It is time to begin my Clutter Kick for the year of 2010. I decided on Clutter Kicking instead of Clutter Busting, because it sounds fresh and new to me, and I need that feeling to get going.
Like many others, I’ve searched for answers in the past, but haven’t yet been able to implement them in my life. For instance, the FlyLady method asks you to “shine your sink every night” and I have NEVER been able to accomplish that. Perhaps if I come a this from different angles, I’ll finally be able to do that. Also, I’ve gone onto various websites devoted to organizing and they tend to make my throat squeeze up and give me anxiety. That isn’t helpful in getting my house in order! There is something deeper within me that I need to address.
Today, I’m reading and pondering the ideas found in the first two brochures from my CLA kit that I received months ago.
The first idea that CLA presents is that the “dis-ease” of excessive cluttering is threefold – physical, emotional, and spiritual. Instead of giving organizing advice, they focus on providing support for facing the underlying causes of the self-destructive behaviors of cluttering. Like in AA meetings, when you go to CLA meetings, each person introduces him or herself with the phrase,
“Hi, my name is ____________________ and I’m a clutterer.”
Here are the Three Components of Cluttering, paraphrased from CLA’s Welcome brochure:
Physical: The behaviors that result in the stacks, piles, and objects that fill our homes, cars, and workplaces.
Emotional: The fog we create in our heads – resentments, unfinished thoughts, emotional baggage, daydreams, worries about the future, regrets about the past. With our minds in a constant spin, we lose today because our time is spent living in yesterday and tomorrow.
Spirtitual: The deep emptiness we feel inside – that we compulsively try to fill by clinging to useless objects, nonproductive ideas, meaningless activities, and unstatisfying relationships.
Those who join a CLA group make a Responsibility Pledge:
I pledge to stretch out my hand and heart to those seeking help from our compulsion. Together we will ensure that CLA is here for us and all those who follow in our footsteps. And for this I am responsible.
I like that! I know that when my family pulled together to help my mother this past Christmas and over the summer, I felt a deep empathy for those who are going through this without help or understanding. I am not a hoarder, but my clutter interferes with my happiness and serenety – and my ability to have people over! Whenever I make an improvement, I want to share my experience with others who might find it helpful.
So here I am! I’ll be sharing my successes and explorations in de-cluttering for the rest of 2010 and beyond.
(***Note: When this was originally posted, it had 3 comments. Unfortunately, all comments have been lost.)
My sister sent this to me. She’s a mom of four and can no doubt relate to this on levels that I can’t. But, I think it’s pretty darn funny. It’s pretty good for a laugh on a Sunday night. Actually, you’ve probably seen some of the short versions of this if you’ve been watching the olympics, but this version is better.
(***Note: When this was originally posted, it had 2 comments. Unfortunately, all comments have been lost.)
I’ve been having a rough few weeks. As you may know, depression runs in my family, and it’s something I struggle with from time to time. I’m managing it well and I’m a positive thinker (you may find that hard to believe when you read the rest of this post!) but still I struggle at times. Currently, I’m just feeling run down and fatigued. This has been the year of small illnesses for me, and my body and mind need time to recover. I’ve been cutting back on bad behaviors (no more glasses of wine with and after dinner, and no more venti cappuccinos) and when I start perking up again, I’m gonna go bananas on that Clutter Kick 2010!
For now, I want to share with you my deepest held opinions. Some of which I’ve always meant to blog about, and in some cases have already, and some of which I never intended to reveal on here. Case in point, number one:
I am pro-abortion.
Yep, I think all women should have at least one. Kidding! But I can get really angry about the pro-life/pro-choice dichotomy. For anti-abortionists to call themselves pro-life implies that all of us people who think it ain’t nobody’s business what a woman chooses to do with her body are, what? Pro-death? Pro-abortion? Furthermore, I hope you all realize that abortion is just a ruse to cover up way more important issues going on in government during elections. That’s what really gets my goat. There. I said it out loud. But, furthermore, i believe that if you dare to be Pro-life (anit-abortion), let’s say you manage to get abortion outlawed, it is your ethical responsibiliy to (1) adopt a child, (2) volunteer your time or donate money to help young single women who have chosen to have babies that they can’t provide for.
Because:
I believe that our society punishes women for having children.
Women are the ones who have to take care of those babies, whether or not they get child-support, or the father sticks around, (just watch Teen Mom for an illustration of that) and they are punished in their careers at the same time. Meanwhile, men can run off and live their lives like nothing ever happened. And if they do stick around, they won’t take any hits at their job because of the child.
I don’t believe that Autism is caused by immunization shots.
From what I’ve read, there was only one research study done that made that connection between the two, and it was later proven false (I’m making a bold assertion here, I’ll hunt around for the sources to support my statement if necessary). Second, Autistic children tend to develop normally for many months to a few years before they start to show signs of autism, so if your child suddenly appears to be autistic after a shot – it wasn’t the shot – it was happening already.
