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The big picture

As this is being posted to the website, someone very close to me is undergoing brain surgery. She has an aggressive tumor, which as far as doctors can tell, started growing just six weeks ago.

A month and a half ago she was healthy, gregarious, and planning a baby shower for me; now she’s in Houston at the MD Anderson Cancer Treatment Center fighting for her life.

I hate this tumor, and I hate all of the fear it has caused.

I’m sharing this personal story with you for two reasons. First, as a reminder that life is short, even if you live to be 100. We are not immortals. Each moment is a gift, and you have a choice of how you spend that time. You can let it idly pass you by, being unaware of its rich possibilities and cluttering your days with unimportant stuff. Or, you can carpe vitam — seize life — and take advantage of all the valuable experiences this world has to offer.

Second, I’m sharing this story with you as a reminder that you never know what others are dealing with when you encounter them. The person who cut you off in traffic may be rushing to the hospital. The cell phone that rings during a movie may be an emergency. The person who didn’t return your e-mail may have more important matters in front of him. None of us can read minds or know what is going on in everyone’s life — cut people slack, and hopefully they’ll do the same when you need that favor.

Stop cluttering up your life with things that don’t matter to you. Take responsibility for your life and what you have chosen to include in it. Stop cluttering up your time assuming the worst in other people. And, treat everyone you encounter as if you know someone they love is undergoing brain surgery — unfortunately, it might be true.

Posted by Erin on Mar 11, 2010 | 81 Comments | Tweet This

Four steps for making more time for what matters most to you

Today we welcome a guest post and many terrific suggestions from Annabel Candy who regularly blogs about productivity and self improvement at Get In the Hot Spot.

How often do you hear people say they don’t have enough time? Like me, you may have used the “not enough time” excuse as a reason for not following your dream.

We all have goals, the problem is making time for them in our busy schedules.

For years, I wanted to write but didn’t. I often used the “not enough time” excuse and thought it was true. I didn’t have time to write because I was running a business and raising kids.

But my life was totally immersed in doing, not being, and the more I did, the more unhappy I became.

Until I decided to do something about it, accept the blame, and prioritize better.

First, I worked out where my time went.

I wrote down everything I did and noticed my days were cluttered. A typical entry would be: 10 minute personal call, 10 minutes planning meals, 20 minute business call, 15 minutes e-mailing.

By lunchtime I often felt so frazzled I just slumped in front of the TV with Dr. Phil and rejoiced that at least I wasn’t as messed up as his guests.

After a week, I made a pie chart showing where my time went, where I could save time, and what I could remove. I recommend doing this as a visual guide to see how your time is spent.

There were 10 main time traps I noted and what I needed to do to control them:

  1. The Phone – I don’t have to answer it every time it rings.
  2. The Internet – Log in an few times a day for specific purposes only.
  3. Housework – Let some things slide. The state of my house is not an indication of my emotional well-being and it doesn’t have to be perfect.
  4. Friends and Family – Manage them into times when I want to see them or socialize. Don’t let them encroach.
  5. Cooking and Shopping – Streamline them, bulk buy and cook.
  6. Sleep – Try cutting out one hour of sleep. I’ll probably function fine and gain an extra hour a day.
  7. Commuting to work – Can I cut out the commute and work from home a few days a week?
  8. Reading – Reading about writing, travel or starting a business is good unless it takes up time when I could have been doing them.
  9. TV – Limit it to the shows I actually enjoy. Never channel hop.
  10. Dreaming – At some point I have to stop dreaming about following my passion and start doing it.

Stop yearning for more time and work out how to create it with these four steps:

  1. Make a pie chart that reflects your tracked time.
  2. Work out which time traps are stopping you from following your dreams.
  3. Write a weekly schedule for yourself and stick to it. Make sure you log at least three sessions for following your dream.
  4. Schedule times in your calendar for the things you want to do and follow through.

No more “not enough time” excuses needed.

Posted by Annabel on Mar 10, 2010 | 24 Comments | Tweet This

A lesson on mental clutter from the book Zen Shorts

In the children’s book Zen Shorts by Jon Muth, a giant panda named Stillwater tells three stories to young siblings Addy, Michael, and Karl. All of the stories are famous Buddhist teachings, and you may be familiar with them even if you haven’t seen this beautifully illustrated book.

The third story Stillwater shares with Karl is called “A Heavy Load” and is about two traveling monks. During their journey, two monks come upon an awful woman who refuses to cross a river because she does not wish to get her silken robes wet or dirty. The older of the two monks quickly picks up the woman and carries her across the water. Many hours later, the younger monk is very upset and visibly angry about his friend helping someone so disdainful, and he feels obliged to share his frustration with the older monk:

“That woman back there was very selfish and rude, but you picked her up on your back and carried her! Then she didn’t even thank you!”

“I set the woman down hours ago,” the older monk replied. “Why are you still carrying her?”

