Link to a Great Article About "How Clutter Affects Your Brain."

I found this fantastic article on a subject near and dear to me.  It is perfect that I found it today, because October is my month to get back on track in several areas of my life. Moreover, I know that entails cleaning the clutter out of all areas of my life.  To do that is going to take more than a month:  it is really an ongoing process.  

The point is that I think better, do my daily work better, and I manage life better when I do not let clutter get the best of me.  I am dividing the following article into manageable sections and planning on seeing how I can best apply it to my life.  

Blessings!  I hope you enjoy reading How Clutter Affects Your Brain (and what you can do about it) by Mikael Cho.  And, I hope he does not mind me pointing you to his well-written article.  I loved knowing about how the brain is actually affected by clutter, which is no surprise to me.

A Selfish House-guest, Oh My!

What was your first thought when you saw the title A Selfish House-guest, Oh My!?  Did you think of people seeing your cluttered house, sorrow that you are embarrassed to have anyone over, or worry that you would be worn out by preparing for any house-guest?  

Only the first part of my title is original, because I am actually pointing you to another article that made me curious.  I never expected to be confronted with the idea that Clutter is a guest in my home, nor all the things that it keeps me from.  Even though, my home is better than it was, I am still working on it.  Of course, some things about keeping house are ongoing, but Clutter fills one with a sense of guilt and obligation.  Please read on by clicking on FlyLady's article called Your Selfish Houseguest.  I just had to share it with you.  

Sorting Through Old Cards and Boxes: Is It Worth It?

image courtesy of somkku9
FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Yesterday and Today, I have been working on what some people might consider the dullest of tasks. However, I have not found it dull, even though I am feeling drained now;  but, only because of the work and the many emotions that cross the barriers of my mind during this job.  Also, I tend to get drawn into it, and I have a hard time stopping.  I found myself ignoring the timer.

If you are like me, you are the spouse that usually gets the sorting tasks;  so, I put aside whatever I have I think might be important, throw away other stuff, and shred the rest.  My goal is to condense a lifetime into a couple of boxes.  I thought I had done that, but I found I was not satisfied with the job. Sometimes, I think that if it all burned up, I would still be who I am now.  But I have to admit that it is interesting seeing how I have traveled the journey.  Also, I am blessed to have been married for many years, and it is nice to see where we have been together in our lives.  

image courtesy of chrisroll
FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Mixed in with our lives is recalling happy times, difficult times, the people that loved us, and ordinary daily events.  It is up to each of us to decide how to sort this;  and, I am not going to give advice on what you should do.  However, I am going to tell you what some of my personal guidelines have been. 

My Guidelines for Sorting Through Relics of My Past

1. Save pictures from different stages of our family's lives.  Save enough that each grown child can have their own copies.  Don't save all of them if you took a lot of pictures.  Save the ones with special meaning.
2. Save cards and letters that remind you of special relationships.  If you have a lot of the same type of card, then you may not want them all.  Save samples of special letters from your parents, your spouse, your children, and other important people.
3. Some people may not agree, but I have also found it cathartic to throw away some of the things from places and people that are no longer in my life.  Many of them are only memories to me, and I have lived too full a life in too many places (work related) to keep up with all of them.  I think some people may feel guilty about this, but I have to grow where I am planted now.  If I can become reacquainted with some people someday, that would be nice;  however,  that is going to have to based on more than the past.  I do regret that we cannot connect with some people, but it is physically impossible.  Someday in Eternity, then I hope to see some of those wonderful people.



image courtesy of Simon Howden
FreeDigitalPhotos.net

4. Plastic bins would be nice for keeping the saved things.  My sinuses are still suffering from inhaled dust and debris.  The plastic bins will keep out insects.  Yes, they do get in there, even if you have a clean house.  Certain insects love paper and cardboard.

Best of luck in searching through your things and cutting them down to size.  Be strong and be brave:  you can do it!

 

28 Days of Cleaning and Decluttering: Challenge, Day 3

Tuesday, 2-3-2015 I hope you were able to make progress in your bathrooms yesterday. I am giving you an easy job today, so you can finish up. If you only worked on one bathroom, we will be wiping them down later this week before the weekend.

