Organising: Part 2

(Part 1 of my de-cluttering action plan can be found here)

Last night, I looked up from the frugal & simple living websites to this sight outside. I get lovely sunset pictures from my bedroom window.

I had a glass of wine while debating my menu ideas for University. I move back to Brighton in mid-September and yesterday I suddenly had another urge to purge my room of things that don’t make me smile and plan ahead. Perhaps it’s the fact I’m a year older than I was this time last week; perhaps it’s because I know I now have 6-7 weeks without my partner and want to keep busy or focus on self-improvement.

Half-way through decluttering desk.

Either way, I started the tidying. I forgot to take a “before” picture; so here’s the “half-way through” photograph. Each of those bundles is a pile.. Give Away, Recycle, Keep but has no home, Discard & Put Away (has a home).

In a similar vein, I’ve been checking out some frugal food/declutter/live simple blogs and here’s my current list of useful resources:

http://www.lazyorganizer.com/blog/

http://christinekane.com/blog/

http://www.organizedlifebydesign.com/?page_id=47

http://simplemom.net

http://www.afreshspace.com/organizing/

http://www.organizingyourway.net

http://simplenest.net/

http://smallnotebook.org/

Yes, everything from menu planning to teaching your kids to declutter, back to making your bedroom a haven, how to have a frugal Christmas and testimonies over brilliant list systems.

I’ve been especially taken by the No Spend Month featured at Small Notebook and wonder if I can use some of their tips to work on my own budget.

A few week back, in an attempt to plan and organize myself, I made an iGoogle page and set it to my homepage where I set up a widget for each priority in my life, including:

* A Buddhist Quote of the Day

* A Dictionary.com Word of the Day

* A To-Do list to act as an ideas post-it-note

* A –write anything down here jotter- section

* A Clock & Calendar function

* A reminder of exercise plans/programs

* A number game to keep my mathematics skills sharp

As per usual, that’s too many focuses at once and I’ve not done much with any of them. This highlights what we see as a common pattern in my behaviour; trying to tackle too much at once.

My top three priorities for now are Health, Patience and Delight. That means eating healthily (healthier than now, anyway), taking moments to be present & aware, & gratitude/appreciative practices.

The next step, according to most sources I’ve read is to make these things attainable with smaller goals such as:

1. Grow herbs and use some once a week in cooking.
2. Set a timer and once it goes off, stop what you’re doing and be present. Repeat. Do this at least once a day.
3. Get back into the habit of gratitude lists. Write out 10 things you’re grateful for, once a week. After 2 weeks, up this to twice a week.
4. If you complete i. congratulate yourself. Make flapjacks, have a glass of wine or give yourself thirty minutes to do nothing/paint/draw.

I’ve started reading my birthday presents (58 & 59), so other books (except for The Sight) are on hold. I’ve got a deadline to finish The Consolations of Philosophy (45) as a friend wants to borrow it, and I’ll be getting new reading material when I return to University.
I also have some paperwork to deal with, which over the past 3 nights have caused me to lose about 8 hours of sleep. I was gazing at the ceiling at 4am, having been yawning since 1:30am when I settled down to sleep.

I need to find a way of seriously sitting down to read again; else I’m not going to manage this challenge around work, packing, de-cluttering and teaching myself the biology of the brain.

~Rose.

Tags: Books, Organising, Simplicity, Student Life