Staying clutter free and living light is really is all about good ‘ole arithmetic – easy as 1, 2, 3. And by arithmetic I mean aiming to keep things at zero, level ground, even-steven.
Of course, you do need to do the work of getting clutter free. You need to purge. You need to question and decide and let go. And then you need to keep up with it.
Here is where your second grade math will come in handy.
Those who know me well know that math wasn’t my favorite subject in school. I can add the easy stuff but don’t give me any complex arithmetic problem if your life is dependent on it. It won’t be pretty.
But regardless of how well you did in Math as a youngster, the good news for you as an adult is that you don’t ever have to call upon any kind of complex math in your quest to stay clutter free.
When it comes to maintaining order the arithmetic is simple.
And it’s an easy concept to grasp: If you consistently let in more than you let out you will get buried….period. As Peter Walsh says, staying clutter free is about simple math. Add in one thing, subtract one thing, and you stay on level ground.
You might be buried right now because you let in 2 or 3 and never tossed, recycled, gifted the same amount.
Here is how you can make staying on even ground easier.
Purge. Lighten your load now so when you receive this holiday season or for your upcoming birthday you have room for your new goodies. Purging in general forces you to look at what you have and make sure you still like, need and use what you have.
Say no — to gifts you don’t like, need, or use. It’s not easy but if you focus on living your life (and not doing or keeping things out of guilt) you might find you’ll be happier. You’ll be lighter, for sure, perhaps in more ways than one.
Question. This goes along with saying no. Instead of accepting more because of guilt, or buying more because of an often-times misguided idea of need, question your motives. This goes for everything you let into your home.
Put things back where they belong! Put files in the office, food in the kitchen, clothes in the bedroom. Trash what is trash; recycle what is recycle. Doing this makes it easier to see what you have (and hopefully realize that you have enough!), and prevent you from adding more to the mix – unnecessarily.
Be honest with yourself, and be sure everything you let into your home has a home and a purpose.
And just do the math: don’t bring in more than you take out.
Simple. Easy as 1, 2, 3.