I am not trying to take you through a cleaning schedule for the week. We are simply reducing the clutter in each room by practicing techniques for getting it done. It is your job to keep down the clutter in the rooms you work on. You will find the job gets easier as you reduce clutter in each room; and perhaps, you will be inspired to continue reducing the clutter.

Check out my Pinterest Boards. I tried to move any board I thought would inspire you in the area of organizing towards the top of my Boards.

Day 1 - 28 Days of Decluttering.

Today, we are starting with getting ourselves ready to face the day!

The Tangle

Since today is October 31, it seemed that it might be a good time to come up with a "habit of the month."  It was my screen saver that reminded me, because that is what I see every time I turn on my computer.

This morning I was thinking about my problem areas in the house.  As you know, I am far from perfect, but that is alright, because I am going for reasonably clean.  My worst habit is that I am a piler.  I have little piles here and little piles there -- books, magazines, cards, mail -- you name it, it may be in my pile.

Some people call these hot spots.  However, I have come up with a new name, that fully describes the maxim of clutter attracts clutter.  It is like a spider web:  everything that lands there sticks.  Or maybe, it is more like briers   things get caught in there and stay.  Ooh!  Doesn't that sound painful?

We have a new term to learn, and our habit of the month for November will be to work on making these areas go away.  So, let me introduce to you The Tangle.  The Tangle is the clutter that attracts clutter. 

It is our little piles that seem to magically grow, as we put things down we intend to use but don't get around to using or we forget to put them away.  It is the books and mail that need to be filed, the medicine bottles we knock off the table--because they are in the way, and it is the rubber-bands or pencils that need a home.  It is the dust that collects, because it is too hard to dust there.

When we are truly organized, we learn to put items where they belong.  If we do not use, need, or love the things causing our tangle -- then, these things need to be donated, recycled, or thrown away.  

Remember, baby steps will get us where we want to go.  

The habit of the month for November will be to clean up your Tangle for 15 minutes a day.  Work at your own pace.  If you need to, divide this job into smaller segments, such as five minutes for three times a day.  

Medicine, Supplements, and Remembering to Take Them

Leftover pills that have not been taken.  These pill
containers were filled about two weeks ago.  How
does a person make it any easier than this?
Obviously, there has to be a concentration on
priorities.  The red pills are a cranberry pill
for helping to prevent UTI's.  They were not
needed anymore.  And this does not even give
you an accurate view of the pills that were in
there, which were left from previous weeks.

Confession Time has arrived for me, and I am wondering if anyone else deals with this.  Taking my medicine and supplements has been getting sporadic in my life.  I am pretty good about the medicine, but I get too busy or too tired and I don't keep up very well with my supplements.

Somehow, I have a feeling there are people out there saying, "Oh, it is easy.  Write it down.  Put them in your divided pill containers for the right time of day, etcetera, etcetera."  And I have done both:  I usually end up with lots of leftover vitamins and other supplements that are good for me.

Is anybody out there saying, "No wonder you haven't felt too great lately."?  Well,  I am sure it isn't helping that I have gotten slack on taking everything.

Persistence in Cleaning --an example of success!

One little candle in the darkness

 A light in the darkness, could that mean a glimmer of hope?  Or is it merely, the cute rabbit some friends gave me with a battery candle that flickers?  Yea!  It is the rabbit, which is shaped so much like a turtle, I had to see it to remember what it was.  But the point is I can see it now on my table that has taken me a month to get shipshape amidst illness and other jobs that need to be done in a house.

Rabbit and Birthday Box in the Light

So now I present the unveiling of the Clean Table, my work table and my dining room table when we have more than four people eating.  It is old; and it is special to me, because it belonged to my grandmother.  I am thinking of painting it, but I haven't yet.  I think the legs would be hard to paint, and my body would not like the contortions it would take to do it.

Here it is, my table with my box that can hide notebooks,
craft paper or whatever needs moving when it becomes
a dining table.  The big box is part of my birthday.
I love the brightness of it in this paneled room

   

 Would you believe it took me almost two months to get to this point?    And I'm not done, because I have a sideboard to finish.  And I did not pile everything on the sideboard.  I have been systematically working on this from five to fifteen minutes a day, minus a few days for sick leave.  I have been organizing craft supplies, throwing away trash, filing direction booklets and other filables, and giving away clutter that is usable.  I have less than I started with, which makes me very happy.  Also, I have found items that made cleaning feel like Christmas.  Today, I am closer to my goal than yesterday.  

