Without Dash

In the past week (or over the next few months for those who have a lot to declutter) you have made the basis of a simple life. A simple life means getting rid of everything that is not worthwhile having so you have more time and space to enjoy the things that give you value. Don’t you want that?
Simplifying life can be explained simply by identifying with is important to you and eliminating everything else. Of course, some people do not find that simplifying is very simple. This post will explain it a little more. (only a little, because the topic of simplifying your life could be a whole new week of posts, or even a whole new blog)

If you have followed Without Dash the last week and decluttered your house, you have done the largest part already. Now your house does not have all that stuff that you need to clean, store, move, organize, wade through and step over, all that is left now is keeping it this way. And if your house was really cluttered before you started this, it means that you have to make a few changes in your life. I like to say: “There is enough in your life that you cannot control, so the least you can do bring order where possible”.

Commitments.
Besides the physical clutter that we have cleaned up, there can still be a lot of clutter in the form of commitments, appointments and habits. If you find that you are always busy, but are not achieving anything with it, it is time to eliminate commitment clutter.

Go through every commitment that you have, from work, home, kids, family, religious lives, sports, hobbies, charity and what more. Everything might seem important at this point and you will feel inclined to cut a few hobbies instead of the charity, but fact is that you have to learn to say no to others. The best way to decide which commitments should go is to set a goal or priorities for yourself. What is the most important thing in the world to you? Or what do you want to achieve in the next year, or five years. Drop things that are not important to you or for reaching your goal. It might sound a bit harsh to you, but you have to make commitments to yourself and that means disappointing others sometimes.

Routines and Systems.
The key to keeping your life simple and uncluttered is routines. If you do everything according to a daily or weekly routine instead of randomly, life will be a lot less chaotic and more peaceful. When you create routines, start with a single activity and slowly add more.

Set a few rules for yourself and learn to live by them, like always to the dishes after a meal, or always throw even the slightest piece of trash and not waiting for it to pile up, or always wipe the sink after use, etc. Living with routines will keep your house tidy and saves you time.

Use lists to organize your life; shopping lists, to-do lists, etc. This way you declutter your mind and will cope better with all the things that you do need to do in a day. It also saves you from forgetting tasks and wasting time on making detours.

Habits.
Then, I should mention habits. There are many habits that make our homes and lives much more complicated than is necessary. With the change of some habits that you have been living with for no good reason, we can make big changes.

Change your buying behavior. Now that your house is uncluttered, keep it this way. Do not buy stuff that you do not need. If you buy something as a replacement, throw away the old item and replace it, not just add the new one. Ask yourself with every purchase if you really need it. Or wait 10 days before you buy it. You will see that often you have forgotten about it already.

Minimize your media intake. People waste a lot of time and energy on watching television, reading magazines and papers, chatting online, etc. Stop watching soap opera (or stop watching TV altogether). Also minimize reading/watching news. Follow what is important to you and let go of all the tabloid style news that you cannot change and does not affect you. You cannot carry all the sorrow of the world and while you should not close your eyes for all that is going on, you do not need to keep up with the latest of everything.

Disconnect yourself sometimes from phone/fax/e-mail and internet. Limit the number of times for checking your email in a day. And even in the 21st century it is OK if you are not immediately and directly available to everyone. Leave your cell phone at home while you walk the dog, or do not bring your laptop on a holiday.

Take time for yourself to be alone, to be quiet, to be grateful, to reflect on your day/your life, to re-organize your mind.

Simple living might seem very restricting to some of you, but it really isn’t. Do not worry about missing out on something. You might not have so many gadgets and trinkets in your house, you might not be up to date about the latest episodes of a soap opera, you might not know the latest gossip of the town, but you will feel so much more liberated and so much more alive!

It is time to start living your own life and do not let all the clutter control it.

Tags: declutter