If You Use Artificial Sweeteners, Read This Book

Read this book. If you use artificial sweeteners like aspartame (Nutrasweet), Sucralose, Saccharin, etc, you may want to reconsider. Dr. Joseph Mercola tells it like it is, and you'll be shocked (well, maybe not so much if you've followed politics at all lately...) at the way the FDA has allowed itself to be manipulated by lobbyists and Big Chem.

A Lovely Romance

I've mentioned The Gluten-Free Girl's blog before, but the current post is just so lovely I hope you will all read it.

More Books

Since I am not making any clutter progress, here are some more recommended books. I haven't finished all of these, but they're good 'uns.

Some Books to Look For

Here's what I've read recently...

Fun Friday

So, here it is, Friday already. My life sucks, my cat escaped yesterday (yes, he came back. yes, he was covered in burrs and very full of himself. I still hugged his furry little self 'til he meowed!).

Ahem! So, since I haven't cleared out ding whap lately. Oh, wait. I did clear up my desk a wee bit. I went through my mega pile of mail and bills and junk that had built up and sent most of it to the recycle bin. It doesn't feel like it counts though, because that stuff just keeps coming back. Just like the T-man, it's always back.

For your reading pleasure, two blogs I came across this week and have enjoyed chortling over:
That Rude Girl
Behind the Counter

Enjoy!

The Parts of the Whole

When I glance at my house, I see clutter. I see piles, hot spots, bins and baskets full of stuff. In those moments, I want to just chuck it all out the door. But then, I make the mistake of looking closer, at seeing each individual item. Then, just like judging a group versus an individual, the parts become indispensible. They must be kept, they're valuable, precious, useful.

I can't go on like this. I am not the archivist for the world, I am a human being trying to live a normal life. I do not want to continue drowning in stuff. The chaos is so agitating, yet, I often block it out and know that I'm doing that, so I can go on. This is not the legacy I want to pass on to my children.

The question is, how can I accelerate my ability and willingness to let things go?

When You're Feeling Overwhelmed

Sometimes, the massive weight of life and all its complexities falls down upon me like meteor. The house, the relationships, the people, the stuff, the agreements and arguments, the duties and committments. Doesn't it ever feel like it's all too much?

Today, I had a hard time. Many days I have hard times, hard moments. Today, it all overflowed. Tears, swearing, recrimations, anger. I threw things (well, an empty ceral box...didn't want to actually destroy anything). I wanted to throw more things. A computer monitor, now that would make a delightful crashing sound. The clean-up can happen later, right?

It's easy to feel entirely alone at times like these. No one understands me! Well, it's actually true: no one else can understand or experience exactly what is happening within oneself, because no one else IS oneself. We are all essentially alone, alone in our selves, with our thoughts and feelings. But what we truly want, the only thing indeed that we do truly want, is to be understood. And that is simply impossible. So, we have to settle for empathy, for compassion, for a pat on the back and a hug.

It's all there is.

Is it enough? I don't know.

The Peace of a Clutter-Free Home

Yesterday, we visited friends. They have a fairly large house, but thanks to constant vigilance, the clutter is at a minimum. There are hot spots here and there, especially in the kitchen "landing zone" and near the front door, but the main, frequently used living areas of the house are tidy, clear and easy to use. No need to shovel the stuff off a chair to have a seat, no time wasted clearing crap off of the dining room table to have a meal, no frustration trying to cook because the counters are clear of extraneous items.

It truly is constant vigilance that keeps this house a home. My friend, like me, loves to treasure hunt at the thrift stores. But, unlike me, she doesn't develop overly strong attachments to the things she finds. They're worn, used, sat on or cooked in, and when they wear out or the kids grow out of them, out the door they go. No piles, or bins or build up of crapola. Just clear spaces, and a relaxing vibe.

May my house one day become a home like theirs. And may yours as well!

Clutter Porn

Well, you know what I mean, don't you? Haven't you heard people refer to glossy photos of, well, any consumer good, as porn? As in "auto porn", "boat porn", "gadget porn"? Here for your viewing pleasure, is some "Clutter porn"!

These bins are on the shelf underneath my coat rack. Ideally, each person in the household should have a bin for their things--bags, keys, hats, etc. In actuality, they tend to be full of my stuff.


My desk, again a mass of papers, discs, books, and various bits and pieces.


Some magazines, and a book a friend loaned me that I still need to read.


Ah, the pile o' crap! That space near the bottom of the stairs that accumulates bags of donations, things meant for others, and various detritus. Will it ever stay clear?

Refreshers

Sometimes, when you lose your focus, when those goals that seemed so reachable start to feel like an attempt to clean the Aegean stables...well, it's time to reread some of the books that inspired in the first place.
I'm starting with Clear Your Clutter With Feng Shui, which so inspired me last summer.
In my stack of TBR books (to-be-read, that is) are a couple of Feng Shui books I picked up at Phoenix Rising, a metaphysics bookstore in Port Townsend. Adventures of a Feng Shui Detective: How Inner Clues Reveal Your Outer Life features short case histories in a Feng Shui consultant's practice. Feng Shui Demystified seems to be (see, I haven't read it yet) a guide to using Feng Shui in the home. I'll let you know what I think of both of these once I've read them.
When you find yourself losing momentum, getting stuck, try going back to what originally inspired you. A blog, a book, a friend's clear and tidy house.