Declutter Mind and Declutter home

Wednesday2000

I just read a book called Chatter by Ethan Kross. It has tools on how to manage your internal (often negative) chatter in your mind. There is a podcast with Dr Rangan Chatterjee on YouTube too with the author. I just listened to it on my walk.

I have written out the main tools and I might put it somewhere in my house where I can see it to use when I notice my ruminations are getting control of me.

I did do some decluttering today and threw some unwanted and useless stuff away. We are going to repaint our living room this week so I'm looking at what we can rid of when I am thinking about moving the furniture around to paint.

3secondmemory

Siebrie said:

My 3-item lists are only for that day; I throw it away at the end, and start a new one the next day. If any item is important enough, it will recur, if it isn't on the list again, than that tells me something, too.

My items always have a noun and a verb 'sow bean seeds', 'call Auntie X', 'replace bulb'. If I just put 'bulb', I have to remember the action, and that takes energy and brain space I don't have, and defeats the purpose of the list: getting my brain on paper.

BTW: I never knew this was NLP, I figured this out by myself, for myself.

Just as we have negative triggers, we have positive ones too 😃

TC77

@Wednesday2000 thanks I'll look out the chatter book and interview. Someone told me there is alot more on headspace  these days and there's a free app medito  I think. 
@3secondmemory I like the verb idea , I think I do that sometimes, and break task down aoni might have find and write card and then post card. 
I like Andrew mellen , the American organiser who refer to the stories  we tell ourselves about stuff and that clutter is deferred decisions.  
Anything off our minds or out the house is helpful.  Take care and stay safe everyone.

Siebrie

Husband is leaving for his homecountry in 2 weeks' time. He is buying a truck for a friend (friend has already sent money) and friend has allowed us to fill it with the stuff we want to send to husband's family. I'm so happy, because that's half the stuff in the attic! Whenever husband goes to his homecountry by plane, he takes 46kg of stuff with him, but it gets replaced in the attic quickly, and it's never the major items like a stereo set or boom boxes (yeah, I'm not too happy about those either, but he claims his relatives will be over the moon). He will also take basic food items with him, so that he doesn't have to rely on others to prep his meals for him. His relatives and neighbours cook on open fire (think: small bonfires), and he just doesn't have the knack anymore, and it's not worth cooking like that for just 1 person. Anyway, he'll be gone for 10 weeks, and I'm taking it as a trial run to see how well DDs and I cope with it being just the 3 of us.

TC77

@Siebrie , will be thinking of you and hope the 10 weeks go well. Take care of yourself and your daughters. 

Siebrie

While cleaning the house, and clearing out the attic, I found some items of value (limited, but still), but don't have the time and energy to sell them. My father has offered to do it for me, so I will take the items to my parents' when DDs and I go visit them this long weekend.

helensbiggestfan

Wednesday. Thanks for the recommendation about Chatter by Ethan Kross.  I've listened to a couple of podcasts.  I think I will order the book.  

I've been doing quite a bit of "thought clearing" and I'm now ready to follow through with some more decluttering. I have decided I am going to get rid of several items of furniture. Make the rooms look more spacious and airy.  getting there slowly but surely.  

Siebrie

I have cleared out 1 small drawer, and it does me so much good! I feel lighter It just contained stupid stuff, but I never got round to putting it in its proper places, and now all the stuff is where it's supposed to be and the drawer is almost empty. There is a second drawer underneath it, which I will tackle this week.

TC77

BarbCh and others here wanted to say hi and hope everyone is coping with life. Some events over the last few weeks have focused my mind on what is really important and physical declutter lower down priorities with mental health and our minds top. 
 Hugs to all, take care of yourselves xx

Siebrie

Everytime I walk through the house I pick up something to put it in (or on its way to) its proper place. Surprisingly often, the proper place is the bin or the donate box . I'm really happy with all the stuff going out, and having the space to clean properly. My home and my life are definitely too cluttered; I like simple, lots of routines, no-thinking about standard procedures, time to think ahead, to process what's going on, to have time to prioritise other than 'oh !!!!!!, I forgot!'.

I had a stern chat with dds as to the mess they make and expect me to clear up. DD1 (who's almost 13!) opened a new bottle of lemonade, which spilled over her fingers and on the table, she didn't wipe it and touched everything in the house, it seems; it's sticky everywhere! I have re-instated the 15-minute end-of-day clear-up/clean-up. Reprimanding dds takes a lot of my energy, every time I have to do it during the day, I go to bed 15 minutes earlier. Some nights I'm in bed at 9.... This needs to improve, they shouldn't need reprimanding so often, they are 10 and 12. I'm honestly trying to compliment them into compliance, but sometimes I just don't have the energy.