Outer Calm Brings Inner Peace!!!

As you may have read in my recent post I am a big fan of Peter Walsh's book "It's All Too Much". I have found the process of decluttering our home so cleansing and I am loving our new, uncluttered way of life! We certainly aren't hoarders and didn't have a lot of junk compared to many people, but I was amazed at how much stuff we had that we really didn't need or want. Having extra stuff around you really does affect the way that you feel and clutters your head space. As Peter says "it's not about the stuff"! It is about how that stuff makes you feel and you may not even know that it is affecting you.

Our home and sheds are now well and truly decluttered and the 3 ute loads to the rubbish tip, 2 loads to the charity shop and 1 load to my Uncle's house are a fantastic testament to that. My Hubby thinks I am ridiculous but I really do love going to the rubbish tip. Throwing our rubbish into the big pit is so freeing! I also love the space that clearing our junk has left. I have been able to organise the items remaining in a much more efficient way which I have enjoyed. I actually like opening my cake tin cupboard now as it only contains my neatly stacked everyday tins. My collection of special occasion tins are now stacked on the designated kitchen shelf in my now rather empty laundry cupboards.

Now that we are officially decluttered I am "on guard" and have the task of ensuring that our house and lives remain uncluttered. I do this by spending several minutes each night clearing my hot spot basket and I also do it by being on guard throughout each day. I just won't let clutter into our home. Here are some of the ways I guard against clutter (and protect my cleared head space :-)):

* I visit the outside recycling bin after collecting the mail each day. I only bring genuine, important mail into the house (minus extra paper, junk mail and envelopes). I deal with the mail straight away or place it in my hot spot basket (pictured below) to be dealt with in the evening when I have more time. I also keep school notes, my menu plan and my list of jobs to do in this basket.

* I do a load of washing each day and on the days when we are home in the mornings I clear the basket of hand washing too. Flylady says a load a day keeps the chaos away and she is certainly right. It is a great habit for me to get into as when I am working more next year my weekends won't be taken up with washing. My hubby built a brilliant undercover clothes line on the veranda of our little guest cottage (see below) and I hang the washing up there on rainy days. I really love the undercover line as I don't like using my dryer too much and also don't like having washing hanging around inside on airers. I fold the washing and put it away in the late afternoon while the thermomix cooks our tea.

* My car is emptied completely now every time I go anywhere. I have a little rubbish bag in it which I empty weekly. I give the car a quick 5 minute clean once a week (and it is only 5 minutes). I shake the mats, wipe the dash with a damp cloth and run around the car with the dust buster. I love having a clean, uncluttered car.

* When I bring shopping into the house I deal with it straight away. Yesterday we came home from a shopping trip with two birthday presents. I filed the receipts and wrapped the presents straight away. I placed them into my "temporary visa tub" ready to be taken to birthday parties over the weekend. I don't need to think about them again as they are ready to go. They are not sitting around on the bench for a couple of days cluttering my head space. My temporary visa tub is my place for storing things that don't need a permanent home like library books, items that need returning to people and birthday presents.

* When I am out clothes shopping I choose new items carefully. I remember the stack of bobbly acrylic jumpers that I recently threw away and don't want to buy any more "disposable clothes" that look terrible after only a couple of washes. I am now saving for a beautiful hand knitted wool jumper that I spotted at a handicraft market recently.

* I now menu plan each week (amazing for me I know) and make sure that I am using up all fresh produce before buying more. I am also making a conscious effort to use up older and specialty items in my pantry and freezer. Having a clean, uncluttered pantry and freezer sure does make life easier.

* I continue to use my thermomix for almost all of my cooking which keeps my kitchen very uncluttered. I rarely use any other benchtop appliances aside from the toaster and kettle. I am still amazed at my little machines ability to cook complete meals with so little washing up. Often I only have a knife and chopping board to place in the dishwasher alongside the thermomix. Below is a photo of my kitchen just before dinner time. As you can see it is utter chaos :-). The thermomix is cooking a meat dish in the bowl and steaming some vegetables in the varoma on top. Some steamed rice is keeping warm in the insulated thermoserve container.

I'm sure many of you will think I have seriously lost the plot with all of my decluttering but all I can say is try it! Even with just ten minutes decluttering each day you will be surprised with how much lighter you will start to feel. Your family will notice and feel blessed with the changes that you have made in your home also. xox