IN THIS ISSUE:

I. What's In Your House?
II. 5 Quick Tips
III. Their Quotes
IV. References
V. VRSelfHelp.com Free Resource

I. What's In Your House?

My husband, who is in charge of select TV show taping in our home, recently found a show on A&E he thought I'd like to review. It's one of their new offerings called "Move This House."

The show begins by selecting a family planning a move to a new home. Then they provide them with professional packers and movers who will pack up every single thing they have and move it all to their new home for them. The family doesn't have to do a thing!

Well, not everything packed up will actually go to their new home. That’s the catch!

There’s also a decorator who has total control in deciding exactly which of their possessions will go in the family’s new home and where. He also chooses which things won’t be making the trip, everything from furniture to knick-knacks. And what doesn't go - goes into locked storage where the family can’t touch it for a full year! The family has no say in his decision. (Okay, a couple of tears in last week’s show did sway him on an a couple of items, but that was it!) The decorator chooses items with reason. He’s not just being mean.

The end result is that it’s pretty interesting how their old stuff is placed in the floor plan of the new home. Plus they add some decorator touches too. Color on some walls; window coverings here and there; items turned into neat art.

Now here’s what stood out for me.

When the designer showed the family what was not going to their new home, it was a third of what they had! One third of everything was going away for a year! Why a year? Most professional organizers will tell you that if you don’t use something for a year, you probably don’t need it.

They didn't say how much of the stuff going to storage was found scattered through the house and how much was found in "boxes that hadn't been opened in years." What I guess, is that the items sent away to storage will hardly be missed. I’d also guess that there is probably an equivalent amount of unused items in most of our own homes.

So, does it take a move for you to be able to access all of your belongings and take a good look at everything you own? Or would the excess just move along with you wherever you went? If you were to move in the next month or so, would you be able to clear away the clutter? Could you eliminate a third of your personal belongings?

It seems like no matter how often I personally clear in my home, there is always something more I find that I don't use or don't need. There always seems to be unused goods lying in drawers and tucked in closets. What to do? First thing I try to do is follow my rule of - if something new comes in something old goes out. In other words, “No New Junk!”

I also visualize my excess items as a weight attached to my body that I'm dragging around in life. Then it’s much easier to let them go.

The point is, all of these unused items drain our energy. Things in our lives should give us energy, not sap it. Just discarding the item can shift the energy. However, you might also consider the energy exchange you get based on how you let go.

You can donate your good condition, but no longer needed items, and get back the energy of new space. You can sell your goods and receive back the energy of money. You can trade your goods to someone else and receive back an item that you need. You can create a continuous flow of positive energy in your life.
 
So look around at the excess items you're dragging around. Then make a commitment to add "No More Junk" and stop the energy drain of holding on to unused item. You don’t have to do it all at once. Just do it on a regular basis.

Warmly,
Linda

II. 5 QUICK TIPS

1.  Take a tour of your drawers, closets, garage, basement and other hiding places. If the professional designer from "Move This House" showed up at your door - what would he tag that would go into storage for a year?

2.  Sit quietly and feel the weight of your unused items. Is it a weight you can handle? Or something you liked to reduce?

3. Check out www.freecycle.org . This grass roots network of over 1.6 million is made up of people giving (and getting) stuff for free. Your trash might be someone's treasure.

4. Are you more motivated to clear your clutter if you knew you could make money for selling them? There are garage sales, consignments stores, item postings at www.craigslist.com, and ebay.com. Be sure to do some research first to make sure you’re being realistic about the condition and price.

5. Ready to just give it away? Most communities have numerous thrift stores and organizations that take gently used goods and will even pick-up your items. In some areas, Habitat for Humanity has Resell stores that accept all types of building materials. They recently accepted some of our old window coverings, faucets and fixtures and even an old toilet.

III. THEIR QUOTES

"Don't agonize. Organize"
 - Florynce Kennedy
Source: Treasury of Women's Quotations compiled and edited by Carolyn Warner

"A place for everything and everything in its place."
- Mrs. Beeton, from The Book of Household Management (1861)
Source: The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase, Saying, and Quotation

"Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand...Simplify, simplify."
 - Henry David Thoreau
Source: The Book of Positive Quotations

IV. REFERENCES

The Simpler Life: An inspirational Guide to Living Better with Less
by Deborah Deford
http://www.simplifylife.com/stratgy1.html

The Simpler Life will help you sweep away life's clutter and focus on the things that matter most. With realistic down-to-earth advice on simplifying your life at home and at the office, it offers the information and inspiration to navigate the complexities of life today and rediscover the simple joys that make life worth living

Unclutter Your Home, 7 Simple Steps 700 Tips and Ideas
by Donna Smallin
http://www.simplifylife.com/readmore.html

"Learn how to eliminate unnecessary belongings without guilt or regret. Contain clutter with simple, inexpensive storage ideas. Read how you can get family members to participate. I even included some Internet resources for you!" -Donna Smallin

Clear Your Clutter
by Karen Kingston
http://www.simplifylife.com/readmore.html

"Kingston reminds us that clutter is stuck energy that keeps you stuck in undesirable life patterns. Therefore, you can 'sort out your life by sorting out your junk.'" - Amazon.com. And according to one of my Simplify Life clients, this is hands down the best and most motivating book on clutter clearing.

To find more resources, go to
http://www.simplifylife.com/reference.html

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MORE ABOUT "MAKING LIVES SIMPLER"

Linda Manassee Buell is a full-time Personal and Business Coach, and author of the tips eBooklet, "Simplify Your Life, 101 Ways to Create the Life You Love," the audiotape, "Simplify Your Life, 7 Simple Strategies for Doing What You Love to Do," the revised edition of the workbook, "Simplify Your Life: A Journey of Personal Discovery," and her latest book, "Panic and Anxiety Disorder, 121 Tips, Real-life Advice, Resources & More." She is also the President and Executive Director of The Virtual Reality Self-Help Center, vrselfhelp.com, an Internet- based resource center for mental well-being.

To order your personal copy of any of the above by check or credit card, just go to http://simplifylife.com and click on "Shop the Store."

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