Chronic Pain and Clutter

While revamping the minimalism post, I came across a blog that sort of pressed my buttons.  I stepped away from the computer and decided to do something else as I processed the WHY this blog irritated me.

The person writing the blog did not come from a place of a person with a chronic illness.  Her blog was solely aimed at those healthy enough to follow the advice.  I tend to forget there is a difference and not everyone understands what it is to live with a chronic condition.  So once I got that through my head, I sat down and re-read the blog but put a spin on some of the information.

Chronic Pain, Clutter, and Mental Health

Photo by Sasha Freeman at Unsplash

Clutter isn't always a representation of our mental health.  More often than not it is a reflection of our PHYSICAL health or inability to clean and stay on top of our cleaning due to our conditions.  For example, last fall I had a flare.  My joints and back ached so badly that the little bit of pain medication I could take did nothing to stop the pain.  Add to that the fatigue from not sleeping due to pain and it was all I could do to just get out of bed and smile most days.  The chores backed up.  Declutter kid closets and our outside shed, I think not.

Decluttering Isn't A Marathon Session

Photo by Pau Casals at Unsplash

Decluttering takes time and diligence.  We can't just choose a day and declutter every single room.  Experience has taught me that's a sure fire way to bring yourself a world of needless suffering.  You'll be in pain, tired, achey and will probably have a much larger mess to deal with.  Then your mood will follow because you feel like crap and you accomplished nothing.

If you're decluttering to achieve a state of minimalism, you need to take it slowly.  Minimalism is a lifestyle - something you'll be doing...forever.  You've been a clutter bug all this time so expect it to take some time to transition into another lifestyle with different habits.

Don't Go It Alone

For an independent person who suddenly finds themselves limited by chronic illness, it becomes imperative that you reach out.  Ask family, friends, volunteers, charity organizations for help when it comes to decluttering.  Many will be willing to come for an afternoon or two to help.  Offer pizza!

Pace Yourself

Do one room at a time.  If one room is too much, do half the room.  Little by little it will start to add up.  Try to work for ten minutes at a time.  If that is too much, do five.  You can get a good deal done in five minutes.

Use Checklists

Just about any declutterer / minimalist will agree checklists can help focus on what needs to be done.  Go into a room and write down different areas you want to tackle.  For example:

Bedroom

• Bed - Make bed hotel nice
• Nightstands - Clear off
• Dresser - Organize top
• Dresser - Purge drawers
• Closet - Purge shoes
• Closet - Purge pants

And so on!

In no time at all you'll see a major difference.

You Are Responsible For Your Stuff

Photo by The Creative Exchange at Unsplash

Stop cleaning everyone else's room.  That's right.  Your children are responsible for their own rooms.  At some point parents stopped making children be responsible for putting their things away.  Let them clean them themselves.  I worked in a daycare once.  Toddlers know how to pick something up and put it away if you show them.  Make it a game.  Sing and dance and offer a small reward when they do what they've been asked.

Elementary, middle school, and high school kids know better.  Make them be responsible.  You have enough going on without cleaning their room too.  Be old school.  They don't clean - no phone, no tv, no friends, no excuses.  It's okay for them to be mad at us.  They will live.

For more tips, check out the article by Gabrielle Savoie at MyDomaine.com.  This is perhaps the most thorough article I've read on this subject.

Above all BE GOOD TO YOURSELF  

 

Photo by Tim Goedhart at Unsplash

You're already fighting hard against yourself with your chronic illness.  Don't make battles where they don't need to be.  Take your time, focus on what's important, and do what you can. Last I checked, there weren't any competitions on orderliness.

I hope this helps.  Thank you for reading.

As always, keep moving forward!

BuJo Planner - Back to Basics

Last year my sister and I were discussing getting organized and finding more time in our schedules for things and she mentioned how she went out and spent like $40 on a planner.  I looked at my phone like, "Whuuut?"

People seem to go out of their minds with these planners and journals when it comes time to start a new year.  I think it's pure madness to spend that kind of money on...paper.

Put Your Knife Down

Don't get me wrong.  Many of these bullet journals and planners are gorgeous.  However, with a little creativity not only can you save money and have a knock out planner, but you can have one PERSONALIZED just for you and not just some pre-made templates and themes someone else thought was a good idea.  Not to mention, many of these planners are extremely feminine.

Hello.  Men bujo too.  In fact, this trend was started by a man, Ryder Carrol.  If you watch his video on YouTube you'll see that not only was his system simpler, but less frilly as well.

There is nothing wrong with all the extra stuff but it can be overwhelming to beginners when they see all the lists, layouts, fancy lettering, artwork, and the cost of many of these planners.  Not to mention, many of these bujo pros have been doing this for YEARS and forget what it was like to start out with a budget.

Okay.  And?

I thought I'd start a series of posts on bullet journaling.  This series will discuss just the bare bones of bullet journaling for any budget and artistic ability.  This series is NOT for bujo masters with their fancy pants calligraphy/fauxligraphy, fancy brush pens, and forty dollar planners.  This is NOT for people with a degree in art and can do a Monet inspired watercolor painting at the top of their sheets.  This is for those of us who are broke, busy, and artistically challenged.