You can do this too.  It has just been proven what can be done using a few minutes out of your day.  It may take longer than you want, but it feels so good to know you are not hiding papers and other paraphernalia in your closet, just to make it look like you have a clutter-free house or room.

Those bags and boxes that are hidden in the closet only seem to attract more clutter, which adds up to a pile that seems insurmountable, so one ignores it, because that is easier than dealing with it.  It becomes a habit to clean up quickly, until one cannot do it anymore and there is not anyplace left to hide the clutter.

Moving did it for me, even though I  was slowly working it before.  Even though I was decluttering before, it wasn't enough after moving into a small house.  I know the decisions about what to keep and not to keep are going to get harder, but I am determined to do this one step at a time.

Focus and Distraction: Managing Mine

Focus and Distraction:  do those words feel familiar?  Oh yes, I purposely used the word "feel", because I
have been dealing with this today, yesterday, the day before, etc., etcetera.  I feel sure you understand, and I realized it is making me more fatigued than I need to be.  The neat thing is that God answered prayer for me today;  and in the doing of following His path for me, I am finding direction.

One of the things that has been bothering me is having five blogs and two Facebook pages.  For someone that has ME/CFS among other illnesses that sounds plain crazy.  And maybe, I was feeling a little guilty:  it's the perfectionist thing kicking in.  I can't spread myself around that much.


I was wondering how I got myself into this, and I remembered that I was called.

Today, God helped me to see that by answering a prayer for me.  (He tells us in the Bible to bring all our cares and anxieties to Him.)  This afternoon, the answer was in the things I read, and I it was also brought to me by a member on one of my Facebook pages.  I am thankful God cleared up my lack of focus and the distractions with which I've been dealing;  moreover, I am absolutely amazed at how the picture of what I'm supposed to be doing is clearing up.  I feel as if I have been looking through a fogged window, and I now I can see the landscape before me.

I feel relief.  With all that is in me, I am thankful to God.

Secondly, I have been wondering if I should combine blogs, go to Wordpress, get my own domain and combine blogs.  I have that answer for now.  And it goes along with the the acronym, KIS:  keep it simple.

1. It costs money to get your own domain -- can't do that one yet.
2. I am already here, and you know I am here.
3. Blogger is easy to use.
4. Why expend energy on changing something that works.
5. I can share the information for and from Chronic Fatigue and Creative Decluttering here. (Why does this feel like one of those "duh" moments?  After all, having enough energy to clean is something with which people with chronic illnesses struggle.)

I am not going to delete the other blogs, but I am not going to struggle with what to do with them anymore -- at least, not until I am led to do something different, if that ever happens.  This is my plan:

• The two main blogs are Learning to Balance Life Changes and Living Better With An Invisible Illness.  
• Learning to Balance Life Changes will continue to be about information on Fibromyalgia and ME/CFS; dealing with our health, our psychological balance, and our physical issues; and at times I am going to mention how spiritual issues affect our life (because that is who I am).  Also, I plan to incorporate more about the decluttering of our house, our lives, our bodies, as it comes.  Why?  Because these are issues with which many people deal -- not just those with chronic illness.
• Living Better With An Invisible Illness has become a mixture of a devotional blog, a book and blog review, as well as, sharing how art journaling can be a healing tool.
• Deborah Lynne's Inspirations is going to be mostly creative things that I share on Pinterest -- DIY, up-cycling  art, etcetera.  I haven' t had much time to do that lately, because I have been floundering.
• Saying Bye to Clutter is my photo journal for decluttering.  I don't post everyday.  I accumulate pictures, then I post.  This is a fun thing for me, and I am interested to see how I feel after having posted 365 days of clutter gone.  The inspiration to keep doing it is useful too.  
• Take Comfort has been a blog of short devotions, that I began to minister to those that cannot concentrate on long Bible studies and devotionals.  Occasionally, I will do a short Bible Study to add to the collection, but lately, my devotional writing has taken a trip to Living Better With an Invisible Illness.  For right now, I think I am supposed to do it that way.   

For now, that is it.  I will be reworking my links and pages during the next few days.  But right now, I need to give my derriere a rest.  I have been sitting too long.  Also, I have some decluttering to do.  I wonder if I could convince my husband hamburgers are a good idea tonight.  I forgot to defrost something for supper.

