Simple September Goal: Accomplish Less!

Nothing quite makes me happy like throwing things out. I'm not so much an organizer as I am just a purger. What's this doohickey? Gone. We haven't replaced the batteries in this thing for three months? Toss it. Sometimes I think I could easily live in one of those tiny houses where all I own is a bowl, a hot plate, and a pair of running shoes.

And fall weather - even the brief flashes of it that we get down here - always gives me a burst of renewed energy that put my purging gene into overdrive. Just this morning I ran out of exfoliating stuff for my face and tossed the container into the trash thinking, "Ahhh! One less thing!" 

Decluttering to me is really just prioritizing. Choosing one thing to keep over another to throw out - whether they be physical objects or mental burdens - clears the way for what is really important to us.

I'm keeping September simple, and that means prioritizing my physical and mental world. As I run out of things and toss the package out, they are not necessarily being replaced. Those peanut butter crackers I bought my son for an after school snack? He didn't love them, so they're gone. The last two pairs of running shoes that I kept well past their expiration date? In the trash. 

Tossing out the physical and mental stuffin your way makes September simple!
Image by Keattikorn at www.freedigitalphotos.net

Mental space gets a clean sweep, too. Each day I make a to-do list, split it into three columns - must happen today, must happen this week, and nice to have - and then promptly cross out about half of it. Only things that relate specifically to my most pressing issues of the day get my energy, and the rest can wait. If something is crossed out more than a few times in a row, I ask myself:

1. Why am I still writing this down? Do I need to do it? Or do I want to do it? If its simply a want, it may get moved to next week. 

2. What will happen if I do not accomplish this? If worlds are not going to collide in anarchy, I ditch it. I very rarely regret that decision!

Many people organize and prioritize in order to get more done and be more efficient. In Simple September, my goal is to get less done. Because there is less to do. Because I am being very, very picky about where I put my energy.

A decluttered house and life is healthier, too:

• We think more clearly when we are organized and have easy access to the tools we need to do our work. 
• We feel a greater sense of accomplishment when we achieve goals that are meaningful to us, rather than ones we feel obligated to do. 
• And, the therapeutic rewards of letting go of physical objects can increase happiness and decrease stress.

Get out there and get healthy today, by doing less!