Whether you have zero dollars or a hundred dollars to spend, we are going to go through the process step by step so we can stay organized and on track for 2020.  My hope is that those following will participate in check-ins to help us all stay on track and accountable and share their tips, tricks, and fails for others to learn and gain some support.  Many of us have failed at BuJo.  This is our support group.

Please subscribe, like, pin, share to stay up to date on this series.

Thank you and keep moving forward!

Next :  What the Heck is Bullet Journaling?

Second Attempt At Minimalism

Second Attempt At Minimalism

A long time ago I wrote a post about how hard minimalism is.  It was frustrating trying to do minimalism as I had seen and read so many other people doing it and I eventually gave up.

As a person with a chronic illness that affects the joints, I need minimalism in my life.  There are days when the cleaning just doesn't get done because I hurt so much.  Minimalism not only helps clear the unnecessary but makes it easier to take care of the things you choose to keep.

In 2019 I had two hospitalizations - once in March and the other in August.  You can imagine how little got done during those times.  Right before Christmas of 2019, I made up my mind that I was going to give minimalism another shot.  I scoured Pinterest, YouTube, blogs, and the internet until I found minimalist tactics that could work for me and my situation.

Six Types of Minimalists

At Simply fiercely I came across the line, "Minimalism means different things to different people."  I was like, "Huh?  Isn't there only one way to do minimalism?"

Turns out, that was wrong.

I wanted to see what other people had to say on the subject.  In my research I came across the post Six Types of Minimalists at Simple on Purpose.  Wow!  What an eye opener.  I had preconceived notions of what was and wasn't a minimalist.  I was trying to live an all white, no furniture life when that wasn't really who I am.  I like color and I entertain too many people to just have one chair.  The idea of getting rid of EVERYTHING I own made my blood pressure rise.

All or Nothing

Another thing that made me fail at minimalism is trying to do it all at once.  As a person with a chronic illness, trying to do everything all at once can have negative consequences.  I would yank everything out into a pile and in an hour I'd be exhausted or I would ache.  Then nothing got done and I was left with a huge mess.

This is a lifestyle, not an event.  It is something that becomes part of who you are and treating it like a one and done, all or nothing sort of thing guarantees failure.  Starting slowly is key to success.  After reading 7 Ways To Overcomplicate Minimalism on the blog abundant life with less   I felt validated on that belief.  The other thing that was pointed out was that we can't force our family members along.  Even children.

Any single parent knows trying to wrangle your children into things can be like an uphill battle.  You may win but you'll be exhausted afterward.  For a chronically ill parent, there is more than just exhaustion and frustration to be had.  

The Takeaways

The more research I did the more I realized there are so many people out there struggling to declutter and get to that minimalist life - whatever that means for them.  I realized that I am a frugal-gradual minimalist.  I'm all for saving money and not spending but don't want to empty my entire house.  My end goal is not to achieve the stark colors and straight lines of the ideal minimalist but to be more of an 'Aesthetic Minimalist' with a tidy, clutter free home.

I'm going to keep researching, testing, trying, blogging on this journey until I reach my goal.  We'll see how it goes.

Have you tried and failed at minimalism?  What are some of your tips and tricks?

Thank you for reading.  Keep moving forward!
Kelli

Minimalism is HARD!

After years of being physically unable to do the type of things I used to, I felt my house was beginning to look like something from Hoarders.

After the move from Connecticut, I felt suffocated by the stuff around me.  I was so fed up of bumping into this tote or that I finally snapped.  I told everyone around me, "Don't be surprised when this place starts  looking like some Japanese house with nothing in it."

But trying to go minimalist is HARD.  There are some serious choices you have to make about what goes  and what stays.  In addition, you have to rope your children into it too.  They are not always willing to part with their things no matter how much reason or bribery exists.

I told myself I needed this.  I needed to simplify my life as much as I could. Dealing with a chronic illness is hard.  Dealing with a chronic illness, teens, tweens, and too much stuff is harder.  I want to live smarter not harder for longer.

The first thing I had to tell myself was to go slow.  It took me 20+ years to accumulate this stuff so i needed to be patient and give myself time to go through it all.  I decided to do one room at  time.  Go through every single item in that room and make a split second decision on everything.  Then go through again and fine tune.  I made myself open every single thing.  Drawers, totes, trunks, bins, bags, boxes - EVERYTHING. 

I came up with the following criteria for getting rid of things.
1-Is it broken or torn?
2-Is it outdated or unfashionable?
3-Does it fit right now or has it fit in the last year?
4-Have I used it in 6mos to a year?
5-Do I really like it?

I managed to donate  six large totes to the Veteran's Thrift store by using this method.  I never realized how much useless and outdated things we had.  I still have a ways to go but the end is in sight.  Thanks to some useful information I gathered from other Pinterest pinners  and the links below, it won't be long until the makeover is complete!

http://laurenjadelately.com/how-to-live-with-less/
http://www.livestrong.com/article/1011777-50-things-throw-out-now-and-dispose-them/?reload=1
http://www.simplyfiercely.com/struggling-with-minimalism/
https://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/into-mind-3305163/30-day-minimalism-challenge-4009933387
http://www.popsugar.com/smart-living/Questions-Ask-Declutter-34352100

Have you gone or are you thinking about going minimalist?  What are your tips or tricks?