Amanda Dunn from The Age said it beautifully:

Thanks for making us do household chores so that we didn’t grow up to be spoilt and useless.

(read the full article Keeping mum on the gender trap)

If you’re a parent, grandparent or carer, have you taught your little ones?  How old is too late to teach them?  What’s worked, and what hasn’t?

Or are you still trying to learn to get yourself organised?

There’s a good reason why “organisation expert” is now a valid career option. As our lives become more complicated, increasing numbers of people are seeking help in paring back. Lindsay Faber has helped many Australians simplify their surroundings.

One in, one out: This is Faber’s unbreakable rule. If you can’t decide what item will be discarded, abort the purchase.

“Our physical spaces reflect our inner reality, so we are better off with fewer things that we love, rather than many pieces that we have no relationship with,” she says.

Faber advises people to be harshly practical. Ask yourself where you will store this new thing and whether it helps you fulfil your vision for your home and life.

Keep surfaces clear: This helps clear minds and ensures the items you have on display deserve their honoured place, Faber says.

In practical terms, it means making your bed in the morning, doing the dishes at night before bed, putting laundry in the basket as you take your clothes off and hanging up towels.

“Get the kids involved,” Faber says. “By teaching them these habits you create organised kids who understand the principles of order.”

Get, use, discard: Buy what you use and use what you buy. Have a strategy for what you bring into your home. For example, draw up meal plans and only buy what is on that list. “This saves you time, money and the stress of a fridge full of rotting food,” Faber says.

Don’t be an emotional hoarder: Of course sentimentality is lovely, but do you have to keep every scribble by your adored progeny? Distil your memories down to one treasured memento and keep it in a memory box or on display. We use 20 per cent of what we own 80 per cent of the time – the rest is just clutter.

You don’t have to be a minimalist: Some people prefer to live in homes filled with treasures. “The point is to have a vision, identify what you love most, identify its purpose and use what you have,” Faber says.

* By Lindsay Faber, getsorted.com.au

> YOUR MIND

Schedule regular “clear mind” moments: The average person has up to 50,000 thoughts every day. This ceaseless mind chatter is a common cause of stress and it can distract you from the important things in life.

“But rather than trying to push thoughts away, focus gently on what you are doing and let the chatter subside,” Pearse says. When eating, really taste your food. When walking, really observe your surroundings. When in conversation, really listen without internal comment. This will train your brain to be where you want it to be, not just darting around chasing its tail.

Go half throttle: At least three times every day, slow your actions down to half speed.

It could be while eating lunch, walking between meetings or having a conversation. As the body slows, you’ll notice your mind becomes clearer about what to do next.

Smell the roses: You will tend to feel calmer, clearer and more relaxed when in contact with nature. Spend 15 minutes a day taking a mental break by connecting to nature.

Clear your mind by noticing and appreciating the sights around you, the sounds, the sense of touch, taste and smell.

* By Susan Pearse, founder of Mind Gardener and co-author of Wired For Life: Retrain Your Brain And Thrive (Hay House)

> YOUR DIGITAL WORLD

Be the ruler of your digital filing: There’s nothing worse than being a slave to your email and trying to file everything that arrives.

Set up rules or filters to ensure your mail goes directly into specific mailboxes. For example, electronic bills or financial statements could be directed into a “money” folder. Star, flag or colour code important emails – you are better off keeping your focus on the emails that matter rather than the plethora that don’t.

Set app boundaries: How many do you really need? Decide that you only require 10, for example, and pledge to delete one before you acquire any new software. This means you will actually just use the 10 you have rather than adding to the collection and confusion.

Become digitally snap smart: Just because you shot a photo doesn’t mean you have to keep it. Maintenance is essential when it comes to managing photos. If they are not named or kept in some kind of order, you will find it near impossible to retrieve them without wasting hours searching. Download photos from your camera or phone regularly and label or sort them into folders immediately.

Don’t be a digital hoarder: “We use less than five per cent of our digital stuff,” Oliver says. “Think of the bookmarks, documents, apps, photos and songs you never use, look at or listen to.”

