Tuesday's Tip - Decluttering

If you read last week's post on aligning your environment and got bogged down in the decluttering process, then hopefully, today's post can help you to remove the clutter and align your environment with your goals.

STARTING

1.  Figure out how much time you wish to spend on decluttering

2.  Decide what you want your place to look like once it's clutter-free

3.  Figure out what the source of the clutter is.  Is it from items that you're buying and collecting?  Unused gifts that people are giving you?  An overdose of retail therapy?

4.  Decide how much is manageable for you or your space right now.  Perhaps you're OK with reducing your dishware, excess electronics and old clothes but you hedge at giving away your CDs.  Instead of depleting your CD collection, decide on a "reduction" number that is manageable for you and that truly feels as if you're making progress on decluttering.  On the other hand, you can accept that right now you're not ready to part with your CDs while you are willing to remove other items from your life.

DOING

1.  Select a room, area or theme to your decluttering process.  (By theme, I mean, you may have an excess of T-shirts or decorated soaps that you want to remove from your space)

2.  If you choose a room, focus on one task at a time.  If you skitter from one part of the room to the next, it's going to be hard to see the progress that you're making; however,  if you focus on one area/theme then it's easier to stay inspired and to see  your progress.

3.  If while decluttering you feel overwhelmed and berate yourself or others for the clutter, then pause, take a deep breath and congratulate yourself for taking action on the clutter.  Better to applaud your current action then to criticize yourself for your past behavior.

4.  This tip contradicts #2 but if you're getting discouraged with the progress you're making on one area, then shift  your focus to an area that's easier to declutter.  Once you're inspired by your accomplishment in that area then use that inspiration to energize you for the harder to declutter spots.

5.  Have patience.  As with gaining weight, it probably didn't take 3 days for the clutter to build up so it may take a month or more for the clutter to be removed.  The important thing is to be consistent with your decluttering process.

6.  Take a pic.  Some time ago, I read this tip in a book on organizing your space.  Essentially, if you're having difficulty removing an item because of sentimental reasons, you can take a photo of it as a keepsake.  This tip may sound a bit strange but it gives you a way to release the item while you still have something to remember it by.  For myself, the idea of taking a photo of a cherished item is enough to cause  me to relinquish it. 

7.  The holding zone.  For items that you find it hard to make a decision on, you can box them away to see if you should later need the item..  You should put a date on your calendar when you'll donate the box if that's what you decide to do.  Ideally, you're supposed to give away the unopened box once its expiration date is up.  I've had so-so success with this in that items which I've kept in the holding zone suddenly gain some  value for me and ease their way back into my wardrobe/onto my bookshelf. 

8.  Removing.  The choice is yours as to how you want to remove your clutter.  Selling, donating, recycling and re-using are all possibilities.

MAINTAINING

1.  Decide on a monthly, quarterly or yearly schedule of decluttering.

2.  Figure out what new habits, you'll establish to curtail the clutter.  Will you use the something-in, something-out approach?  Will you limit your monthly purchases of a certain item?  What daily or weekly habit will you adopt to keep the your space reasonably free of clutter?

Tuesday's Tip - Environmental Alignment

Langley Collyer
source:  wikipedia.org (New York Public Library)

Yesterday, I did a show on environmental alignment called "Creating A Success Environment" you can listen to here to learn of how you can align your physical environment to support your goals.  Below are 6 tips on creating a success environment.

1. Awareness - For a few days, become aware of your home/work environment and see how it’s affecting your goals. Are you always looking for an ink pen that works or searching for a needed form? Is it easier for you to grab a bag of potato chips than a piece of fruit?  Develop awareness of what is and is not working in your environment.

2. Declutter - Donate, recycle, reuse, or throw away whatever you aren’t using. Declutter one room or area at a time. If you only have time to declutter your pocket, purse or briefcase, then do that. Be patient and focus on one area when decluttering.  The aim is to make the decluttering process manageable with the other demands on your time.

