A year ago: Gifts, blogs and Clutter Busting

Last April I was celebrating the first anniversary of my blog with some awesome tips for getting the most out of registering for gifts for a special occasion. My favorite tip continues to be don't feel guilty about returning things. 

I shared with you how I came by my wonderful head shots. Since those were taken, I have cut my hair short, so I've been thinking about having them redone.

One of the unused head shots that shows me with long hair.

Earth Day was last Friday, but this round-up of earth-friendly blog posts is interesting anytime.

I reviewed Brooks Palmer's book Clutter Busting and found it to be refreshing and a must-read for people needing help detaching from their stuff. I still read Palmer's blog regular and it always has a thought-provoking take on clutter and our relationship to our possessions.

Finally, I introduced the concept of "A year ago" posts with this first one, detailing my posts from April of 2009. I'll keep using the format as a way for me to remember my past topics and for new readers to get a taste of my archives.

Photo by Sean Paul Franget.

Lelah Baker-Rabe is a Los Angeles-based professional organizer. To discuss your organizing needs, call her at 818.269.6671 or email lelah@lelahwithanh.com. Sign up for Lelah's News, a once-monthly newsletter.

Count and de-clutter

Sometimes when we accumulate a lot of stuff we get so used to seeing it that it doesn't seem like a lot anymore. We only notice our things when they start really getting in the way. Give yourself a wake-up call with this simple exercise. Let's say you're getting tired of having no place to put your books because your shelves are all filled, or the jar of kitchen utensils near the stove is jam packed. Take a moment and count how many you have of the item. Just count them. Do you have five wooden spoons? 12? 19? 30? How many can you use at one time? Maybe three if you're cooking something complicated. Pick your three favorites and let go of the rest.

Counting something like books takes longer, but it's an eye opener to realize you have hundreds, perhaps thousands of volumes. Are they all really serving your life?

Creative Commons photo posted to Flickr by cogdogblog

Lelah Baker-Rabe is a Los Angeles-based professional organizer. To discuss your organizing needs, call her at 818.269.6671 or email lelah@lelahwithanh.com

Reviewed: Clutter Busting

I just finished the 2009 book by Brooks Palmer, Clutter Busting. The book's subtitle is Letting Go of What's Holding You Back and that is the book's essential premise. Palmer, using anecdotes culled from his "clutter busting" professional organizer practice, explains how important it is to let things go. People are sacred, he reminds us, not things.

The content of the book is rather similar to Gail Blanke's Throw Out Fifty Things. Palmer, like Blanke, shows how mental clutter and our internal problems lead to our external clutter problems and our desire to hold onto stuff that no longer fits our life. What differentiates this book from other "get rid of everything you don't really use, need or love" books is the tone. Palmer is straightforward and direct with lines like "You are born with nothing, and you will die with nothing." He puts things in such a way so that even the most uncomfortable idea seems obvious to the reader, yet he does it in a nonjudgmental way. Instead of feeling guilty for buying stuff because you think it will make you happy, you feel refreshed and transformed at the possibility of being able to stop the cycle and change your life. I especially liked his reminder that we, as individuals, are enough to sustain us in life. Ourselves and our loved ones are what make life worthwhile, not a single thing that we own.

Brooks Palmer has a blog, called Clutter Busting with Brooks Palmer, that I think is required reading. His bio states that he is a stand up comedian, and from time to time reading his stuff I laugh out loud due to some terribly apt description, but for the most part the tone is calming, and encouragingly matter of fact. Of course, you don't need all that stuff that is cluttering up your living room. Of course, you are capable of letting it go and creating room for new joys and experiences to come into your life. Of course, you should pick up a copy of this book or borrow it from your local library (which is what I did.)

Lelah Baker-Rabe is a Los Angeles-based professional organizer. To discuss your organizing needs, call her at 818.269.6671 or email lelah@lelahwithanh.com