I think of this story whenever I find a dirty cup in our television room or clothing on the floor instead of in the hamper or notice that a co-worker dropped the ball on a small task. I remind myself that I have two options — I can be like the young monk and throw a fit and be in a bad mood and let it annoy me for hours, or I can be like the older monk and take care of the problem myself and immediately let go of the frustration. I get to decide if I want the cup or errant sock or unfinished task to clutter up my mind and put me in a bad mood, and, since I’d rather not have that clutter wasting my time and energy, I usually choose to be like the older monk.

I’m not a maid — and I’m not suggesting you become one either — but I get to decide how I’m going to react to a situation. Remembering, too, that I don’t know the full story behind why the glass or sock are out of place or why a task at work was left unfinished. For all I know, my co-worker got an important call from a client and had to stop a project mid-way through completion to handle an emergency. By helping out, instead of getting frustrated and throwing a fit, I’m making the situation better for myself and others. I get to choose not to fill my time with more clutter than the small item I encountered.

That said, if there is a persistent habit of other people leaving messes in their wake, a conversation about that behavior is certainly in order. However, frustrations caused by occasional messes are usually not worth carrying around with you and cluttering up your mind, energy, and emotions.

Posted by Erin on Mar 2, 2010 | 18 Comments | Tweet This

More mindful, less clutter

Have you ever been on a road trip, driving down a long stretch of highway, and suddenly become mindful of where you are and what you’re doing? You don’t know where the last few minutes went, but you are instantly aware that you had zoned out for awhile. You weren’t asleep; you just weren’t alert or present to the task at hand.

I’ve been on the Metro and had a similar experience. I’ve ridden past my stop because my mind was focused on something that had happened earlier or wasn’t focused on anything at all. I was absentminded because I wasn’t mindful of what I was currently doing.

When we operate on auto-pilot in our lives, we cease to be aware of what is happening right now. A man on the street will hand you a flier for a shoe sale, and you’ll put it into your pocket without thinking twice. Then, the flier clutters up your coat pocket for days, maybe weeks, because you don’t even remember it is there. Had you been mindful when you were on the street, you wouldn’t have taken the flier in the first place.

A significant amount of clutter in our homes could be eliminated simply by being more mindful in the present. Mindfulness helps you to make significantly fewer impulse buys, you throw out junk mail before bringing it into your house, and when you spot clutter already in your home you take care of it immediately (recycle it, trash it, put it in a donation box) instead of pushing it aside and letting it continue to bother you. I’ve also found that if I’m tired, I’m more likely to be absentminded. (There is a direct correlation between how many typos make it onto Unclutterer and how much sleep I had the night before I edited the article.) Keeping up energy levels helps a great deal with being mindful.

If you’re not in the practice of staying mindful, consider temporarily putting up post-it notes around your home or office that say “What are you doing right now?” A note on your computer monitor, one on your bathroom mirror, another near your mailbox, and another one on the door of your microwave are good places to start. A second idea might be setting a timer on your computer with a recorded voice saying “What are you doing?” to sound every 15 minutes. Also, keeping up your energy levels is a plus.

What do you do to help you stay mindful in the present? I’ve tried the post-it note idea and had decent success with that strategy. However, I found I needed to change the post-it note every few days (switch up my handwriting, change to a different color of paper, and move the location slightly) so that they continued to grab my attention.

Posted by Erin on Feb 22, 2010 | 33 Comments | Tweet This

Increase your productivity at work by letting go of negative mental clutter

My alma mater is currently ranked number one in all of the college men’s basketball rankings. They’ve been in the top spot for 11 of the 14 weeks of the polls, and were number one in the preseason. There are five games left in the regular season, and all of the teams Kansas has left to play would love to see the Jayhawks lose.

Colorado, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Kansas State, and Missouri fans aren’t the only ones who want to see Kansas mess up their record in the last five games. Fans of the other ranked teams would be happy to see Kansas take a tumble, and, after watching some of the games this year, I’m pretty certain there are a few referees that would be glad to see Kansas lose, too.

In competitive sports like basketball, a game has to end with a winner and a loser. If you’re on top, it’s because you beat other teams to get there. You make enemies quickly when success after success stacks up beneath you. Other people don’t like to see you succeed when it was at their expense. In fact, other teams and fans watch you in hopes of experiencing schadenfreude.

In our work lives, however, very few things are like competitive sports. If someone does well, it’s usually not at the expense of someone else. Many people can do well at a time. Everyone on a project can be successful. Just because someone receives a promotion today doesn’t mean you won’t ever be promoted. Even though this is the fact, it is easy to lose sight of it. We quickly clutter up our minds with jealousy, envy, and hope for some schadenfreude in our immediate lives.

If you want to be productive and manage your time well at work, you need to let go of the belief that your workplace is a zero-sum game. If a colleague is praised for his or her work — even if you feel it is unwarranted — be genuinely happy for that person and then immediately return to your tasks. Getting caught up in office politics, sabotaging your colleagues, and focusing on anything other than your work is a waste of your time. Engaging in such negative behaviors causes people to believe you can’t be trusted, you’re a bad team member, and you’re only out for yourself. Even if you aren’t outwardly expressing your frustrations, obsessive negative thoughts can decrease your productivity. Believing that someone else’s win is your loss is clutter, it keeps you from being productive, and only damages you professionally in the long-run.

