Change and Detox

This act of tidying not only brings about change in your living area, but also brings change to the rest of your life.  Change is sometimes difficult to go through so you may actually experience a detox reaction as you tidy.  I did.  I pushed through it tho and kept tidying until I had completed the task I set out to do. 

I am so glad I am now able to experience the benefits of this hard work.  I feel lighter and more focused, more able to get things done. 

As we wrap up this blog series, I hope you will share with me what positive benefits you have received from the information.  Are you inspired to tidy?  Or at least inspired to read the book?

Fear for the Future?

What if you begin to tidy and you find you are having a hard time letting go of something, even though it doesn’t bring you joy.  Marie suggests asking yourself a three part question:

Am I having trouble getting rid of this because of an attachment to the past? A fear for the future? Or a combination of both? Whoa.  This brought me up short as I read it.  I immediately identified my problem.  I held onto things because I thought I might need them some day – a desire for stability in the future is what that is.  That was a life-changing realization.  If I needed something in the future and I had gotten rid of it, would that be bad?  No.  I could just go buy a new one!  There are stores around here!  I bet you have stores where you live, too! I hope this helps you look at your things and make a decision as to what to do with it just like it did for me.

A Designated Spot

Another pearl of wisdom I had brought home to me was how everything needs a place to be.  That is their spot where they rest after you use them.  My shoes now rest in their designated spot.  I no longer kick them off in my closet and then have a hard time finding a matching pair.  Time saver!! 

When I come home from a class or vendor event, I have an easy put away time.  I just return the items to their resting place.  Then we are both happy!

Marie says to put all like things together.  That means books go in one place, and pictures you hang on the wall go all in one place.  My daughter was home trying to find a cookbook and she remembered me telling her this tip.  She knew where to find it – with all the other books! Sure makes things easier to find!

Oh No!! It's the Office!!

I went thru our kitchen, our suitcases, our coat closet, and our cabinets over the washer and dryer.  I was beginning to feel better, lighter. 

Now came the hard part – the office. The author recommends throwing away all paper.  If you really need that something you’ve been holding onto, you can call someone and have them help you locate a copy.  Wow.  I never thought of that!  I was able to empty an entire drawer in our filing cabinet and now what was left was not all jam packed together!  Woohoo!

All the office supplies were next.  Out went all the things we hadn’t used in years that didn’t bring me joy.  I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to walk into the closet and see everything standing in its perfect resting place, ready to be of service.  It is so peaceful!

Marie recommends tidying all in one day!  I tried to do that, but the process spilled into a few days.  It’s a good goal to strive for though.  See if you can set aside a day and bust it out!