February 9 - First Aid Supplies

while we do the meds...may as well do this related one....

For today, Thursday, February 9:

***Clean out your First Aid Supplies***

Try to toss out at least 1 plastic grocery bag of stuff!

Before, now you see it:

After, now you don't (& those 2 plastic bins are in my next week's VVA donation!):

Quick reference what we've done so far:

1. First Aid supplies
   
2. Rx/meds
   
3. Pet supplies
   
4. files
5. under the sink(s)
6. bathroom vanity(ies)
   
7. 1 paperwork pile
8. that "other" junk drawer (flashlights, keys, menus, batteries)
9. a desk drawer
   
10. gift wrap
11. office supplies
12. night stand
13. make-up
14. linens
15. laundry products
16. shoes
17. board games
18. tops of frig and mircrowave
19. jewelry
20. coats
21. vases/serving dishes
22. media (CDs/DVDs/video games)
23. baking goods
24. socks/pjs/undergarments
25. tupperware/pots/pans
26. junk drawer
27. utensils
28. spices

How to make the new habit of de-cluttering stick:

1. Commit to Thirty Days – Three to four weeks is all the time you need to make a habit automatic. If you can make it through the initial conditioning phase, it becomes much easier to sustain.
2. Make it Daily – Consistency is critical if you want to make a habit stick.

3. Start Simple – Don’t try to completely change your life in one day (or season!). It is easy to get over-motivated and take on too much. If you want to clean out your clutter by summer, first choose what area of your home you want to de-clutter (main living areas, basement, storage, attic, garage, etc.) and just commit to doing a little each day to conquer that one focus by summer.  The other areas may have to be another season's project.

4. Remind Yourself – Hopefully the emails or subscribing to my blog help.

5. Stay Consistent – The more consistent your habit the easier it will be to stick. Try to de-clutter the same time each day for 30 tasks. 

6. Get a Buddy – That's what we're here for each other for!!  :)   

7. Form a Trigger – A trigger is a ritual you use right before executing your habit. When it feels overwhelming, set a timer for 10 minutes to do as much as you can on that day's task.

8. Replace Lost Needs - If you are giving up something in your habit, make sure you are adequately replacing any needs you’ve lost. If clutter makes you feel like you'll always have everything you need, practice donating things regularly to learn the intrinsic value of sharing and giving away our stuff that makes your heart feel better.

9. Be Imperfect – Don’t expect all your attempts to change habits to be successful immediately. Missing days or not having time for a task is fine and doing the next day's task continues to help you accomplish not give up.

10. Use “But” – A prominent habit changing therapist once told me this great technique for changing bad thought patterns. When you start to think negative thoughts, use the word “but” to interrupt it. “This is endless, but, if I work at it a little each day, I might start to see the space.”

11. Remove Temptation - Restructure your environment so it won’t tempt you in the first thirty days. Throw-out catalogs that tempt you with the "next thing you really need to buy," decrease shopping sprees.

12. Associate With Role Models - Spend more time with people who model the habits you want to mirror. Help each other one day with one of the tasks to spur each other on to keep de-cluttering! 

13. Run it as an Experiment - Withhold judgment until after a month has past and use it as an experiment in behavior. Experiments can’t fail, they just have different results so it will give you a different perspective on changing your habit.

14. Swish - A technique from NLP. Visualize yourself performing the bad habit (creating piles). Next visualize yourself pushing aside the bad habit and performing an alternative (putting things where they go and filling-up donated bags w/ extras). Finally, end that sequence with an image of yourself in a highly positive state. See yourself throwing stuff in a pile, see yourself putting it where it goes and working on de-cluttering an area for just 10 minutes w/ a timer, and finally visualize yourself relaxing and breathing free. Do it a few times until you automatically go through the pattern before executing the old habit.

15. Write it Down – A piece of paper with a resolution on it isn’t that important. Writing that resolution is. Writing makes your ideas more clear and focuses you on your end result.  Use one mantra written down that speaks to you.  One friend's is "“Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy."

16. Know the Benefits - Familiarize yourself with the benefits of making a change. Take time to relax in an area you cleaned out.  Admire it and be thankful you could give to others and let things go.  Sit and relax on your couch with a little less clutter staring you in the face.  

17. Know the Pain – You should also be aware of the consequences. Watch a hoarding show and let it make you feel a little sick.  Read a book on poverty and see how we really have way too much stuff.

18. Do it For Yourself - Be sure to have goals for why bother w/ the habit.  One friend wants to feel more free to open her home up more with hospitality to others and feel less cluttered & cleaner, would free her up to do so.  Weak guilt and empty resolutions aren’t enough.