Maximum Gratitude, Minimal Stuff

You've decided to declutter!  Spring is springing, and your house is feeling crowded, dark, and grubby.  Things are coming alive outside, so why not add some life and energy inside? I'm glad you're here.  Decluttering is one door to a life of freedom, purpose, and contentment.  It's totally worth the time and effort, which can be considerable.  But it's an investment in your happier future, with less stress, more time, and more focus.  Yay for all of that! But I think I should warn you about some of the not-so-great aspects that you're going to discover as you follow this path.  Believe me, the end is worth it, but along the way you're going to be faced with some awful truths. 5 truths you don't want to hear but need to know 1.  Decluttering alone won't automatically change your life. I promise a lot when I talk about decluttering.  And everything I say is true – but it's possible to do a gigantic purge and not get the life change you're loo...

At some point, most of us will relocate.  After all, the average American can expect to move 11.7 times during their lifetime.  That sounds about right to me – I've lived in 15 places over the past 60 years, ten of them since graduating college, in two different states and six communities, ranging from leafy suburbia to densely populated urban areas to a small old town surrounded by rice fields, with a population less than 5,000. And each time I've moved, my family has packed up more possessions than I imagined we owned.  Beds, tables, chairs, rugs, dishes, bicycles, books, and more books.  It would be easier to sell, give away, or even set fire to all of that stuff, and start over from scratch. But I've never done that, so the carefully packed and stacked items have been carried out of each old home and into each new one in order to be arranged, organized, and stored away.  Each item that finds a spot in the new place helps re-create a sense of familiarity and ...

As those of us in the U.S. near the end of this election season, I'm finding it hard to remain positive.  Maybe you're feeling the same. I have no intention of writing about politics or candidates or parties.  It's not going to happen.  But even though I spend minimal time reading about, listening to, or discussing most of the claims made by politicians, it's hard to escape the tirades, fear-mongering, and – unfortunately – outright lies that are publicized over all forms of media all day, every day. It's become ugly, and a bad advertisement for democracy and our supposedly great nation. American ideals All over the world, there are people who long for what the U.S. claims to have, and what was articulated by President Franklin Roosevelt – freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.  They long for what President Barack Obama celebrated in his second inaugural address – a freedom that is not reserved to the lucky, a happiness that...

I think it's a positive choice to remember our mortality.  It may not be something we think about every day, but it shouldn't be something we ignore completely.  It's not only an inevitable part of life, it's part of what gives life meaning.  As Brad Pitt (as Achilles) says in the movie Troy ,* The gods envy us.  They envy us because we're mortal, because any moment might be our last.  Everything is more beautiful because we're doomed. I'm getting ready to celebrate a birthday, and this is a question I want to contemplate.  It seems particularly apropos since I had emergency surgery in February, and have had pneumonia twice.  This has not been a healthy year for me. It's easy to forget the value of even one day , especially in a world that's always in a hurry and full of distractions.  But we could decide to approach each day as the gift it is, with the realization that none of us is guaranteed tomorrow.  What if I knew this year was my last?...

Change starts with you. I wish there was an easier way to put that.  If only change began when we read or saw something that excited us.  If that was the way to make a big change, we'd be able to maintain the "aha" moment.  The thrill would last.  Each day we'd feel energized for our new path. If only reading my blog, or watching a podcast, or joining a class took care of making the change you dream about.  Those things might be the inspiration, they might offer a guide, they might create a community you can join – but you need to take the steps. A thousand steps Or what about the adage that says change starts when you hit rock bottom?  If only that were true.  I've known people who believed they'd hit rock bottom, tried to change, and then when things started to go wrong (or they were confronted with the demons they'd been hiding from all along), they fell again.  Sometimes they fell further.  Rock bottom hadn't been the bottom after all. Tr...

Before we start looking ahead to the New Year, let's take some time to look back on this one. Much too often, we live by default rather than design.  We're busy, and we get caught up in the tide of all the things we need to do and deal with.  This isn't horrible or evil, it's just the way we are.  Even when we try to look ahead and make plans, we worry about what might go wrong.  We go back to the tried-and-true because that feels safer.  And so a lot of what we do is on autopilot.  We blink, and a day has gone by.  A week.  A month.  And suddenly, it's next year already! That's why it's good to take a moment and think about the decisions we've made consciously and then followed through on .  Let's remember the things we've committed to and then succeeded at that have helped us move closer to fulfilling our potential and/or living the life we desire.  Why we should reflect on our journey When we don't become conscious of our directi...

I can't believe I've written nearly 525 posts for Maximum Gratitude Minimal Stuff .  As I revise, update, and check links on older posts, I'm pleased to notice that some of them are really interesting and useful. But many of you are newer readers, and have never seen posts that were written in 2018 or 2019, or even last year.  And if you've been a faithful reader for quite a while (I appreciate you), you've probably forgotten.  I keep coming across posts I don't remember, and I actually wrote them! It's worth visiting what we've written, read, or thought before, as both a reminder and for new insights.  So on selected Thursdays, instead of posting new content, I'm going to direct you toward posts of the past that I think are worth a re-read. Inspiring minimalism Most of us don't just wake up one morning and say "I want to become a minimalist."  Maybe we look around our homes and think, "I need to clean up around here.  Where did al...

I was raised by, and for a long time followed the pattern of, someone who was a clutter victim.  My mom kept all. the. things : school papers (from creative and one-of-a-kind all the way through spelling tests) sewing notions (from useful leftovers to the tiniest unusable snippets) books (from re-readable classics to dime store romances) photos (from well-shot memorable occasions to blurred "who is that?" mysteries) ... and more.  She purchased additional bins and reorganized belongings constantly, seeking order and cleanliness amidst the piles.  She stocked up on "just in case" items and overbought "bargains" that were "just too good to pass up."  Our closets were always "too few" and "too small."  I grew up in one town, but we moved house five times in 13 years because we "needed more room." You don't have to be a hoarder to be a clutter victim. My mom never thought of herself as a hoarder, because she had rela...

Now that I've written 495 posts for Maximum Gratitude, Minimal Stuff , I'm in the process of revising my older writing. And some of those older posts are quite useful. But many of you are newer readers and have never seen posts that were written in 2018, 2019, or even last summer or fall. And if you've been a faithful reader for quite a while ( thank you ), you've probably forgotten. I wrote the stuff, and I've forgotten parts of it! It's worth visiting what we've written, read, or thought before, as both a reminder and for new insights. So on selected Thursdays, instead of posting new content, I'm going to direct you toward posts of the past that I think are worth a re-read. Journey to a simpler life. Decluttering can be a giant job that takes a lot of time and energy, and for that reason most of us need a lot of inspiration and encouragement to keep going until the task is done. Here are some articles that will provide that. (They'd be good to sha...