Posted by Erin on Feb 17, 2010 | 24 Comments | Tweet This

Can your stuff pass the red velvet rope test?

In last week’s post “Discover your style to keep clutter out of your closet,” I introduced the concept of thinking about your wardrobe as an exclusive club that only the best of the best can get into. Consider yourself to be the bouncer, and you get to decide what items make it past the red velvet rope, and what items don’t.

This exclusive club concept is how I think about most physical objects and obligations in my life. For something to come into my house or occupy my time, it has to pass the red velvet rope test. Your home and life aren’t places for junk, they are privileged places for the things you truly value.

If you have a difficult time thinking like a bouncer, ask yourself: “If I wouldn’t give an object to a friend or ask a friend to watch over it, do I really want it in my house?” For example, I wouldn’t give a friend my junk mail or a rusty potato peeler or a broken washing machine. My friends don’t deserve these objects in her house, and neither do I. Also, I wouldn’t ask a friend to keep track of early drafts of my book, but I would ask a friend to keep an eye on my cats if I were to go on vacation. Early drafts of my book are clutter, but my cats are prized possessions. Drafts should go, but cats can stay.

When we treat our homes and lives with respect, when we think of them as exclusive clubs instead of dumping grounds, it’s easy to determine what is clutter and what isn’t. Put a trash can, recycling bin, shredder, and donation box near the main entrance to you home to temporarily hold the things that shouldn’t be fully welcomed into your space. Then, as needed, trash, recycle, or donate to charity these collected items. You’re the gatekeeper to your life. Be a bouncer and ruthlessly decide what is exclusive enough to make it past the red velvet rope and into your life and your home.

Posted by Erin on Feb 16, 2010 | 43 Comments | Tweet This

George Washington: Simplicity seeker

Today is Presidents Day in the U.S., and over the past week I’ve been re-reading James Flexner’s Washington: The Indispensable Man in preparation. I’ve been fascinated by George Washington since I read his first inaugural address my junior year of high school. It was his desire not to be president that captivated me then and continues to interest me today. He wanted a simple retirement after the Revolution, not the responsibilities of leading a nation that his friends guilted him into doing.

After serving out his two presidential terms, Washington was finally able to retire to his home at Mount Vernon and live at a more relaxed pace. In Flexner’s biography, he discusses Washington’s daily routines starting on page 361:

Washington rose with the sun. “If my hirelings are not in the places at that time, I send them messages expressive of my sorrow for their indisposition. Then, having put these wheels in motion, I examine the state of things further,” always finding more “wounds” in his structures that needed to be healed. At a little after seven o’clock breakfast was ready. “This over, I mount my horse and ride round my farms, which employs me until it is time to dress for dinner, at which I rarely miss seeing strange faces, come, as they say, out of respect to me. Pray, would not the word curiosity answer as well? And how different this from having a few social friends at a cheerful board!

“The usual time of sitting at table, a walk, and tea, brings me within the dawn of candlelight, previous to which, if not prevented by company, I resolve that as soon as the glimmering taper supplies the place of the great luminary, I will retire to my writing table and acknowledge the letters I have received, but when the lights are brought, I feel tired and disinclined to engage in this work, conceiving that the next night will do as well. …”

I have to laugh aloud at Washington’s candor in this passage. He grumbles about people coming to see him “out of respect to me,” when he knows they’re just coming to visit because he’s famous. He longs to have his home filled with actual friends, instead. Then, he admits that when he has a candle brought to his desk so that he might respond to letters, he procrastinates and puts it off for another date.

Washington struggled with his desire to live a more simple life even in his retirement from public service. He certainly wanted fewer social obligations, and I think we can safely infer what his opinions would have been about modern e-mail. His biography is a nice reminder that the problems and aggravations we face currently, and our desire for a more simple life, are often very similar to those experienced by the people who lived before us.

Posted by Erin on Feb 15, 2010 | 6 Comments | Tweet This

What clutter affects an unclutterer?

When I talk about struggles with clutter, I tend to speak in generalities — messy closets, disorganized desks, etc. My assumption is that the specific ways I fight with clutter in my life are different than other folks, and using generalities can make the advice applicable to more people.

However, I know there is value in concrete examples, and I believe our Friday Ask Unclutterer column is a great way to explore specific problems readers face. I received an e-mail from a reader recently, though, asking if I would talk about actual problems I face in my daily life. She wanted to know where clutter creeps into my schedule, home, and office.

I thought about it for a week and decided I would reveal one area where I completely fail at uncluttering. I’ve hinted at some of this in the past, but now I’ll share the whole story. It is, without a doubt, my Achilles heel:

Erin’s Failure: If something I rely upon breaks, stops working, or fails to do its job any longer, I have a tendency to ignore it instead of dealing with it. Last year, our washing machine was broken for two months and I responded by ignoring the problem. Out of necessity, I had to go to the Laundromat twice — spending more than $25 and hauling five hampers of clothes with me each time. Did I once research washing machines online to learn what might be wrong with our washer? No. Did I research replacement units, prices, warranties, or reviews? No. Did I find out which stores would haul off my broken machine if I replaced the washer with a new one? Definitely not.

