Follow with Action
“You
cannot change anything in your life with intention alone, which can
become a watered-down, occasional hope that you'll get to tomorrow.
Intention without action is useless.”
Caroline
Myss
Some
friends of mine have read the book by Marie Kondo, The
Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering
and Organizing. To the person, they say, “It has changed
my life,” so I guess it lives up to its title. As for me, I'm
attempting to do the tidying-up without reading the book, so I
annoyingly check in with one of them to see what comes next on the
to-do list. So far, I have addressed clothes closets and drawers,
books and jewelry. Last night, I took one of the drawers from the
kitchen—you know, the one that is the catch-all for whatever is on
the counter when company is coming. The one you always think you'll
get to later. Oh, lord! What a mess! I spent over an hour sorting and
bagging and separating keep, from give-away, from throw away. All
from one small drawer.
How
does this happen? How is it that we humans collect the detritus of
decades? I was searching for a car title a couple of weeks ago and
found a file that held the appliance warranties—from 1987! What!
And, God forbid you've cleaned out your parents' home, because all
that stuff you just couldn't get rid of at the time is now staring
you in the face! All my dad's map-making tools are in my basement,
along with my sons' stuffed toys, and kindergarten art. I guess I was
planning to set up a museum in their honor.
I don't know about you, but I
can become immobilized by clutter. I can stand in the middle of it
and turn in circles wondering what to do first, where to begin. So
I've devised a plan to take one small area per day—like the
drawer—and do that, rather than confront a whole room. It handles
the “overwhelmed” factor.
As
I'm hauling away what has so far amounted to several car-loads of
boxes and bags, I'm pondering what this says about my tendency to
gather things around me that I don't need, and mostly, will never
use. Why do I have such a hard time throwing things away? What is the
best way to get rid of such things as old, used screws and hinges
without having a neurotic fit about polluting the Earth? What to do
with old cabinet pulls that didn't work with the new decor? Such are
the questions of life-changing magic. My intention is to figure it
out, and to follow that up with action. I hope your day is
uncluttered.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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