Tag Archives: de-cluttering

Time to Sift and Regift! Get Rid of the Holiday Clutter – “Stupid-to-you” Gifts!!

by on January 10, 2012 in De-Cluttering, Holidays, Just for Fun

If you are prone to guilt – hold onto your hats…this next statement may blow it right off your head! This week, is deadline week. The deadline is regarding everything you received as a gift over the holidays, AS WELL AS everything you purchased for yourself during the holiday season.

If you have not:

  1. used it yet
  2. figured out how to use it
  3. installed it
  4. decided that you even like it

then, you may have just picked up a “cling-on!” That’s right – we’ve got trouble my friend, right here in your city! That starts with T and that rhymes with C and that stands for CLUTTER!

 

And if it is still taking up space (also known as opportunities in the feng shui world) in your house, feng shui rules would say that you’ve just picked up some guilt! Boo! Who needs that?

Shed that off-colored sweater, that cheap all-in-one tool that has broken already, that icky-looking bottle of apricot wine, and  that holiday chip and dip tray only useful once a year NOW to avoid an opportunity “pinch” later on.

Every thing that is added to your house that was not countered by removing something of equal size MUST aid you in life – or else it is going to stop something else that can be helpful from showing up in that space.

If you’ve been reading my work for some time now, you know that I hold a yearly, “guilt-free zone”  re-gifting party, where my friends bring whatever they need to dump for some merry ol’ swapping. It is the funniest party of the year that I throw!

I invite you to:

  1. not let guilt run your home and life
  2. not allow others to slow down your energy
  3. not keep stuff and make it hard to “shed the weight” in life
  4. have a good time with friends releasing/swapping stuff that is not useful to you.

I’d love to hear from you if you throw a re-gifter so be sure to comment!

Read full story • Comments { 0 }
yard-sale-sign1

Need an Excuse to De-Clutter?

by on October 14, 2010 in De-Cluttering, Events

It doesn’t take much for me to declutter. Practically every 3-day weekend I spend at home, at least one day is spent decluttering. If you just groaned as you read that, I’m guessing you have not experienced the feelings of  joy, clarity, and freedom that’s available “on the other side” of a decluttering session.

Here’s a tip for those of you who can’t find the time to declutter:

1. Think about something that disturbs you; you know, something that you’d just love the entire situation to be handled — like world hunger, or something with underprivileged kids. Pick something that, if I could wave a magic wand and say “With one swoop of my wand, I’ve got that situation handled” you’d be totally excited.

2. Find a local group tied to that topic “that can keep you up at night” that takes household donations. If you’re prone to stalling out during the decluttering process, choose a group that has a dated event so you have a deadline for your items to get there. (I usually donate most of my household items to the local Assistance League, and I have chosen Habitat for Humanity as my go-to money donations. There’s a local church that I’m speaking at in January that’s having a yard sale on October 23rd that’s getting my stuff this month, however.)

3. Start decluttering! Now that you’ve got a group in mind that you know is going to benefit from your efforts, you have more motivation to get ‘er done. Each time you find yourself stalling out, take a moment to think of the benefit your work is going to do for your chosen charity!

4. Take a quick moment to jot down the items for tax purposes (yes – a bonus!) Here’s the Salvation Army’s valuation sheet if you need it.

5. Celebrate! Take a moment to acknowledge the new feelings of being helpful to both yourself and the charity of your choice!

 

 

Read full story • Comments { 0 }
Karens-recent-photos-003

De-Cluttering the landscape

by on September 5, 2010 in Blog, Outdoor Feng Shui

Giant Bird of Paradise - Before Trimming

For those of you outside of California or some other fire-prone place, you might not  know that we here have to think of the plants in our yards in order of their “fuel load” (AKA – how much and how fast will it burn.)

So a few days ago, being fall and all, I thought about it and decided it was time to take a good look at my landscape and see what needed attention. And holy moley - My giant bird of paradise plants had gotten out of control without my notice!

Here’s a picture of the massive plant. Talk about a jungle! How did I miss it? You see – even I can overlook things right under my own nose with regard to my “feng shui arrangements” so don’t feel bad if you miss something right under your nose. (It’s ALWAYS good to have a second pair of eyes scan your spaces if possible.)

Giant Bird of Paradise - After!

De-cluttering has to be a complete job – inside and out – if you really want to improve your opportunities in life. And this big booger in my front yard was not only looking like I didn’t care, but it was blocking the house so much that it had to have had some negative consequence as far as opportunities coming or not coming my way goes.

Anyway, after a half day of cutting, trimming, pulling, and tugging, the guys “de-cluttered” my giant bird into this manageable specimen. Sheeeeewwww! I feel so much better! And funny thing, …today, a mere 24 hours after the trim job, I found help with something that I’ve been wanting help with for EVER! So, ….so far so good!

 

Read full story • Comments { 3 }