I told my husband that I would take care of it, yet he’s the one who called the repairman, researched reviews of new washers, and dragged me to Sears kicking and screaming to buy a replacement. Our new washing machine cost less than $500, and I had spent over $50 at the Laundromat. I wasted more than 10 percent of the cost of the new unit because I refused to act and take care of the situation.

Nine years ago, my car died. While driving it home one evening, it transformed from a Volvo sedan into a piece of steel sculpture in the shape of a car. Did I call a mechanic to check to see what was wrong with it? No. Did I call Goodwill to donate it to charity? No. Did I have it towed to a junk yard? No. Instead, I paid $200 a month for EIGHT MONTHS for it to sit in its parking space in downtown D.C. Finally, my husband (who was just my fiance at the time) picked up the phone and called a local charity that came and towed the car away on my behalf. I wasted $1,600 in parking and $950 on insurance over that time period, and I didn’t even need a car. I lived in D.C., worked in D.C., and had unlimited access to taxis and the Metro. I’m still kicking myself over my inability to act when my car died and the loss of $2,500.

Now you know where my uncluttering fails. This is my very specific thorn in my side. How about you? What uncluttering failure specifically plagues your life? Apparently Martha Stewart struggles with clutter in her clothes closet, so I know it affects everyone. Feel welcome to bare your soul in the comments.

Posted by Erin on Feb 9, 2010 | 54 Comments | Tweet This

Why we hold on to sentimental clutter

Sentimental clutter plagues our attics, basements, closets, garages, and desks. These sentimental trinkets can keep us from moving forward with our lives physically and emotionally. If there is so much of the past taking up space in the present, there isn’t room to grow.

The article “What is nostalgia good for?” from BBC News discusses a recent report from the financial services firm Standard Life, the book Get It Together by Damian Barr, and research conducted by psychologist Clay Routledge at North Dakota State University that may provide insight into why we accumulate so many sentimental items and have even greater difficulty letting them go:

“Most of our days are often filled with with routine activities that aren’t particularly significant — shopping for groceries, commuting to work and so forth,” says Mr. Routledge.

“Nostalgia is a way for us to tap into the past experiences that we have that are quite meaningful — to remind us that our lives are worthwhile, that we are people of value, that we have good relationships, that we are happy and that life has some sense of purpose or meaning.”

Unfortunately, keeping everything from the past can have a negative impact on the future. From the article:

But Mr Barr warns the past can be fun in measured doses and for the right reasons.

“You shouldn’t revisit it as a way of avoiding the present or not thinking about the future. If you spend too much time thinking about the past, you are simply not going to be prepared for the future socially or emotionally.”

While highlighting the benefits of nostalgia, a 2006 report in Psychology Today magazine has warned that “overdoing reminiscence” risks an absence of joy derived from the present, and a reliance on past memories to provide happiness.

Thinking about the past could also trigger painful emotions, such as grief for lost loved ones or feeling like a has-been if recalling a distant career success.

Since we get a bump of happiness from sentimental items, it’s okay to keep a few of the prized possessions. Make room for the handful of valuable-to-you pieces of nostalgia that aren’t actually clutter. Get rid of the rest of the stuff that holds little-to-no value, though. A quilt from your grandmother might be an object you keep, but a stick you picked up one day in her yard might be something you should trash. It’s impossible to keep every object that comes into your life, so keep what is truly important (not clutter) and clear the rest (clutter) to make room for your present and future.

A few tips for ways to let go of sentimental clutter:

  • Snap a digital photograph of the item and keep only the image. Save these pictures securely online in a program that allows you to keep notes about the image (like Flickr or Picasa).
  • Write a journal entry about the item before you get rid of it. The act of writing down the memory will let you think about the experience, which is usually more valuable than the object itself.
  • Invite friends to a Nostalgia Night and video tape your conversations about the items. If your friends wish to take any of the items home with them, let the object go to a good home. What is left afterward can be recycled, given to charity, or thrown in the trash.
  • Make a deal with yourself to only keep sentimental items that will fit in a specific acid-free storage box or scrapbook. Deciding what will make it into the box or album can be a new happy memory itself.

Be sure to check out the full article for more insights into nostalgia.

Posted by Erin on Feb 8, 2010 | 17 Comments | Tweet This

Setting limits with a Super Simple Month

I’ve declared February as a Super Simple Month in our house. To me, a Super Simple Month is defined as no travel for work, one social engagement a week or less, no shopping except for necessities, and no new large projects (craft, writing, organizations, etc.). The goal is to finish some items already in progress on my to-list, relax as much as I can with my family, and be as low-key as possible.

This Super Simple Month idea came to me last Thursday after I returned from my second of two trips to New York in four days. I was exhausted, and the idea of getting in the car and driving to Richmond the next day made me incredibly anxious. When I woke up Friday morning with a fever, I picked up the phone and cancelled my third trip for the week. I had hit my limit. Out of 31 days in January, I had been home fewer than 20.