I love you all.  If this is too long, I am so sorry.  I have become very conscious about that lately, especially since I have been reading many blogs.  My brain can only seem to take in so much; but also, I don't think our eyes were meant to stare at a computer screen for hours at a time.  See you later.

Getting Up Again

My illness has left me depleted and frustrated many times; and as the clutter begins to take over again, I wonder what my solution will be.  You see, I am not ready to give in and give up.  Are you?  Do you want to be stuck in a messy house that preys on your mind and spirit?  I know I don't.  I don't want to feel trapped by my clutter.

Therefore, I am coming up with a public experiment;  and, I would like you to join me if you have a chronic illness that impedes you in the action of keeping house or of leaving the house.   A couple of days ago, I felt sad, because I am so very tired of a messy house and a messy me.  At least, I feel messy.  I have not been able to keep up the FlyLady system.  Her system is wonderful, if you are well enough to clean.

The past month and a half, I have not been well, but I have been  able to make myself throw in a load of laundry or clean the toilet.  I have cooked a few meals;  but most of the time, I have sat in my recliner or I have been lying down in the bed.  I have not gone anywhere, because I have not had the energy.  I didn't even go to see the doctor.  Have you ever considered how crazy it is a sick person has to sit in a waiting room -- a person that needs to be in bed.  I still remember when the doctor came to our house -- when I was a child.

I have been praying, asking for help in this area;  and, I have started a Facebook Page dedicated to creative decluttering.  When you're sick, you have to be creative on those days you feel like you cannot possibly get started.  I will not be writing about decluttering here, because I felt I needed to share it with all who are clutter impaired,.  My first blog post on this subject is Deborah Lynne's Inspirations, Decluttering Encouragement.  The second one is Conquering the Clutter Monster.

My regular readers know that I struggle just like they do.  Perhaps, some readers have things more together than I do.  However, I know I am here to encourage you, we can get up again after we fall down.  Sometimes, we think we are ready to give up:  it seems our hope has left us.  We reach out to God with heartfelt prayers, and He gives us strength to go on -- something clicks.  My prayer is that something helps you to get up and keep on going will click, that your joy , peace, and will to go on will be a palpable thing to you.  If you have fallen, I pray you will be able to get up again, taking baby steps to a life that feels less topsy-turvy and more balanced.

The Dichotomy of Fibromyalgia and Dreams

Saturday, November 10, 2012

While I want to encourage all my readers that have Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction, I have to be totally honest too.  That is one thing that I feel is important, so we can be realistic about what we can and can't do.  I don't want to be a bubble buster or a dream stealer;   but I know how it feels to have false expectations, and then fall flat on my rumpus.  If you see some unusual spelling or grammatical errors today, part of it is due to my fibro-fog or brain fog. My Brain Fog is really bad today.  I am having trouble reading and comprehending.  I can write, but there has always seemed to be a connection between my fingers and brain.

I have had my share of ups and downs the last few months, but it seems to be part of my landscape -- having to live within the parameters of feeling Kinda OK or Tired Of Being Tired.  Since I won't ever feel Really Well again, unless someone comes up with a miracle cure, it would be nice to feel KO (kinda ok).   However today, I just had it with feeling TOBT (tired of being tired).  I am tired of being achy, burny, hurty. I am tired of sinusitis and having a urinary tract infection.  And I am tired of me.  Ugh!  Ever felt that way?  So at least you know I am a real person, and I have my fragile times.  I suppose this is one of them, and I know it has been building, because I want to be able to push past my tiredness.  However, that does not work for people who have FM and CFIDS.

Sunday Nov. 11, 2012
For those of you that have been following my FlyLady 31 Days of Beginning Babysteps, I can honestly say that I have made progress because of doing the baby steps;  however I have not been able to do every step every day.  Between flares and illness, I feel like I have done the best I can.  Somedays, I have been able to do all the steps and other days, just a few.  I am seriously thinking about exploring other ways to be successful in continuing the steps--perhaps modifying or coming up with my own schedule.  I  may not be able to have complete control over how my body is going to react and be everyday, but I am convinced I can find a way to improve on how I manage housekeeping.  I also realize one of the main ingredients is getting rid of clutter.  FlyLady is right about "clutter attracting clutter."

