I am a voracious reader and have been reading magazines since I was a child with my Nat Geo for kids.

So when I found out I could get free magazines on my Kindle because I am an Amazon Prime member, I was giddy. No paper! No clutter! Tons of information (see my Information Reduction Plan).

I started reading magazines on cooking, health, women’s interest, fashion crafts and anything else that was out. I had canceled most of my paper magazines as I didn’t want the clutter. Currently I just have Reader’s Digest that my Grandma gets me and my husband & I enjoy.

I would read magazines at night before bed or in downtime. Then I started noticing how they were making me feel. I was feeling not good enough about my weight, my home, my cooking.

Each magazine included tons of projects that I didn’t have time to complete and that made me feel badly as well. I wasn’t going to make that recipe, do that 30-day fitness challenge or make that paper craft. But, I felt I should. It’s interesting. I may even want to do it. But, I have lots of other things I want to do that weren’t dictated to me by a magazine.

There was the time I was using the pick out a magazine to read and all the reading time for things I don’t intend to do.

Plus, with all the advertisements I was enticed to buy things I didn’t need like expensive face cream or the latest home gadget.

I decided no more magazines besides Reader’s Digest.

I want to read things that are helpful and deep. I don’t need someone living on one of the coasts telling me what should be important to me.

I feel freer already.

I wrote how getting a new TV spurns more projects and the projects kept growing. One project it led to was creating an exercise room. The living room was looking so streamlined and serene after the extra decluttering from removing the entertainment center, that I no longer liked my exercise stuff there.

I’ve had my exercise things in the living room because I didn’t want to wake my daughter during my early morning movement. But, she moved out in December so it was a perfect time to create the exercise room. I had been exercising upstairs anyway, but most of my equipment was in the living room.

It’s really more like exercise part of an area upstairs rather than a room. It’s in an area that connects the three bedrooms upstairs. It also houses cat toys, a craft table, the DVD and CDs and a computer.

1) The first thing I did was bring my weights upstairs and put them under the craft table. That was exercise in itself.

2) I keep my yoga mat out so I can do a little yoga before bed or throughout the day, not just morning.

3) On the computer desk I put some fitness books plus pilates and yoga cards. I decluttered my exercise accordion folder with exercises ripped from magazines categorized by what type of exercise ie upper, full body, cardio, yoga, etc. On my computer I bookmarked Yoga with Adriene and BeFit in YouTube along with a couple courses I bought from Daily OM.

4) Next to bring upstairs were my dance DVDs, Zumba, P90x and other exercise DVDs.  I got rid of the last few VHS tapes as our tape player no longer works, to make room for them in our DVD movies/CD collection.

5) I found a shoebox for my bands and put that under the craft table as well.

I don’t have any big equipment like treadmills or ellipticals. I know myself and would get bored with them too fast. But, I would have room if moved the yoga mat. I do much of my cardio outside with walking, hiking, swimming and Groove classes. Your exercise room or area would have what you love to do for exercise.

One of the first things I do in the morning is exercise, so now I have it all in one space. I have been re-invigorated by equipment and DVDs I had forgotten about. I love having my yoga mat out all the time.

Is this a beautiful and fancy room? No, but it’s functional and has a fan. It helps me exercise more. I am very happy with my new space.

What have you been wanting to do more of in your life? Do you have a space for it?

Want motivation to start and complete that project? Join the next Project class.

My husband and I got a new TV when we could no longer read the text messages and subtitles on our 32″. What I thought would be a simple replacing the TV project turned into other projects.

We had to get a new platform for the TV and release the bigger entertainment center with all the cubbies. Which meant everything in the cubbies had to move. I started by taking the books from the bedroom upstairs. I had to declutter a bunch of books from various bookshelves so all of them would fit in the current bookshelves. Then I was able to put the photo albums from the cubbies into the bedroom shelves.

Now had to to put the games from the entertainment center elsewhere, decluttering some of them.

Much of the rest of the entertainment center cubbies were brought into my office, so I needed to organize and declutter there as well. Once I organized all that stuff and that area looked serene I wanted to organize and declutter the rest of my office. Going through desk cubbies, cleaning out my self-care box, updating my menu planner, clearing off the bulletin board.

Bulletin Board Before:

Bulletin Board After:

I cleared off my desk so I only had these:

Left

• my action file box
• A heart ceramic container with magnets and pushpins for the bulletin board/whiteboard
• Wire container for less used writing utensils
• Essential oil diffuser
• Salt lamp

Center

• Work notebook
• Papers I am dealing with that day
• Pen wire container
• Eyeglass case
• Phone

Right

• Cubbies with binders, books, self-care box, notebook, CDs and desk supplies
• Below the cubbies is my 3-hole punch, matches, essential oil basket and inbox.

My office was looking so nice that I wanted to update the room upstairs to an exercise room. (Next blog post)

Have you noticed that projects to upgrade your space tend to produce more projects? Soon more and more things are looking spacious. The trick is to finish one of the projects before moving onto the other.