I realized that if I am to achieve my first quarter New Year’s Resolution of gaining more energy that I had to make some serious changes. I’ve been doing great with my resolutions to eat well, exercise, and get eight to nine hours a night of sleep — but these resolutions haven’t been enough. I still don’t have the energy levels I’d like. (I do wonder, however, how awful I would have felt at the end of January had I not kept on track with these things!)

Have you ever declared a Super Simple Month for yourself or something similar? What rules did you impose to keep your schedule low-key? Was it a success? Do you wish you would have done anything differently? Three days into Super Simple Month and I have to admit that I’m really loving it. I’m sure that by the time March begins I’ll be interested in adding more activities back into my schedule, but, for now, a calm February is exactly what I need.

Posted by Erin on Feb 3, 2010 | 51 Comments | Tweet This

‘Contents Unknown’

In September, we reported on The New York Times article that discussed the current state of self-storage in the U.S. The Self Storage Association reported that unit rentals were down about “2 or 3 percent” across the country.

The article in the paper didn’t talk about what was happening to the stuff that had previously made up that 2 or 3 percent. Were people finally sorting and dealing with their possessions?

Unfortunately, after listening to a recent segment on the NPR show This American Life, it doesn’t sound like people are really dealing with their stuff. Hard economic times mean that a lot of people are falling behind on payments and their self-stored items are being put up for auction. The 16-minute segment “Act One. Needle in a Crapstack” is a fascinating look into what happens after people abandon their belongings in a self-storage facility:

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=399

After you listen to “Act One. Needle in a Crapstack,” I’m interested in reading your reactions in the comments. I found the piece to be incredibly insightful, but also heart-breaking. I had no idea what happened to the abandoned stuff until I heard this fascinating segment.

Posted by Erin on Feb 2, 2010 | 49 Comments | Tweet This

Evaluate your household routines

The routine chart provided on pages 98 and 99 in Unclutter Your Life in One Week is almost identical to the routine chart my husband and I used in our house when I was writing the book. We call it our “Doland Duties” chart and it’s how we tackle the things that have to get done for our home to function smoothly.

We revamped our Doland Duties chart when our son entered our lives back in late August, and we had to rework it again when he became mobile (we’ve started calling him Mr. Motor Pants). Major life changes — moving, new job, marriage, baby — are a great time to revisit your routines to see if all of your chores are planned out so that you’re never feeling overwhelmed by the state of things in your home. And, if you don’t currently have a routine chart, I recommend setting one up so that you’re always comfortable with the state of your home.

The biggest changes we’ve made to our routine chart are how frequently we do laundry (now we’re doing one load each weekday), our eating schedule (we like to eat as a family, so food is on the table much earlier than it used to be), and our bedtime routine begins at 8:00 instead of 9:30. We still do a half an hour of cleanup around the house each night and dishes once a day, but now they include picking up our son’s toys and washing his bottles. I’m already looking forward to when there will be three of us participating in family chores.

Do you have a routine chart for household chores? Is everyone in the house taking responsibility for and completing their duties? Do you need to evaluate your routines to make sure they’re meeting the demands of your home and fit with your schedule? With the start of the new month, now might be a good time to make sure you have a functioning system in place.

Posted by Erin on Feb 2, 2010 | 24 Comments | Tweet This

Are you an abstainer or moderator?

I don’t know if it’s the cold, gray weather outside, the fact that it’s dark before I finish work for the day, or a combination of a million other factors, but I have had very little desire to leave my house this month. When 6:00 pm rolls around, I want to put on a pair of slippers and be a home-body. Forget my friends, I can see them in February … or March … or this summer when I won’t need a coat, boots, and mittens to brave the outdoors.

Monday night, however, I forced myself to go out into the world and see Gretchen Rubin talk about her book The Happiness Project at the Borders in the Friendship Heights neighborhood of Washington, D.C. I’m glad that I went — I got to see Aviva Goldfarb who is the awesome brain behind The Six O’Clock Scramble, as well as a few Unclutterer fans — and Gretchen’s presentation gave terrific insights into her book.

One of the topics Gretchen discussed was how during her year working on her happiness project, she discovered that she is better at abstaining from an undesirable behavior than she is at moderating it. She says that there are two types of people — abstainers and moderators. Abstainers can easily quit something cold turkey. Moderators can easily reduce the number of times they do something.

I used to be an abstainer, but now I’m a moderator. When I quit smoking in my 20s, I decided one day to do it. I didn’t even smoke a “last cigarette.” I just walked away from it and didn’t think about cigarettes again. Now, if I try to abstain completely from something, my thoughts become obsessed with it. Instead, I am more successful and happy if I impose rules for moderation (for example, my resolution to eat at restaurants twice a week or less).

Which one are you? Are you an abstainer or a moderator?

Knowing which camp you are in can help a great deal with living an uncluttered life. Is there a behavior that is cluttering up your life? To resolve the issue, would you do best by ending it completely or setting moderate limitations?

