Cold Blooded On Clutter

Are you drowning in useless doo-dads? Can you see the top of your desk?It's great to have the human touch… to be understanding, loving and kind. But save that for people because that’s not the approach that wins with clutter.

With clutter you have to be cold blooded, unemotional and strict. It's so easy to accumulate things…and so hard to let them go. I might wear it. I might need it. It might come in handy. It has sentimental value. Emotions drive you to hang on, keep this, keep that. As a result clutter builds, silently compounding, never going away.

So what’s the problem? 

Clutter eventually kills. It's an enemy. It kills your space, it kills your room to move. It crowds out the more important things. Clutter has to go.

Eventually you realize you must eliminate it

 …eliminate the unnecessary to have plenty of room for the important.  But its so hard because you are emotionally attached. So get your emotions under control. Be cold blooded, unemotional and ask yourself…

• Have I worn these in the last year? 
• Have I used this in the last year?
• Haven’t I kept this useless Christmas or birthday present around long enough?
• If I really need one of these couldn’t I just go down to the store and get one?

It gets easier

Soon you’ll find it easier and easier to toss things as your rational mind starts to  evaluate how really important these things really are.

Here’s a trick I use. Throw things out in stages.

Something you couldn’t bear to part with last week will be easier to toss this week. Make this a steady and regular part of your routine so it doesn’t build up again.

You are constantly bringing things into your house aren’t you? Well, it will fill right back up again if you don’t regularly throw things out.  There’s a lot of pride in having the trash all taken out, so do the same with clutter.

And remember, the less clutter, the more room for some more new good stuff!

How do you keep clutter under control? 

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 To next post, "One Hopes, One Fights"

TMI

Too Much 

Too Much Information (TMI) stands for information overload that goes past telling you what you need to know and keeps on giving you more more more information that just creates brain clutter. A little is good, too much shuts you down.

Just the time please

It's like the old story of the man who asked someone for the time and they proceeded to tell him how to make a watch.

Clutter leads to confusion

Brain Clutter confuses and paralyzes you into a full stop. You don’t know what to choose, what to do or when to do it. Everything in life has become a buffet of choices. Its wonderful but its also confusing.

Smart companies narrow the choices

When you go to buy something its easy to chose between 3 models. You compare, choose and buy. On the other hand if they show you 10 options you get lost in the blizzard of facts and features and just go home. A little information helps you choose, too much information keeps you from choosing.

You mean it’s not because my kid is a genius?

Its why 2-4 yr old kids can be so smart, win any argument, seem to remember everything that happens—of course they can, there is not a lot of clutter in their heads yet, fogging up their brain confusing their thoughts.

Nothing works

That’s also why too much of the wrong kind of education can be a bad thing. 

The joke is that if you have a… 

…High school diploma you know 1 way things can’t work.

    …College degree you know 2 ways things can’t work

        …Master’s degree you know 3 ways things can’t work

           And if you get a PhD you’ll know nothing can work.

Just enough and not a drop more

Remember this when you are learning something new or if you are teaching and training others, a little knowledge frees them up but too much shuts them down.

Its like eating, all you need is enough to get you to your next meal…

Anything extra is going to create problems and shut you down.