Professional Organizer | Clearing Clutter | Motivational Speaker | Salt Lake City, Utah

“You can’t turn back the clock, but you can wind it up again”

—–Bonnie Prudden

I read an article once about an experiment that was tried in a small town.  All the clocks and other time pieces were taken away. It was interesting to see when people were hungry and thought it was time to eat and go to bed with looking at a clock.

Eating for me would be every 2 hours (if that long) if I didn’t look at a clock and say “whoa there, wait a bit before eating again”. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…I love to eat.

Is it time to wind up your clutter control desire now it is spring? Have you had a life event that stopped your clutter control momentum? It could have been illness, depression, visitors, a wedding or a good book that just couldn’t be put down.

I like this thought that we can wind the clock up again—and really, who wants to turn back the clock?

“The mind may be compared to a garden, which it is as necessary to cultivate as any plot of earth, if order and beauty are to be manifested through it. –Marcus Manilius He was a Roman poet

If we want order and beauty in our homes it is necessary to cultivate a desire for clutter control. (Is that a stretch?) I don’t think so.

Before doing any clutter control we have to have a desire for lack of clutter. Depending on what is going on in our lives sometimes it is easier than at other times. And that is o.k. too, a garden doesn’t grow in a day and clutter control doesn’t have to happen all at once. (Aren’t we glad!)

To answer that question—YES. Why is that? Because we get overwhelmed and too tired when we try to tackle everything all at once.

Agree? Disagree?
Do you remember when you would write notes to your girl friend and you would ask a question and then draw boxes with yes or no next to them for her to mark? This reminds me of those notes.

Little know Facts:

Today is Ash Wednesday—-Traditionally, in the days leading up to Lent, merry makers would binge on all the meat, eggs, milk and cheese that remained in their homes, preparing for several weeks of eating only fish and fasting.
In France, the day before Ash Wednesday came to be known as Mardi Gras, or “Fat Tuesday.”
The word “carnival”, another common name for the pre-Lenten festivities, may also derive from this vegetarian-unfriendly custom: in Medieval Latin, carnelevarium means to take away or remove meat.

So what does this have to do with clutter control? Nothing, I just thought it was interesting as I have never understood what Lent means.
That is how many of us are with clutter control. We don’t understand why we have clutter. When we take a look at it and write down what is working and not working for us it becomes easier to practice clutter control.

Things such as:
•Homes for everything
•Not bringing clutter into our homes in the first place
•Not keeping every single thing we are ever given
•Using a planner
What are your favorite ways to practice clutter control?