3. Simplify - Challenge yourself and see how you can place items in a more accessible or logical area for your activities. Can you put items in a more convenient place?  Where needed, decrease multiples. You may need only a dozen bath towels in your house instead of 30.

4. To Buy - Determine what you need to buy, if anything, to support your goals. Make sure that it’s truly an item that you need. Also, if you’re buying something to replace a broken item, then be sure to discard the old object.

5. Fix it - Fix what needs to be fixed.  If something is halfway working or if a jacket is missing a button, create a list of items that need to be repaired or replaced and plan on getting those items updated.

6. Maintenance - If you’re really in the environmental alignment mood, you can schedule time on a monthly or quarterly basis to assess and improve your environment.

January is National Get Organized Month so I hope that you all have a chance to practice environmental alignment and create an environment which supports your goals.  Please remember that we're all human so some days your place may be less aligned than others but overall strive to create a home/work environment that helps you to make progress and reach your goals whether it's to be healthier, have more calm or earn more money.

After Watching Hoarders

This latest show "Creating A Success Environment" was inspired by my watching of the show Hoarders and January being National Get Organized Month. You can listen at the player below...Happy Monday to all!

Listen to internet radio with ShannonMcQueen on Blog Talk Radio

Tuesday's Tips - Losing the Weight, Finding Yourself Pt. 1 of 3

source:  fotosearch.com

This morning, I figured I'd write a 3 part series on losing weight, especially with the New Year's right around the corner.  Ideally, I'd like to see everyone get off to a fighting start with their New Year's resolution whether it's losing weight, finding that ideal job or moving overseas.
This series will be divided along the following topics:
Mental
Eating
Fitness

So let's plunge into the tips for today.  I'd suggest that if you find a tip that appeals to you, write it down, schedule when you'll implement it and schedule when you'll assess your progress. Otherwise, you can just read this and then move onto your next Internet concern.  (Yes, this is another speaking from personal experience moment.)

OK, here goes:
1.  Background:  Figure out how you got to your current weight.  In this case, consider the mental, dietary and physical reasons.  Have you been eating more brownies or pizza than usual?  Has your work schedule made it difficult for you to workout?  Is this a temporary or long-term weight issue? 

2. Beliefs:  See if you have limiting beliefs that are keeping you at your current weight.  Do you think you can lose weight and actually keep it off?  Do you think that it's painful to lose weight?  Do you believe that you look unhealthy at a smaller size or do you feel less attractive?  Do you think that the only way that you can lose weight is by undergoing an extreme diet of egg whites and skinless chicken?  Is your definition of exercise limited to visits to the gym?

3.  Environment:  Check your physical and social environment.  Is your environment set up to keep you at a higher weight?  Is there a lot of clutter which weighs you down?  Do you have a lot of pastries, chips, or other unhealthy foods around you?  Do you make it habit to grocery shop in the aisles which sell junk food?  If they're accessible, do you visit healthy eating spots during your lunch breaks or blithely pass them by?

4.  Environment - The Scale:  Determine your "relation" to the scale.  Do you obsessively weigh yourself?  Does your mood go up/down according to your weight?

5.  Describe:  Write a brief paragraph describing yourself at your ideal weight.  How will you feel?  Which habits have you eliminated/reduced and which ones have you now added to your life?

5. Visualize:  Daily visualize a healthier, more vibrant you.  Can you imagine yourself at a healthier weight?  How does the thought make you feel?  Do you feel scared, skeptical, enthusiastic?

6.  Relaxing:  Figure out a non-food related relaxation technique that you can adopt.  What do you now do to relax?  Do you know how to relax?  What are some non-eating related actions that you can take to relax?

Hopefully, these tips and questions are helpful.  Just to mention, I'm not a medical professional and as always use your best wisdom with my tips and be sure to consult a medical professional before embarking on a health/fitness program.