I don’t believe in raw food diets.
Sure, we shouldn’t cook our vegetables to mush, or eat charred foods, but as Alton Brown points out (this, according to my husband) cooking begins the breakdown process of some foods, which aids in digestion and absorption of nutrients. This invention allowed humans to spend less time preparing and digesting food.
I do believe in slow food.
Just because I like that cooking helps me digest food and that it speeds up the process of preparing palatable foods, doesn’t mean I’m against spending time in the kitchen making food a an integral part of culture. Ironically, we don’t spend enough time on food in America. We were not made to eat pseudo-food while running from one commitment to the next. Food should be a focal point for relaxing and bonding with families. We should eat whole, organic, local foods, and make more things from scratch.
I don’t believe in factory (slaughter houses) and industrial farming. It’s a bad, bad thing!
I’m thrilled that the “Green” movement is finally catching up with this and other environmental and social facts, but I’ve known this stuff was harmful for our bodies and the world since I was twelve. Why is is so difficult for people to think critically about what goes on around them? Once agriculture became big business, we were all screwed. Remember the four food groups?! We were told that milk products should be one quarter of our diet and that all meat products should comprise another quarter!
Connected to this:
I don’t believe that humans should drink cow’s milk (or any other mammal’s milk) or that we need as much protein as we’ve been lead to believe.
Look, I love cheese and yogurt. But as for drinking glass upon glass of milk. That’s just BS. We are told that we need the calcium in milk, yet cows milk has other stuff (that’s a scientific term) which actually prevents the absorption of that calcium! Leave it for the baby cows.
I believe that savers are losers. The American dollar is losing value faster than you can earn 5% interest on it. Poor and middle class people in America must pay taxes that rich investors are exempt from. The only way to get ahead in our economy is to play the game. You must be an entrepreneur and, or real estate investor if you want your money to grow and to be free from the very real fear of not having enough to retire on.
I believe that marijuana should be legalized. Get over it. It’s a plant. Sure people shouldn’t drive, or work while on it, but they shouldn’t be driving or working while drunk either. Alcohol is far more dangerous to our bodies and lives than marijuana. Plus, marijuana has been proven to help people manage the pain of chronic or terminal illnesses where other medications have failed. Alcohol can’t do that, in fact it causes deaths, but it is legal.
Finally, as I’ve said on here before: I think that it’s a load of crap that woman can have success in any career they want and be successful mothers.
Society isn’t set up to support that yet. Yes, we can go out and succeed in the career world, but not often with kids. With kids, women take hits in pay and seniority that men with children do not. Some women are very successful. Often they have family money and advantages to begin with. But the 10% of high achieving career women do not represent the capabilities of all women. I, myself, do not have the constitution to fight this battle. So, go to work while your babies are young! “Stay home” for several years – or forever – I don’t care! But stop spreading the lie that woman have attained equality in the workplace. Things are changing, yes – we are even starting to see men “stay at home.” But it ain’t finished yet, and it’s a choice in which each woman must balance the sacrifices for herself. We cannot have, or do, it all.
***Note: When this was originally posted, it had 1 comment. (Which was something along the lines of LOL They aren’t that controvercial because I pretty much believe all of them too!) Unfortunately, all comments were lost when I accidentally deleted my blog.
So, I’ve accidentally, irreparably, ruined my blog. I screwed up sooooo bad, that I’m starting over. Do not despair. There is a certain freedom in starting from scratch even after all the work I’ve done for the past THREE YEARS! I do have backup files of my old posts, and I’ll be adding them back slowly, but, sadly, I’ve lost all of my comments!!!!! That’s the part that kills me. If you have left me comments in the past, I thank you, thank you, thank you! You will not be forgotten. Now give me new ones!
To tide you over while I’m redecorating, here is the first post from when I moved this blog from But I’m Not A Housewife! to here:
I’m staging an intervention for myself. I’ve just turned 30 and I’m still so domestically challenged that I often just give up. I’m one of those leave-it-for-weeks-until-the-in-laws-are-coming type of people.
And I don’t want to be like this anymore.
Who isn’t happier when she has a clean, fresh home?
My husband and I don’t own a home yet and we don’t yet have children. We plan to change both of those things within the next 5 years. I’m lucky to have a husband who enjoys cooking – when I’m trying my darnedest to learn to enjoy it. I want to give back to my family.
And one more thing: I am the child of a compulsive hoarder. You may have seen the episodes about this phenomenon on Oprah. It’s just as bad as it looks. Thus, I have my work cut out for me!
I want to learn to keep my house clean, fresh, inviting, and cozy.
I’m 30 years old and I vow to change my domestic ways.
It is obvious to me that if I can do this anyone can!
So join me on my journey. Offer me encouragement. Ask me to post photos of my house so that I am accountable. Learn from my mistakes and share your best tips with me.
As I turn over a new leaf, I vow to make journey more fun than chore – if that is even possible!
