Every morning our dog reminds us that it is time for breakfast at 6:00 AM. After eating he climbs into our bed and is very to start his day off with a good, long nap. This really wouldn’t bother me – it isn’t like he needs to catch the bus or get to work on time – but I can’t make the bed. He is an 80 pound dog – a big lump for me to work around. Every morning, he prevents me from completing the task of making the bed.
These things happen – especially doing tasks that you might not enjoy, such as organizing. "The bin that I bought for wrapping paper isn’t long enough for all the rolls; I don’t have enough labels for every container; the bins don’t stack; there isn’t enough shelf space." The question though, is how we respond to that. Do we give up in a frustrated huff and complain that the stars are aligned against us? Or do we have a laugh and dig out our most creative ideas to find solutions?
Being confident in your creative problem skills can make downsizing a lot easier. When I hear “But what if I need this specific (fill in the blank)” I say “Yes, what will happen?” Really. What will happen? If you got rid of a sweater because you only wore it once in 2 years but now you wish you had it – what will happen? Chances are, after some minor disappointment you will wear something else and not think of it again.
What if you no longer have that make-up case that would be perfect for a 4-day trip and the smaller one is too small and the larger one is too big…? What will happen? You might take the larger one. You might borrow one. Or you might just say “to heck with style” and put it in a Ziplock freezer bag – and it will be OK.
I am not advocating that you should get rid of everything because you can make due with so much less – but if you have too much stuff in your life, if you get frustrated because you can’t find things, if clutter is consuming you, then it is probably a good idea to let some things go. That can involve taking risks and running into situations that are not ideal. The question is, how will you respond to that? Can you laugh it off and figure out a plan B?
At the end of the day I climb into a 70% made bed. I like my big, lazy dog and think that when he is gone, I will really miss seeing that partially made bed every night. When other things get in the way of what I am trying to do, I hope I can be just as relaxed and remember that done is better than perfect.
I went to wash my mom’s windows during a rare snow
storm in North Carolina but the fluid had frozen. I had
to take a photo to send to back to Minnesota!