Filed under: Getting rid of STUFF!, Peter Walsh, simple finance, simple health
I’ve been a little removed from my normal routines in life as I have been dealing with health issues. Many doctors visits, and many tests. I will not cover it now, but I have come to the conclusion that good health is your most valuable asset you can possess (or if not an asset, at least a resource).
Today is going to focus back on uncluttering your life. I continually believe that it is clutter that complicates most things in life. Clutter causes more to be cleaned up, more difficulty doing the cleaning, more work hours to pay for all the stuff that clutters your home, to repair all the stuff in your home, insure all the stuff in your home, and maybe rent extra space to store all the extra stuff that no longer fits in your home.
If I could recommend one book to own, it would be “It’s All Too Much” by Peter Walsh. I’ve said it before, and I’m sure I will say it again. I have read a number of books that have spoken deeply to me, but this one calls me to action more than any other.
I have been systematically reducing all the clutter (with my wife’s help of course).
The latest task has been to go through all the contents in my file cabinet. Four drawers of statements, articles, manuals, and everything one could imagine.
Phone bills from five years ago. Manuals and receipts for items not owned for many years. Twenty copies of insurance policies that expired and replaced with new policy statement. Articles that I can not even fathom why I had saved in the first place. Home design ideas that no longer fit my taste.
That’s just the stuff that is simple to identify as absolutely not needed.
What do you do with the other stuff? I have adopted solutions put forth in “It’s All Too Much” by Peter Walsh (Big Surprise!!!!!). He has a way of cutting to the root of things.
You can buy all the organization stuff you could ever wish for, but how exactly does the average person organize, file and maintain 10,000 sheets of paper. More importantly, who would want to.
With Peter Walsh’s help I am shredding, and shredding, and shredding, and shredding and shredding …..
I am determining what I need, and an ongoing system (again courtesy of Peter Walsh) to keep the volume of paperwork in constant check.
It appears that what once took a four drawer file cabinet will now be contained in one of those small size plastic file container. The added bonus is that it is far more portable to move with me where I want to work.
I will share more details of what I have done once I feel I have taken it to where I wish to be.
Do you have any ideas? What do you do?
For anyone who does not know who Peter Walsh is, he has been on clean sweep, Oprah, and written a few books.
