Over the weekend, I tried to do something radical. I mostly succeeded, and I also learned a lot.
What did I do?
I tried to get rid of HALF of my stuff. Seriously. Half of it.
- Clothes
- Shoes
- Papers
- “Friends” on Facebook (who are some of these people??)
- Office Supplies
- Decorations and other random tchotchkes
- Books
- Magazines
- Keepsakes
- Outdoor Gear
- Kitchen items
- more
I did a great job with clothes, office supplies, books and magazines. I have several BIG bags for our upcoming garage sale.
With other things, I realized I’m already pretty lean. I don’t have a lot of random decorations. All the shoes I have, I wear. Often. The outdoor gear that’s left is put to good use regularly.
It’s worth noting here that I didn’t start this purge randomly, out of frustration or to just “do” it.
Nelson and I are actively making plans to live lighter – keeping a small house (we’re in about 1,000 sq. ft. now), lots of land, and having the ability to pack up and travel around this beautiful country unencumbered.
We are becoming more conscious of what we do, what we own, what we watch, and what we listen to. It’s our goal to continue consuming less. We want to collect great experiences – not stuff.
That drove me in this weekend’s quest to get rid of STUFF.
And I also realized I’ve been doing this for several years now. Each year I whittle down what I have. I ask harder questions before I buy or accumulate more. It’s become a bit of ritual. One that serves me in my home AND with my office stuff and with my work.
(And sometimes this is HARD when I’m working with a client purging their office and they want to share cute office supplies with me. I go all gaga over office supplies!)
I ask myself, “Is this absolutely essential? Is it useful? Does it bring me joy?” If I can’t answer yes, then the “thing” must go.
Here’s tip: you can ask the same questions about tasks, appointments, and other activities in your business. “Is this absolutely essential? Is it useful? Does it bring me joy?”
When I think about my clients, I see their progress over the days, weeks, months and years we work together. It’s my greatest joy when a client says, “I was about to do X, and then I heard your voice in my head asking if I really wanted to accumulate more, do more, keep more, etc.”
It’s awesome. And it’s so exciting to see that I how I “think” about things naturally helps you!
And since how I naturally think about stuff helps you, I thought I would reach out and see if you would answer a few questions for me? Instead of making up some new videos or recordings or books, I want to know what YOU need help with.
- What are you struggling with?
- What skills do you wish you had that would help you get organized, systematized and more in control of your life and time?
- What changes in how you think would most help you get what you want (more free time? less aggravation? more energy? more money?
Click here to answer just a few questions. I’ll add you to a super top secret list of folks who will get my “Five Angie-ism’s” video series, which aims to get your radically organized and productive so you can go and do what you love without feeling overwhelmed.
Just a few questions and answers for a fun and impactful series of videos to get you what you want.
Will you play along? Thanks.