Posted by Erin on Jan 23, 2010 | 27 Comments | Tweet This

Doing more with less: Dogme 95 and self-imposed limitations

In 1995, Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg wrote a manifesto in opposition to the excesses of overproduction in filmmaking. In it, the two Danish directors formulated ten specific rules designed to force filmmakers to focus on the narrative and the actors’ performances instead of on unnecessary and expensive gimmicks.

These rules, known as The Vow of Chastity became the foundation of the Dogme 95 movement:

  1. Shooting must be done on location. Props and sets must not be brought in (if a particular prop is necessary for the story, a location must be chosen where this prop is to be found).
  2. The sound must never be produced apart from the images or vice versa. (Music must not be used unless it occurs where the scene is being shot).
  3. The camera must be hand-held. Any movement or immobility attainable in the hand is permitted. (The film must not take place where the camera is standing; shooting must take place where the film takes place).
  4. The film must be in colour. Special lighting is not acceptable. (If there is too little light for exposure the scene must be cut or a single lamp be attached to the camera).
  5. Optical work and filters are forbidden.
  6. The film must not contain superficial action. (Murders, weapons, etc. must not occur.)
  7. Temporal and geographical alienation are forbidden. (That is to say that the film takes place here and now.)
  8. Genre movies are not acceptable.
  9. The film format must be Academy 35 mm.
  10. The director must not be credited

It’s easy to read this list and wonder how anyone could possibly produce a feature-length film under such restrictive terms. But in the last fifteen years, over sixty films have been made that adhere to The Vow of Chastity. Many of these motion pictures are actually quite good. In fact, the very first Dogme 95 film released, The Celebration, managed to win a Special Jury Prize at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival.

I think the most interesting thing about the Dogme 95 movement is that it demonstrates how effective self-imposed limitations can be. They can help us keep focus on what is really important in our work by freeing us from limitless possibilities, which are often just distractions.

So next time you’re feeling creatively stuck or overwhelmed, consider reining yourself in to help you keep your priorities in order.

Posted by PJ on Jan 21, 2010 | 31 Comments | Tweet This

Boston Herald reporter finds calm after uncluttering

Last Wednesday, Boston Herald columnist Darren Garnick publicly admitted that his previous love of disorder may have been misplaced. In his article “Pride in messy desk replaced with ‘sinking, drowning feeling’” on January 13, Garnick professes his new appreciation for being organized.

From the article:

Three years ago in this space, I passionately endorsed [the book] “A Perfect Mess” and ruthlessly mocked Barry Izsak, president of the National Association of Professional Organizers. NAPO had branded January as “Get Organized Month” and the president ominously told me that his archenemy, clutter, plagued “the bulk of humanity.”

It turns out that his superhero rhetoric was right. My employer’s decision to relocate to larger offices this month has forced me to confront the mounds of documents, newspapers, trade journals and notebooks blanketing every square inch of horizontal space. Despite thriving in this environment for years, I am now strangely experiencing Barry’s prophecy of a “sinking, drowning feeling.”

I can’t take it any more. Why would I save a Wal-Mart sales flier from 2004? Looking at it, I had no idea which product originally enticed me. Why would I save DVDs for Microsoft Front Page 2000 or Microsoft Explorer 5 – for the dream software museum I hope to launch one day?

And, my favorite clutter-busting anecdote in his piece has to be:

With the help of some consulting co-workers, I begrudgingly threw away a banged-up VHS tape of World War II newsreels. They convinced me I was not the only one with footage of the Nazi invasion of Poland.

Publicly admitting that you feel overwhelmed by disorder and chaos is not an easy thing to do. I commend Garnick for changing his tune and working to get the clutter out of his office. I hope his column and new desire to pursue an uncluttered life inspires others to do the same.

Are you like Garnick and me — previous messies turned unclutterers? Share your transformation tale in the comments.

Posted by Erin on Jan 19, 2010 | 29 Comments | Tweet This

What is your free time worth to you?

Over on the economics blog Marginal Revolution, a reader asked Tyler Cowen how to determine the financial value of his free time. Cowen responds in the post “What’s the value of your time?”

As usual, the correct answer is “it depends,” but here are a few principles:

  1. Don’t value your time by your implicit wage rate, no matter what your Econ 101 text says. For most jobs you are assigned some lumpy tasks and you don’t control your work hours at the margin as much as you might like to. The key question is whether the overall pattern of your time is an enjoyable one and marginal calculations aren’t always a good way to make that estimation.
  2. Ask the simple question: at what valuation of my time will I maximize the amount I look forward to each day, defined over the next five years? If your next five years are not so tolerable, reexamine what you are doing and that includes revaluing your time. For instance you might be an irrational workaholic or a lazy bum.
  3. Look to the economics literature on “golden rule” and “steady-state” path comparisons to address this problem. If need be utter the word “Flow” and try to remember how to spell that guy’s name so you can google it.
  4. What do you want time for anyway? When is your time ever “free”? If you choose to work more for money, isn’t that time “free” too? Only if your job is a total drudge should you frame the choice this way.
  5. Focus on defining the experiences you value most, and how to get more of those experiences, and wise money/time choices will flow from that approach.

