider Physical Clutter

It can be an eyesore, a trip hazard, or an emotional drain every time you see it. Perhaps all three! When my young granddaughter visits us, I am almost guaranteed to step on or trip over a toy she neglected to put away.

Consider Mental Clutter

As we note in STUFFology101: Get Your Mind Out of the Clutter: “Clutter of the mind includes emotions, regrets, and worries that drain us.” Fatigue makes it challenging to focus, and may lead to apathy, or even depression.

Consider Temporal Clutter

We each have various tasks to complete every day that are important to us. That routine can be interrupted by things ranging from overtime at work to a plumbing problem at home.

Clock face

Any combination of these cluttergories can and will disrupt your routine. A sense of being overwhelmed may result. At least that was the case for me over the last few weeks. For example, I neglected writing a blog post last Monday for this website.

Sometimes all we can do is keep up, and that’s okay. I was reminded of this by my co-author in a recent phone call. Not surprisingly, she has written on this topic before. ICYMI: “What HAPPENED? Too much Time STUFF!”

Take Action

Be aware that clutter is disrupting your routine. Take a few minutes for yourself. Maybe a short walk outside or a call to a friend. Go out for a family dinner. Do something to help your own mental attitude. Simple but not easy as the pace of life steadily moves faster and faster. Take action today and your routine will refresh itself anew.

Move Away From Clutter

Move Away From Clutter

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Are extra storage boxes clutter? That depends on what you define as clutter.

In this case, no they are not clutter. My oldest daughter is moving out of state soon and I am on the lookout for well-constructed moving boxes. Yes, she can always purchase moving boxes from a variety of sources when it is time to pack her belongings. But I look at it as a challenge to find good quality boxes until then.

It can be fun too. Just keep your eyes open during your regular shopping trips. For example, the boxes from Urban Jungle left me curious about the name. Now I know that the company sells houseplants to Lowe’s.

While gathering moving boxes in this fashion may lack uniformity, it gives me the opportunity to expand my knowledge base as well as provide me with random topics for conversation, making it a game of sorts.

Another example is the box from hōmz. This box was from another member of the household that was ready to recycle. It will find new life as a moving box and I found another source for storage and organizational items by accident. Always handy for a STUFFologist!

The final example is a box from Hello Fresh. This company provides home delivery for pre-portioned meal kits. A handy and healthy way to cook for a busy family. I learned something new while talking to the neighbor about food and time-constraints for cooking dinner.

Moving and the preparation for same can be a tedious and time-consuming process. Why not throw in some fun while you move away from clutter? Gathering boxes from random sources is a cost-effective and entertaining way to ease at least a small amount of tension from the moving process.

 

 

European-Space-Agency's animated illustration of space junk

Before we visit Mars, we need to clean up our mess at home.

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We humans are a messy bunch! We don’t pick up after ourselves.

We leave clutter everywhere. At home. At work. In the oceans. In space.

The Mess in Times Square

Consider the massive clean-up in Times Square after each New Year’s Eve celebration in New York.

“The New York City sanitation department says it had 300 people at work overnight, removing an estimated 56 tons of debris,” according to ABC7NY.com

Seriously?

I often wonder why we are unwilling to pick up after ourselves, whether at a NYE celebration or the 50 tons of trash cleaned up after the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California.

Pollution in Our Oceans

Consider the amount of waste we’re producing that affects life in our oceans.  Right now, we’re focused on plastics polluting our oceans.

Space Junk

Consider the absolute mess we’re leaving in space that threatens multi-million-dollar functioning satellites.

European-Space-Agency's animated illustration of space junk

What next?

We want to colonize Mars.

Really?

Let us prove we’re worthy. Instead of looking outward, let us look around and start practicing responsible habits at home. Let us pick up after ourselves after watching TV or reading in the living room. Let us clean our dishes, utensils, and wipe down the counters, stove, and microwave after cooking in the kitchen. Let us put away stuff where it belongs in our home offices, bedrooms, closets, attics, basements, garages, and yards before we venture out.

Once we build solid habits that we pass to the next generation (and next), including the practice of leaving no trace after partying at outdoor events, only then should we consider ourselves guests worthy to visit or inhabit another planet.

Kitchen Gadgets and Junk Drawer Clutter

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Kitchen gadgets can make food preparation easier unless they lead to junk drawer clutter.

My wife is in charge of our kitchen and I asked her to pull six random gadgets from the junk drawer, then quiz me to see if I knew what they are used for. If I didn’t know, she would explain their use to me. I managed to get three out of six correct.

How many of these kitchen gadgets do you know?

If you don’t know what a kitchen gadget is used for, is it clutter? The very name “junk drawer” conjures an image of chaos. Since she uses these items throughout the year they are not clutter.

If you have a junk drawer in your kitchen, beware of clutter creep. That is, accumulation of gadgets that never get used. If you have trouble opening your junk drawer, it might be time to start de-cluttering that drawer.

How many gadgets did you get correct?

The item list and purpose of each:

  1. Egg separator – a tool used to separate the yolk of an egg from the egg white.
  2. Cake tester probe – a kitchen tool designed specifically for use in baking to test the doneness of cakes, a crucial step in the baking process.
  3. Biscuit cutter – a kitchen tool used to cut dough for the North American definition of biscuits (similar to English scones but without the higher amounts of sugar.) They are round, with a taller cutting edge than a cookie cutter.
  4. Citrus zester – a kitchen utensil for obtaining zest from lemons and other citrus fruit.
  5. Egg piercer – a tool that pierces the air pocket of an eggshell with a small needle to keep the shell from cracking during hard-boiling. If both ends of the shell are pierced, the egg can be blown out while preserving the shell (for crafts).
  6. Butter slicer – A tool that makes cutting butter easier and cleaner. Made of metal and wire. Also referred to as a “butter cutter”.

