I’ve often written about Dana K. White and her unique approach to decluttering.

In any decluttering project, she says to start with the visible clutter first.

In addition, the goal is to “make only progress.”

That means that you don’t take everything out of your closet and dump it on the floor in the middle of the room.

Read More

In many nations, individuals and business entities have the last-resort option of declaring bankruptcy. This legally releases them from the obligation of paying debts that, it is determined, they cannot realistically pay.

A person may be left with nothing after bankruptcy, but nothing is a lot better than less than nothing. They have a clean (or cleaner) slate. They have a bit of relief.

Read More

In the film The Miracle Worker, there’s an intense scene in which Helen Keller (played by Anna “Patty” Duke) and Anne Sullivan (played by Anne Bancroft) have a battle over breakfast.

The deaf-blind Helen, having received no education or training, is resistant to the efforts of her young teacher, Miss Sullivan, to instruct and guide her. Put bluntly, she’s spoiled. Miss Sullivan is intent on getting Helen to sit at the table, eat off of a plate, and use a utensil instead of her hands.

Read More

Sometimes, the emotional weight of what we’re trying to do is too heavy.

We might be burdened by the shame of past failures.

We might have waited so long to do the thing that now it feels like too big a deal.

We might be scared of what will happen after we do the thing.

Read More

When faced with an overwhelming mess — I have one in my living room right now, the result of literally emptying the contents of a pickup truck, including a table saw, onto the floor — it is sometimes reasonable to take drastic measures. Let’s shove it all into a closet or call the junk people to haul it all away.

And when the mess is more of an intangible one — a broken process, a difficult relationship, a cluttered schedule — we likewise might seek ways to metaphorically shove it in a closet or send it to the dump.

But sometimes, the elements are too valuable to discard. We must salvage what we can. In these cases, we have to use a more deliberate process. At the very moment when we most want to rush and just be done with the whole thing, we have to slow down and be present. When we do, we might discover a much more satisfying experience and outcome.

Read More