Increasing or protecting “free” time to pursue what matters most to you is almost everyone’s top priority for an uncluttered life. Cowen’s valuation suggestions — in my opinion, especially two, four, and five — are a good starting point to figuring out this number for yourself.

Have you ever tried to determine the value of your “free” time? What do you think of Cowen’s valuation suggestions? I’m extremely interested in hearing from you in the comments. I find this to be a fascinating exercise.

Posted by Erin on Jan 12, 2010 | 18 Comments | Tweet This

The Amish, their gadgets, and their ability to get rid of distractions

The lives of the Amish can seem simple, especially to those of us who are outsiders to their communities. They live off the electrical power grid, some use a horse and buggy as their main form of transportation, and they dress plainly. Their religious beliefs command that they live in this world but “not of it.”

When I talk to groups about uncluttered living, more often than not someone in the audience will express an objection to my ideas using the Amish in their argument. Typically the statement is, “but I don’t want to live like the Amish, I like my cell phone.” To this, I explain that uncluttered living doesn’t mean turning your back on modernity and, as a matter of clarification, many Amish have cell phones.

The lives of the Amish are filled with to-do lists and responsibilities just as ours. The ways in which they complete these items are different, but chores like laundry, dishes, meal preparations, and even returning e-mails still take up their time.

I’ve read a great deal about the Amish over the years, and one of the articles I’ve found that might interest Unclutterer readers is the article “Amish Hackers” from last year on Kevin Kelly’s Technium blog. The title appears to be an oxymoron, but Kelly’s research into the technical lives of the largest American Amish community illustrates how it’s not:

For being off the grid, without TV, internet, or books, the Amish are perplexingly well-informed. There’s not much I could tell them that they didn’t know about, and already had an opinion on. And surprisingly, there’s not much new that at least one person in their church has not tried to use. The typical adoption pattern went like this:

Ivan is an Amish alpha-geek. He is always the first to try a new gadget or technique. He gets in his head that the new flowbitzmodulator would be really useful. He comes up with a justification of how it fits into the Amish orientation. So he goes to his bishop with this proposal: “I like to try this out.” Bishop says to Ivan, “Okay Ivan, do whatever you want with this. But you have to be ready to give it up, if we decide it is not helping you or hurting others.” So Ivan acquires the tech and ramps it up, while his neighbors, family, and bishops watch intently. They weigh the benefits and drawbacks. What is it doing to the community? Cell phone use in the Amish began that way. According to anecdote, the first Amish alpha geeks to request permission to use cell phones were two ministers who were also contractors. The bishops were reluctant to give permission but suggested a compromise: keep the cell phones in the vans of the drivers. The van would be a mobile phone shanty. Then the community would watch the contractors. It seemed to work so others early adopters picked it up. But still at any time, even years later, the bishops can say no.

What inspires me most about the Amish isn’t their alleged simplicity (which you can probably infer I don’t necessarily believe is simpler), but their ability to give up a convenience after experiencing it. It is extremely difficult to give up a technology (or habit or vice or any possession) that you greatly enjoy. The fact that the Amish know of the technologies and ways of our world, have even experienced them, and are willing to give them up if they start to interfere with their priorities in life is what I find impressive. They easily get rid of the distractions that get in the way of what matters most to them.

Be sure to check out Kevin Kelly’s article in its entirety if you haven’t already.

Posted by Erin on Jan 11, 2010 | 24 Comments | Tweet This

Ask Unclutterer: Is cozy a euphemism for cluttered?

Reader Beth submitted the following to Ask Unclutterer:

Can a “cozy” space be uncluttered without being just a synonym for comfortable? I hear “cozy” used sometimes as a polite way of saying cluttered, but also as a way of describing an uncluttered space as feeling warm and inviting as opposed to “cold and lifeless”…

What say you?

Where I live, euphemisms like these abound. “Charming” usually means a place is in need of repair and “cozy” means a space is extremely small. If a home is cluttered, the euphemisms are typically “eclectic” or “shabby chic.” My guess is that these phrases hold different meanings in different parts of the country, but I get the intent of what you’re asking.

More to the point, a dwelling doesn’t have to be sterile to be uncluttered. The ascetic, minimalist style works well for museums, but most people aren’t comfortable with this look in their homes. They feel at home when there are signs of life, a bit of reflection of their personalities, and something that delineates they aren’t their neighbors.

An unclutterer is someone who gets rid of the distractions that get in the way of a remarkable life. Therefore, clutter (a distraction) has a subjective definition. In my home, flower vases are clutter because I never have fresh flowers on display (my cats think flowers are tasty, tasty snacks). In the home of a florist, however, vases are likely used daily and not a distraction.

I prefer clean lines, and all I want out on display are the few items that bring me great joy. I don’t want baubles or knick knacks to obstruct my line of vision of these important pieces. I’m also pretty sure most people find my home to be a bit formal. Other unclutterers might be okay with more than two items out on display in a room. One definition of uncluttered isn’t better than another, it’s just a better definition for you.

