Throw Out Fifty Things

This book, Throw Out Fifty Things by Gail Blanke, was surprisingly great.  I chose it (from the NC digital library) expecting a book with tips on how to declutter and organize your house, and the first half of the book did address that, but it was the second half of the book that was more impactful.  These are some notes I took while I was reading and some of the author's advice that stuck with me:

- Throw out things that weigh you down or make you feel bad, like a paper you got a poor grade on, a shirt from an old job you didn't like, etc.  Keep only the things that you need, that you love, and that fit with the person you want to be.

- Throw out the thoughts that pigeonhole you into being a certain type of person (I'm the shy type, I'm not a morning-person type, etc.).

- Throw out needing to be right about things.  Ask yourself: Would I rather be right about this, or would I rather have a great long-term relationship with this person?  Instead say: You're right.  I totally get where you're coming from.  Then give your opinion.

- Throw out the need to have everyone like you.  Some of the greatest people in history were controversial and not liked by everyone.

- Throw out negative interpretations of events.  There are few facts in life.. most of what occupies our thoughts are interpretation of those facts.  Blanke writes, "This is your life, you know.  Not some movie you're watching.  You get to decide how it all turns out.  You get to make it up.  So make it up good."  She advises people to decide what they want and then no matter what happens, you should assign a positive interpretation to the situation.  How much energy have you spent worrying yourself or making yourself unhappy with negative interpretations of events?  Let go of negative interpretations.

- Throw away waiting for the right moment.  This is the life you get to live.  Do what it is you want to do right now.

- Throw away the need to feel secure.  Blanke writes, "Let go of needing guarantees that your lives will evolve according to the plan you devised decades ago.  Given half a chance, your life will evolve into something better than anything you could have imagined- even in your wildest dreams."  Take chances and have adventures.  "Most of the greatest possibilities in our lives are not currently on our radar screens."

- After you've thrown out all of the physical and mental clutter in your life, come up with a vision for yourself and do what it takes to get there.  For example, the author says she has a vision of running down the beach holding the hands of her grandchildren.  So, she gets up early to run around the park, eats healthy, keeps an optimistic attitude, and "throws out" (or eliminates from her life) things like potato chips, getting worked up about little things, etc. to keep her heart healthy enough that she'll be able to do that one day when she has grandchildren.

- Finally, Blanke recommends coming up with a song that makes you feel unstoppable and singing it regularly.

2016 Book Count: 13

5 Days to a Clutter-Free House

I found this book (5 Days to a Clutter-Free House by Sandra Felton and Marsha Sims) on the North Carolina Digital Library, which is probably my new favorite thing.  All you need is the number off your regular library card and your 4-digit pin number (many libraries  recommend the last four digits of your phone number- so try that if you forgot yours).  The selection isn't amazing, but you can definitely find something to read!

I wasn't too impressed with this book.  I felt like the first half of it could be summarized in about a paragraph, but the second half of the book had a few good tips.

Basically, the authors recommend gathering together a group of people (2 people per room of your house if possible) and focus on clearing surfaces, using body benchmarks.  Day 1 is feet to knees, day 2 is knees to shoulders, day 3 is shoulders to the ceiling, day 4 is reserved for inside cupboards and cabinets, and day 5 is for storage areas like a garage or shed.  As you go through clearing surfaces, everything gets put into those neat little white cardboard storage boxes, labeled with where you found the stuff and where it goes.  For example, a box might be labeled "Papers from coffee table in living room- going to office" or "Shoes from dining room- going to master bedroom."  At the end of each day, you take the boxes to the room in which they ultimately belong and neatly stack them against the wall.  Later, the homeowner, will go through the boxes, either putting each item where it "lives" in the house, putting it in a pile to donate, or putting it in a "maybe" box.. which will have to be sorted through eventually.  When the initial work crew goes through the house, any obvious trash can be discarded, but "likely trash" stuff should be put in a box labeled trash for the homeowner to make ultimate decisions about.  So, obvious trash would be things like gum wrappers and used paper plates.  "Likely trash" might be something like a broken toy.

That's really the meat of the first half of the book, in a nutshell.  Most of the book was meant to be inspirational rather than strictly practical.  The second half of the book gives tips for sorting through those white boxes and keeping your house from getting cluttered again.

2016 Book Count: 6