If you have been stuck with a project come get support and fun by doing it with the Pleasant Projects group. Or if you need help focusing for your projects.

I’ve been in this business about 15 years now and every year in January I see the same thing. People get excited about change (decluttering, losing weight, cleaning up finances). You go full in, spending hours trying to take care of things using that New Year energy.

Then, you lose that motivation. It’s not exciting or you see another project that looks like it may be more fun. Usually the first parts of a project is easier and then you get to the hard part like decluttering sentimental items or the craft room.

Suddenly even though you had hours to devote to it before, you have no time. No energy. You skip one day. Then two. Soon, it’s not even on the radar anymore.

Now you are berating yourself about having no will-power and self-control. You tell yourself, “I knew it would never happen. I never stick to things.”

It’s great to use that New Year energy. It’s fantastic! But, it doesn’t last. It’s not that you can’t stick to things, it’s that you were relying on something that doesn’t last and isn’t sustainable.

You need to put structures and support in place when you have that energy, so you can continue down the line. Otherwise your Project Change doesn’t continue.

Prepare for the Hard

You need think about what happens when you hit the hard part. What if feelings of sadness or regret arise? What about the days when you have absolutely no motivation – what will you do?

What will you say to yourself when you enter the hard area?

Set Up Systems

Setting up systems allows you to just do it instead of deciding each time. You have a routine. You have your next actions written out. You have an actual plan.

You put out exercise clothes the night before or put fruit in a bowl on the table.

Every other Friday you pay bills and look at your finances. You set up an automatic savings plan.

Get Accountability

We want to go it alone. We think we should be able to handle it ourselves. But, for the majority of people it works at least twice as well when you check in with other people.

I know I didn’t stick with decluttering until I started checking in with a group online.

Work with One or Two Changes

Most people don’t have the energy required to make many changes at the same time yet people operate that way all the time. How about this year, you work on one or two goals at once until the systems become habitual?

Once a change becomes a habit, it takes up less space in your brain so you can focus on something else. Allow yourself to reach the habit stage before running onto another change. This is hard and is where change often breaks down. You don’t give yourself that time to create a habit, because you give up after the first few mistakes or skips.

Don’t follow that next shiny object until you set that foundation.

***

If you want to set up a system for your decluttering and get major accountability, we’d love to have you join us in the next Declutter Group. You can make changes that stick.

A new year. A fresh start. Optimism at the possibilities. Fear of knowing the self-sabotage of the past.

As we check-in with ourselves and notice changes we want to make, it’s helpful to be clear of what’s in your control.

How much of your time and energy do you spend worrying and ruminating on things not in your control – other’s actions, what people may think about you, past events, or other’s drama.

All this takes time and energy away from things in your control like your actions, your thoughts, your attitude and what you consume.

We tend to think we have some sort of control when we are complaining and worrying. It’s comfortable. We get the sense we are doing something. We post on Facebook about what horrible thing this political leader did. Or gossip about a co-worker. Or we toss and turn in the middle of the night about what are adult children may or may not be doing.

Things we do control we spend less time on, after all, they are harder. It’s easier to whine about things not in our control than it is to do the actual work of changing.

Say you want to declutter – you can complain about not getting help or that you have too small of a house. It’s easier to list off all the reasons you can’t declutter. Taking action will require you to make a plan, implement the plan and then if you don’t implement the plan – figure out why.

It’s in your control to set a time aside to declutter. It’s in your control to decide to use the declutter calendar or a different plan. It’s in your control when that reminder pops up that you declutter. It’s in your control to inquire of yourself if it didn’t happen.

But, that can be scary because in the past asking yourself why you didn’t declutter meant a lot of berating yourself over lack of willpower or how unorganized and scattered you are. Instead, how would it feel to ask yourself why you didn’t declutter in a self-compassionate way. You are curious and looking for feedback. You are trying to find out what is helpful and beating yourself up isn’t. You are digging down to get the truth, not your surface excuses.

Then you make a new plan for the next day that deals with this truth. Maybe you get support, maybe you read a how-to, or maybe you allow your feelings to be expressed.

You control whether you try something else or give up when things aren’t perfect.

You also control how much you take on at one time. Especially at the new year we want instant transformation. We want all our changes done at once. But, we know that is not how life works. We don’t have the time or energy for that.

Questions for Change

So what will your 1-4 projects be for now?

How can you make your life slightly better that is in your control?

What do you need to surrender and let go of so you have more time and energy?

***

Photo by Torne

I hope you all had wonderful holidays of whatever you celebrated.

And now there may be a mess. It took awhile to set Christmas up, so don’t make yourself do all the clean up in one day. Too often we are in such a hurry to undo it, things get put away carelessly. Then next year you have broken decorations or you can’t find what you need. So this year let’s do it thankfully and slowly.