Style your space the way that brings you the greatest joy, the least stress and distractions, and reflects the remarkable life you desire. Get rid of what you believe is cluttering up your space, thoughts, and time. Don’t worry about what anyone else thinks. Let them use euphemisms like “cozy” to describe your home — their word choice doesn’t determine how you feel in your space.

Thank you, Beth, for submitting your question for our Ask Unclutterer column. I hope I got to the point of your question.

Do you have a question relating to organizing, cleaning, home and office projects, productivity, or any problems you think the Unclutterer team could help you solve? To submit your questions to Ask Unclutterer, go to our contact page and type your question in the content field. Please list the subject of your e-mail as “Ask Unclutterer.” If you feel comfortable sharing images of the spaces that trouble you, let us know about them. The more information we have about your specific issue, the better.

Posted by Erin on Jan 8, 2010 | 29 Comments | Tweet This

Are tiny dwellings a humane alternative for the near homeless?

The New York Times reported on Saturday on the economic crisis in Japan and how small hotel “capsules” are being repurposed as housing for the unemployed. These tiny dwellings are often all that is affordable for Tokyo’s near homeless:

Now, Hotel Shinjuku 510’s capsules, no larger than 6 1/2 feet long by 5 feet wide, and not tall enough to stand up in, have become an affordable option for some people with nowhere else to go as Japan endures its worst recession since World War II.

… continuing …

The rent is surprisingly high for such a small space: 59,000 yen a month, or about $640, for an upper bunk. But with no upfront deposit or extra utility charges, and basic amenities like fresh linens and free use of a communal bath and sauna, the cost is far less than renting an apartment in Tokyo, Mr. [Atsushi] Nakanishi says.

The article describes more of what is included in the $640 per month rent:

Each capsule is furnished only with a light, a small TV with earphones, coat hooks, a thin blanket and a hard pillow of rice husks.

Most possessions, from shirts to shaving cream, must be kept in lockers. There is a common room with old couches, a dining area and rows of sinks. Cigarette smoke is everywhere, as are security cameras. But the hotel staff does its best to put guests at ease: “Welcome home,” employees say at the entrance.

The article fascinated me because the tone of the reporter felt negative to me. However, in my opinion, these capsule hotels seem like a humane housing alternative for those truly in need. They are safe (the article mentions a strong security presence), warm, and provide a permanent address. (Not having an address is a huge disadvantage when seeking employment.) Obviously, they’re not the finest or largest dwellings in Tokyo, but they seem better than the streets or an unsafe, poorly maintained apartment building.

What do you think of these small capsules as semi-permanent dwellings for those in need? I’m interested in reading your reactions in the comments.

(Image from The New York Times. View the complete slideshow.)

Posted by Erin on Jan 6, 2010 | 64 Comments | Tweet This

Increasing energy: Erin’s first set of 2010 resolutions

With the start of the New Year, I’m working diligently on my 2010 resolutions already. In my review of Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project, I mentioned that my first quarter of the year is focused on gaining more energy. Without more energy, my remaining resolutions can’t possibly happen.

I’ve written in the past about how getting adequate sleep is linked to an uncluttered life. If I’m exhausted, I’m less likely to eat well and exercise (also energy related), tackle items on my to-do list, think and work efficiently and clearly, keep up with chores, stay focused, and respond well under stress. One hour of missed sleep can tank my productivity the following day.

Less than a week into 2010, though, and I’ve already had to tweak some of my resolutions. For example, when I was planning how I would achieve my sleep resolutions, I apparently forgot to factor in that I have a baby in the house. Although he has started sleeping through most nights, he’s not sleeping through all nights. I’ve quickly learned that my plan to get eight hours of sleep a night is more likely to happen if I schedule nine hours on the calendar.

Here are my energy resolutions that I’m working to turn into habits during the first quarter of 2010:

  • On nights when I work the following morning, begin bedtime routines at 9:00 p.m. (Change into pajamas, pick out clothes for tomorrow, feed pets, wash face, brush teeth, change son into his pajamas, curl up in bed with a book, etc.)
  • Lights out at 10:00 p.m.
  • Out of bed the first time the alarm clock rings at 7:00 a.m. (No snooze!)
  • On Monday evenings, create a healthy meal plan and shopping list for Wednesday through Wednesday. (I currently do this, I went ahead and put this on the list, though, to make it a priority to keep doing it.)
  • Grocery shop each Tuesday. (Again, I do this, just wanted to reinforce.)
  • When in town, eat out at restaurants three times a week or less. (I’m counting coffee and soda stops in this.)
  • Go to gym every day per training schedule for April race.

The point of these resolutions is to improve my sleeping, eating, and exercising routines, which will hopefully give me more energy. By the end of March I’ll report back about if I’ve noticed any improvement in my energy level. I have some intense resolutions planned for the second quarter of 2010, and I’m going to need more energy than I currently have.

How have you decided to structure your resolutions for 2010? What resolutions are on your list? How are they going so far? Remember, if you break a resolution, just start again the next day and tweak any plans that may need it. Good luck!

Posted by Erin on Jan 4, 2010 | 38 Comments | Tweet This