Kitchen gadgets can make food preparation easier, just be sure to use them.

Declare Your Independence from Clutter

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July 4th is Independence Day in the United States. Using that as a theme, I challenge you to declare your independence from clutter.

What does that mean? It means putting yourself on the path to clutter freedom! What that looks like is unique to you. But here are some suggestions for where to start.

Physical clutter

A problem for many of us. Paper clutter, such as mail for example.

For recurring bills such as utilities, or credit cards, sign up for electronic statements and automatic payments. This will not only eliminate the paper clutter, but it also helps ensure your bills are paid on time. You can even set up email or text reminders for payment as needed. When doing so be cautious about creating digital clutter in lieu of the paper clutter you eliminated.

Junk mail is a different matter. We often end up on mailing lists with no rhyme or reason. Contact the sender and ask to be removed from future solicitations. This will at least reduce, if not eliminate, the volume of junk mail. I also recommend shredding anything in said mail that contains your personal information, such as your address or account number. These are some simple steps towards freedom from physical clutter.

Digital clutter

Another issue many of us must deal with. Smart phones being a convenient example.

Take a hard look at your device and delete apps that you have not used in some time. Run the battery and device care feature in your settings to free up space. Restart your device on some type of schedule and run updates as needed. These are simple things you can do on your path to freedom from digital clutter.

Decluttering the various aspects of our lives can be simple. Again, I challenge you to declare your independence from clutter.

Humans will create more info in the next 2 days than in all history through 2003-Slideshare by Курьерская Служба УкраиныSlideshare by Курьерская Служба Украины

Don’t Say It. Do It. ACT.

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How often have you heard a friend, family member, or co-worker say they are going to do something?

“I am going to lose weight.”
I’ve said this for the past year, while gaining (as of now) eight pounds. Weight, like clutter, fluctuates. We need to act consistently to lose weight and keep it off. Two of the biggest contributors to my weight gain are food intake (type of foods and amount consumed) and physical activities. After being too physical while playing basketball and bike riding, I hurt myself. I needed a walker after the first injury in October. The second, in January scared me. I vowed to do what it takes to gain greater strength, stability, and flexibility. I am making progress. It is painfully slow! I’m working up to another hike in the Sierras. (Last summer, I walked 13+ miles above 10,000′ elevation.)

“I am going to clear the mess on my desk.”
As I’ve written before, having a clean desk is an ongoing process. After all, you work at your desk. There will be paperwork and other stuff. I place paperwork, books, and more on my desk. When I get busy with something else or take a short trip, if I neglect the paperwork for long, it reproduces. Before it grows into a pile of overwhelming paperwork (POOP), I dig in and clear the clutter.

“I am going to read more books.”
Much of my accumulated possessions over a 41-year career, consists of paperwork and books. As I take steps to clear the clutter, I’ve internalized one valuable lesson. Do not bring home more stuff. Don’t subscribe to anything. Don’t buy any books. (I bought one earlier this year to read and review it for my other website.) Get rid of the stuff I have, first. I’ve been good about letting go. With all the reading I do online, I manage to finish reading about one book a month. I usually take notes and then place the book in a box to give-away. Earlier this year, I let go of one box filled with books that I read last year and ones I had no intention of reading. 

The To-Do List goes on.

“I plan to watch less TV.”

“I plan to build my side-business on my days off.”

What happens?

Usually, nothing.

Why?

Because research shows that our brains consider the words we’ve spoken as if we’ve taken steps toward achieving the goal.

But have we?

No, we have only expelled warm air from our lungs through meaningless words.

Talking about doing something is not the same as doing it.

Last week, Eric advised, Trust Yourself to Declutter. Part of the STUFF acronym to Start, Trust, Understand, Focus, and Finish.

For our words to be meaningful, we must ACT.

Act (in order to)

Complete (the)

Task

After you have accomplished the task, it will no longer occupy your thoughts. You will not suffer seeing it undone. You don’t have to reschedule it anymore. In fact, you don’t have to even talk about doing it.

Why?

Because it’s DONE.

You ACTed.

How do you feel?

Kids, Cats, and Clutter

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Is your living space in chaos or is it clean?

Maybe both depending on what area of the house you are talking about! Despite our best efforts, clutter often appears like magic. Kids and cats (or other pets) often contribute to clutter chaos.

We recently emptied out a closet containing assorted storage bins. Just because something is stored away neatly doesn’t mean it isn’t clutter.

Bin there done that.

In this case, the bins were full of old baby clothes and other assorted keepsakes from my daughters. Now that we have a granddaughter, time to check on those clothes! Styles change of course, but jeans are always useful.

Cats are like kids in that they have toys and other items that must be stored when not in use. If you have multiple cats, then you probably have multiple cat boxes to rotate as you replace them to clean out the used cat litter. Yet another item to store until needed.

Clearing the clutter to keep chaos at bay can be a never-ending process. Life is full of adventure with kids and cats (or other animals). Enjoy the moment. Some days the clutter gets ahead and that’s ok on occasion. Tomorrow you’ll have another opportunity to clean away the clutter.

Be at peace with your day if kids, cats, and clutter have their way.