I guess you noticed the dates.  Yesterday was tough, but I survived.  My night was restless:  I could not get comfortable, and I am staying away from pain meds, because of the warnings on my antibiotic.  The brain fog is better and the shaky feeling I had last night is gone.  My blood sugar went up to 194 last night.  My body notices those kinds of changes right away.  Today, I started my day out right, with the mindset I am going to pay better attention to my moderate low carb way of eating.  However, I am still trying to make up my mind about splenda.  Splenda was helping me to follow this way of eating, because I could still have my homemade chocolate balls.

God bless you all.  Have a wonderful new week.

Love,

Deborah  

  

Simplify

My husband likes to use the acronym, KISS-keep it simple, sweetie.  Oh, how I wish I found it easy to achieve that:  instead, I often muddle along without doing the things I wish to achieve.  That sounds dismal, but there is an upside to this; which is that I am not alone.  I know this, because I have been inspired and encouraged by reading the posts from the FlyLady, Marla Cilley.  Also, I read what other FlyBabies say on Facebook.

If anyone wishes follow me, I am determined to embark on a journey to simplify.  It may take me the rest of my life, but I do believe this will help to make my life better.  I have already been taking babysteps to clear the clutter for several years, but it is an ongoing process, considering the rate at which clutter invades my home, even without my permission.  I will not list the multiple ways this happens:  I will address this at a later date, because I am also determined to make this blog SIMPLE too.

God bless you all, and may you find ways to simplify your life.

Five Minutes at a Time

Hmm....I remember saying something about transparency in my last post, so I guess I have to own up to the truth.  Because without Truth, this blog will not help anyone else, nor will it be of any value in helping me walk my life's path.  This is a bit frightening, because I grew up knowing I must always present best face forward, even if something did not totally represent the real me.  Maybe, some of you know what I am talking about. 


 I will list a few of the maxims I lived with:

1. Do not wear underpants with a hole in them to school.  What if you have an accident?
2.  When guests came unexpectedly, we usually sat outside in lawn chairs.  Don't let anyone see your messy house.
3. I learned how to put my best face forward, even when my insides were coming apart.
Number 3 sounds a bit dramatic,  but I did see this modeled in my childhood to a degree; and it definitely made an impression on me.

So what does this have to do with five minutes at a time?  Today, I realized that I have something eating at me, and I have to face it.  Clutter is beginning to overtake my house again. Aaaaahgeeee --the clutter monster is invading my life.  And I know there is a way to take care of it:  the aha moment happened for me today.  Don't you love aha moments? 

A good friend of mine, who also has a chronic illness, told me how she began to get rid of her clutter when she had little strength, but lots of frustration over the piles here and there that were accumulating.  She began to move one thing at a time to the place it belonged, whether that be a drawer, a closet, a shelf, or the trash.  That began to build her confidence in knowing she could take control of her home again.

Several months ago, I realized I could begin to attack my clutter five minutes at a time after reading an article that Marla Cilley, the FlyLady wrote.  And it worked!  However, I have taken on a couple of new things this summer that began to make me feel overwhelmed and caused post exertional malaise; so I started letting the house go.  If you could see a picture of my house right now, it's a bit like Old McDonald's Farm, except my song is about clutter, not animals: Here a pile, there a pile, everywhere a pile, pile....  I have what  the FlyLady calls CHAOS, can't have anyone over syndrome.  Add that to Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome--it means I have newly coined syndrome -- glued to my chair syndrome.  I have been stuck to my lounge chair avoiding contact with The Mess.  I have been hiding from it, but it keeps bugging me.  Today, I remembered I can do anything 5 minutes at a time, and I can rest in-between.  That means I need to quit writing and get to working and resting.  If I try to clean this up all at once, I will have to deal with post exertional malaise and be back in the same boat of growing chaos.

I'll let you know how The Cleanup goes.  It won't be instant, and it will be an ongoing thing.  By the way, if you would like some encouragement in the area of cleaning house, check the link I am going to add.  And if you have a chronic illness, it is OK to work at your own pace.

  In fact, I have learned pacing myself is the key to feeling better.   Trying to be perfect only made me miserable.

Peace be unto you.  And God bless.  

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