Clearing Space

January is Get Organized Month. In alignment with the New Year theme of "ringing in the new", decluttering is a perfect way to free up space for fresh dynamic energy, abundance and love to come into our lives. At our home, we're declaring 2011 "the clutter-free year"!

There are a few silent giants that invade our home on a daily basis. Last January, after learning that the average family in our neighborhood produced over 45 pounds of recycled waste each week, we used the eco-philosophy of reduce/reuse/recycle to get our kitchen waste down to a minimum. Now it's time to tackle the seemingly never-ending abundance of paper that crosses our doorstep: bills, statements, newspapers, circulars, periodicals, doorstep solicitations, school papers, holiday cards, and recipes. When you consider that the care of elders or combined households can mean the addition of old journals, manuscripts, letters, poems, magazines, books, get well cards, posters, event cards, files, and even more mail, the mounting piles of paper can become quite overwhelming.

So, this first quarter of 2011, I'm focused on reducing paper.

Eliminating paper is a form of cleansing or clearing or detoxing. Just as with food then, the aim is to reduce the amount that's coming in and at the same time eliminate the excess that's already present. Regarding the mail, our most common source of paper overflow, my mom always said, "touching paper more than once is a waste of time". In other words: get it, read it, handle/pay it, shred it and be done with it.

In honor of that I've committed one morning each week to convert existing accounts to electronic statements, set up auto/electronic bill payments, and shred the mounds of unnecessary paper. Over time, these tiny baby steps should get me to my goal: less paper coming in means less to shuffle around and less clutter! 

Once that's done, that same weekly time will be utilized to resolve them most difficult task: reducing personal items of sentimental value: cards, letters, books, etc. While emotionally daunting, inevitably, some items will be given to others to treasure, some will be stored/displayed properly for posterity, and some will simply live on in the memory of those who beheld it.

To balance the emotional stress of change/transition/letting go, I'll be diffusing CPTG essential oils that energize and uplift, as well as create feelings of peace and calm. Wild Orange, Lavender and Rosemary are good choices.

If you're decluttering too and need a little motivation moving things along, the 10 benefits of getting organized may provide that needed spark. Please use the comments section below to share your thoughts and successes.

Happy New Year!