The first thing is the presents. Everyone wants to get into them right away, so we have a rule in the house – thank you notes must be written before you use or play with your present. Plus if you didn’t clear out before (or even if you have for extra decluttering) we do the one in, one out rule. I got some cozy pajama bottoms from my daughter so let go of the pajama bottoms with the frayed hem. One book in, one book out.

We throw wrapping paper into a bag as we unwrap, but if there are still wrappings laying around, now is the time to take care of them.

Unpack the suitcase. If you went out of town, don’t let the suitcase hang out for the next month. Usually I take care of it that day, but this time I left it out in the living room. So, that is my job for today.

How is the kitchen? Does it need some TLC? Do you need to buy more baking goods or pantry items? Are all the holiday dishes washed? Prepare a meal plan to use up the leftovers. Freeze leftovers and cookies you don’t think you will eat on time.

Next I look at the wrapping paper – do I need any wrapping items? Last year I didn’t have to buy anything, but it looks like this year I need to get wrapping paper, to/from labels and Christmas cards. So, I’ll go out today or tomorrow for the sales then pack it all away.

We add addresses to our Christmas address book from the Christmas card envelopes. I also note anyone new that sent a card to add to the list. Then I put the cards into a file folder. Once a week, I take out a card and either send a letter or a Facebook note to know I am thinking about them throughout the year.

Since we’ve done all the gift purchases, we can donate all the catalogs. You can also let go of the holiday issues of magazines.

We don’t have one, but if you do here’s how to clean up the fireplace after the holidays.

Donate winter coats, kid’s holiday dresses that won’t fit next year, boots. Recycle or give away boxes. Use my declutter calendar for decluttering throughout the year. And this year’s Declutter Group begins January 22, 2018.

Dry clean your holiday clothes so they are ready for next year. Then put them in a little used closet. You can also pack up the holiday jewelry and accessories, decluttering as you go.

We usually wait to put away Christmas decorations until after Epiphany. This year it’s January 6th. As we put decorations away we declutter in the process. Play music to make it fun. Make sure all boxes are labeled for next year and the lights are not tangled. We no longer do a tree, but if your live tree is losing needles it’s time to recycle. We don’t have tons of decorations up, but if you like to do that, you can break up your de-decorated into mini-sessions.

May your January be spacious!

For those not on my newsletter list, the 2018 Declutter Calendar is now ready

https://www.mysimplerlife.com/declutter-calendar

As many of you know my Mom was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer recently. Another friend is fostering two young ones. One is struggling with chronic illness. Another has a foreign student living with them that they are helping with English to get into the local college. There are accidents, little ones underfoot, a heavy work schedule.

How does one organize and simplify when life gets chaotic? You simplify for the life you are living now. Not the ideal life where you have more time, things never go wrong, and you have plenty of energy. There is probably not going to be a three-hour chunk of time for you to re-organize the pantry or weed your whole garden.

The life you are living right now is real life and no cleaning fairy is going to come in and rescue you. So think in smaller chunks and fewer projects. What are the 1-2 most pressing needs in your home? What is causing the most stress or time loss?

Now when this week can you put a 5 minutes here or there for your project? Is it portable like papers or planning you can do during waiting time?

Looking at your list what can you cross off, delegate, put off for another week? It doesn’t all have to get done now and probably wouldn’t even if it’s on your list. But, you will feel more stressed if there is a lot more on your list than you can do in a normal week.

Finally, practice scanning as you go about your day. Are there things from this room that can go into the next room? Is there something in the closet you can declutter as you get dressed? Can you write down what you ate this past week so you have a menu if you don’t have time for menu planning? Can you put more bills on automatic payment? Are you actually finished with the task you are doing or did you get sidetracked?

You can do this a little at a time. 15 minutes a day is 91 hours a year.

***

Photo by Emily May

Need help breaking a project down? Join the Pleasant Project class.

I proceeded on this project as I tell you – small steps, sometimes just 15 minutes of writing or editing or formatting. I checked in with my accountability partner. I got support from a writer’s group and took a writing retreat. It took over two years, but it is now done (well the e-book version. Paperback is coming soon.)

What project are you working on that needs some nudging?

Decluttering the easier, less stressful way

What if your decluttering didn’t have to be done in 7 days like the magazines say or completed in a weekend makeover? What if you allowed yourself to do it a little at a time? What if it was easier and less stressful?

http://bit.ly/declutterhabit

I saw this really cute basket at Target today. I didn’t know what I was going to do with it, but the brown wicker made me smile. Then I put it down. I’ve learned that a brief smile from something doesn’t mean I should take it home.

It can be fun discovering a pretty little thing from Target for your home or uncovering something at a garage sale. Finding a great outfit at a sale price gives a charge. But, the thing is – the feeling doesn’t last.

What is left is maintaining what you bought, decluttering when you’ve bought too much and being attached to stuff.

It’s so much easier to live out our dreams when we aren’t tethered to possessions.

Is that initial adrenaline buzz of the buy worth it?