A guest post by Cindy Bogard What motivates you to declutter? Why are you doing it? I was thinking about this questions for myself and came up with these reasons, immediate and far-reaching. I want a clean house. I want to not feel ashamed or embarrassed, both of which I have felt in large measure in the past. I want to continue in my role of stay-at-home parent. Now while the parent part of that job is the most important, the cookin’ and cleanin’ come along with it. While my cooking’s good; my housekeeping makes me eligible for firing. I don’t want that. I Continue reading
Archives for November 2010
Day 314 Ten minute decluttering
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As you all know I advocate decluttering with the slow and steady approach. I often say even if you do just 10 minutes a day it will make a difference. Here are a list of ways that you squeeze in ten minutes of decluttering each day... While waiting for the kettle to boil and the tea to brew. When having done nothing useful for a while and feel the need to feel better about yourself. During the commercials while watching a show on television. Between dinner preparation steps. When putting the laundry away check the cupboards for unused items. While dusting on cleaning day think Continue reading
Day 312 The smallest deed
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"The smallest deed is better than the greatest intention." -John Burroughs How many days do you start out with good intentions to do something useful with your day. A little decluttering here, some tidying up, finishing a craft project, getting some exercise etc. Unfortunately, good intentions don't mean anything unless you actually follow through with action. Unfulfilled good intentions aren't that different to procrastinating and neither help you feel good about yourself. What is blocking you from following through. Some of the reasons may be... Inertia caused by sadness due to Continue reading
Day 311 Simply Sunday- Do you like dusting?
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I have decide to make Sundays a day for short and simple posts that is quick to read and simple to follow. I will call them Simply Sunday I hope you enjoy the concept. This post poses a series of simple questions for you to ponder but the solution is up to you. Do you like dusting? Which room in your home requires the most dusting? What is it about this room the creates the necessity to dust so much? What would you rather 1.) that this room needs less dusting or 2.) to keep all the things in this room that require dusting? At this point I would suggest you go to this room and Continue reading
Day 310 Decluttering with the Three Rs
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A guest post by Cindy Bogard The three Rs, reduce, reuse, recycle. In decluttering, sometimes it’s easy to overlook the three Rs, especially if you’re going quickly. There are a lot of reasons to like a-thing-a-day decluttering and proper consideration of the three Rs is one of them. Notice that the first R is reduce. It’s the most important one of all, starting with only buying what you really need and using it completely. Or buy it used; then you’re not creating demand for another of the same. Consider the packaging of your purchases. Don’t buy single-serving items and buy in bulk – even Continue reading
Day 308 Push youself
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Sometimes we can find it hard to just get up and go. Things happen in life that we would rather just hide away from and instead of getting on with it, we fall in a heap and feel sorry for ourselves. Sometimes the catalyst for this behaviour seems quite trivial to some but can be a big deal to you when you are living it from your perspective. Trust me though, curling up in a ball in front of the television isn’t the solution to anything and it certainly doesn’t make you feel better about yourself. Giving up only adds to your woes and makes life even more unbearable. What you have to do is push Continue reading
Day 307 To believe
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A friend and I were having one of our philosophical chats while walking a couple of weeks ago. At some point, the subject changed to the psychological benefits of my decluttering process. Having known me before I started on this mission and being that we often discuss it she has noticed the changes it has had on me. We discussed how my blog has added purpose to what seemed at first to be just a household chore. We talked about the side effects and lessons I have learned along the way. How I now receive so much satisfaction out of helping others with their clutter issues and that shopping no Continue reading
Day 306 Focus
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A guest post by Cindy Bogard I’ve often seen this bumper sticker: “Not all who wander are lost.” I think when it comes to household chores, that’s just not true. While writing a blog every day allows you to crow about your successes, it equally allows you to reveal your foibles. Today is a foible day. Here is what I did after returning home from lunch with a friend. I was wandering, and I was lost: Walk into the office, put down my purse, turn on the computer. Walk to the bathroom at the other end of the house to get an OTC medicine that I promise to give to a friend; Continue reading
Day 309 Fave Five Friday
Five comments from my readers I didn't want you to miss Sally on Day 302 - Love your blog. It got me to start decluttering and also chronicle my progress... Read more Janet on Day 306 - That seals it, Cindy. We ARE the same person... Read More Bronwyn on Day 306 - Yes, yes, yes… this is how many days seem to pan out for me… Read more I particularly liked the bit about defragging. Sally on Day 307 - What an amazing post. I’ve been thinking the same thing lately... Read more Cat's meow on Day 308 - I’ve done it -hiding my head in the sand because I am completely overwhelmed... Continue reading