The art of decluttering

“The space in which we live should be for the person we are becoming NOW, not for the person we were in the PAST” Marie Kondo

About a year or so ago I started doing a systematic decluttering of our home: getting rid of all the stuff that didn’t bring joy or was useful. In so doing, we are restoring order and simplifying our lives as this continues to be work in progress. It involved going through each room meditatively and allowing the divine spirit of simplicity, order, harmony and beauty accompany you. It meant picking up an item and asking the question, “Are you useful?” Do you “spark joy”? (as decluttering Queen, Marie Kondo, would say). Sometimes, you would pick up a keepsake that would tug at your heartstrings because of its sentimental value but it is neither useful nor beautiful. This item gave you joy and served a purpose in your past but it should move on now and make a life somewhere else.

The decluttering process is a systematic activity which is cold and callous and involves pen and paper and progressively going through one room at a time until the job is done. You can have three piles: stuff to keep(only those that are useful and beautiful), stuff to sell or give away to thrift shops and items that can be scrapped.

There is an ancient metaphysical law that states and which Bryant H McGill puts so nicely: “Abundance is a process of letting go; that which is empty can receive.” In other words, you need to create some vacuum so that you can receive more. How can more good come into our lives if there is no space for it? We create the vacuum by giving away what we no longer need but that which will serve others better.

The blue Willow pattern china dinner set that was the bees knees a few decades ago doesn’t quite suit your casual dining style anymore, neither does the punch bowl set or the ceramic rammikins that hasn’t seen the light of day in the last two score years or so. The blue jumpsuit that you bought 12 years ago which is two sizes smaller and you have been waiting to fit into. And do we really need three full, steel embossed cutlery sets? These all got to go. I promise you there’s another life somewhere else for them.

Many studies show that whatever physical clutter we see every day, be it a messy desk, jam-packed closets or overstuffed drawers , takes up most of our attention. Thus, instead of us just focusing on the task at hand or attracting positive energy, these clutters compete for our attention which often results in us not investing the full focus to the activity that needs our attention at that time.

I am not into the extreme decluttering trend of creating the stark minimalist look - I find that too clinical and sterile. However, establishing order where you just have enough of what you need and where each item has a place that can be found immediately is such a liberating and cleansing feeling.

Decluttering has many health benefits: it helps you let go of the past, it creates a peaceful mood as visually your surroundings look cleaner and more organised, it saves you time and makes you more productive as you are not wasting time searching for things, it reduces stress and anxiety and it infuses you with energy to do more of the activities you enjoy doing. Most importantly, you create abundance to enter your life because of the new space you have created.

I am still progressively working through the different rooms in my home and hope I have encouraged you to make a start if you haven’t already. As the new week unfolds, surround yourself with things that are useful and that “sparks your joy”. Have a fantastic week, folks!

Planning to be more productive

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” Aristotle

I generally like to beat to the rhythm of my own drum and am usually a cheerleader for spontaneity rather than mundanity. However, I have since had a rethink and realised this Greek dude, Aristotle , seems to know what he’s on about.

I have found that on days where I allow myself to drift and get to do tasks as they find my way, these days are the most emotionally, physically and mentally draining. Far from offering the freedom and carefree feeling that a laissez faire attitude promises, there’s more stress, strain and stiffness at the end of the day.

A few years ago, I took a leaf of Aristotle’s papyrus and wrote a list of stuff I needed to do for the week in a plain, lined notebook that easily fits into my handbag. (I am quite technology savvy and could have easily done this digitally on my iPhone or on any trendy app but I am visual and still a tad old-school).

After having my morning cuppa or sometimes the night before I list the things to be done for the day - even small tasks like hanging out the washing or sending a text message to check on someone’s health. Being a busy woman who wear many hats during any given day, I obviously can’t complete all the tasks on any set day but I quickly number them in order of priority clustering tasks that could be done together like replying to emails, making calls, checking student essays etc What a wonderful feeling it is as the day marches on to see work items getting progressively highlighted. What a sense of achievement!

Now here’s the humbling but magical part - any task that does not get done within the day, I meticulously write it in long hand for the next day and the next until it’s done. I promise you the springs of guilt run deep by the third day or so if you are still postponing a task so you are forced to strike it off. This niggly chore gives you a most woeful. pathetic look from the page mouthing “why don’t you come near me?” so you just have to bite the bullet and despatch of it.

And that is my answer to many who ask how is it possible to juggle so many balls in the air ( or my able assistant who still looks perplexed when she learns that I still manage to pack a decent lunch and cook a full home-cooked dinner every day).

Taking the time to create a list of tasks to be tackled, blocking out some time to get it done, makes you feel a 100 times better at the end of the day. It is an awesome feeling to feed your mind, body and soul by building a daily routine to live your best life. Give it a go and you will be so glad you did.

Have a freakishly productive week, Folks!

Connecting with our creative centre

During the daily grind of life, we always seem to be responding to something that needs our attention on the outside: answering the phone, replying to emails, taking care of work that needs our focus, travelling to the office or appointments or being the parent taxi. The time whether displayed on the clock, wristwatch, iPhone or computer screen steadily signals the moment which alerts us to further duties that need to be taken of. And we do it, one task after another, dutifully ticking out our To Do lists and feel great because we are accomplishing stuff - being productive.

However, did you consider responding to a call from within yourself? Taking some time out to unleash your inner creativity in the form of some artistic task like painting, cooking, gardening, woodworking, paving, coding, crochet or some other needle craft? Not saying that I will do something for myself when I “I have the time” but actually penning a date with yourself amongst your work commitments to self care?

In indulging in a creative activity, it does not mean that we are on our way to becoming a traditional fine artist or music maestro. No, it simply means allowing your inner creativity to come forth just like someone once said “everyone is an artist”. Whether it is in the field of finance or football, we should give expression to our creative thinking from WITHIN. When you are experiencing an aesthetic experience like art, your senses are heightened and you are present in the current moment. This creative experience that you are resonating with connects you to your authentic self which makes you truly and fully alive.

In each one of us there is this creative energy that needs to be let out and we should make the time to connect with our inner selves instead of constantly being bombarded from the outside with things we need to attend to.

I am putting my money where my mouth is (literally) as I give myself an early Christmas present by enrolling for a two-day art workshop in Btisbane in December. The picture attached is a sample of what I will be painting to let out my inner creativity.

Have I inspired you one teeny bit to take at least a few hours if not in the coming week but perhaps in the not too distant future to set alight your creative forces?

Have a fabulously, creative week as you release your inner artist, folks.