Her golden rule is always quality over quantity. If it’s information you seek, don’t hoard it. Use digital references. “Here in Australia, for example, our National Library has Trove, a repository of a squillion newspapers, journals and websites. You don’t need to keep it on your computer!”

* By Lissanne Oliver, author of Sorted! The Ultimate Guide To Organising Your Life – Once And For All (Hardie Grant)

–

> I never owned more than 100 items

Ex-hoarder Meng Koach is strict about keeping life clutter free

I was a hoarder back in New Zealand, but when I moved to Sydney two years ago, I challenged myself to shed my possessions down to 100 items.

Why have a vast amount of clothes when you only wear a few favourite outfits? I digitalised sentimental items such as birthday cards and photos, then binned them. Evaluate things – if it’s useful, keep it. If not, pass it on.

While I’m no longer forcing myself to stick to the 100 items rule, the process of culling has made me more conscious of the things I buy.

If I’m going to get something new, I tend to wait until my old things are worn out before replacing them, or I’ll do an exchange if I need to upgrade older models.

I try not to keep “back-ups” of anything, as I know I’ll almost never use them anyway. It means I always know what I have, and value the things I have. I’ve found that physical clutter is also mental baggage, and it feels good to live lightly.

I particularly love the owning-only-100-things strategy, but I would really struggle to do it. It would be insanely liberating though.  Imagine how nice it would be.  Could you?

Image borrowed from http://www.whogivesacrap.org

I’ve heard that toilets are our WORST environmental offence – one push of a button and we don’t think of it again.  True.

Our shopping and consuming habits can be just as laissez-faire.

Well, I give a crap, and I’m sure you do too. Check out this great initiative from www.whogivesacrap.org They make 100% recycled toilet paper and donate 50% of their profits to WaterAid to build toilets and improve sanitation in the developing world. Oh yeah!  That is sweet!  Their website states “At present, 40% of the world’s population don’t have access to a toilet. Diarrhoea related illnesses fill over half sub-Saharan Africa hospital beds and kill over 2,000 children under 5 die every day.”

My spoiled little Western brain struggles to understand how incredibly spoiled we are here in the first world. 2,000 children a day?? No wonder Bob Geldof is my lusty man.

(oh, yes, that IS ME with Sir Bob way back when… )

I just ordered a bunch o’ dunny roll. It’s free delivery. Why don’t you do same?  You know you’re always running out

Ah “someday”, it’s a dangerous word. It’s really just code for “never”.

Wish I’d said that! (0riginal source unknown).

Insanely adorable, this is our furry friend, Roxy (music) Oliver. She’s a very special part of our family.

People, I know it’s tough to try and keep up with everything, but my heart breaks when the voiceless creatures in homes or offices neglected. I see it far too often. Some organising your pet ideas:

• Clean out that fish tank. Regularly.
• Walk the dog. At LEAST once a day. Try and make it twice.
• Play with your cat. Several times a week.
• Walk the bunny.  Or at least set it free for some parole once in a while
• Empty the litter tray, wash it completely at least weekly
• Socialise with all your animals! Living creatures aren’t ornaments.

Further, we’re talking:

• desexing (essential with cats and dogs, not sure about rabbits)
• grooming
• watering & feeding (fresh bowls daily, not weekly)
• fresh plants for the fishies
• a balanced diet, I’m talking diversity
• periodically wash their bedding
• worming, vaccinations, etc.
• holiday care and special attention if fireworks or celebrations are happening.

If you have kids, and they are not pitching in, it’s time for some tough love.  Living creatures need maintenance.

Get in a routine, create a roster, stick to it. You have a responsibility and you have skills they don’t. Please, organise yourself to make sure you regularly care for your animals. They deserve the best possible care. They thank you for their care!  I thank you for their care!

If you don’t have the time, energy or organisational skills for your animals, you need to rehouse them with someone who can care for them.

Have I missed anything?

If you don’t remember the ‘picture corners’ you might like to check out my YLOTL edit here – it will give a little background on those pesky frame scraps!

You might also like to check out The Film Life Project.

According to their website, The Film Life Project “exists to capture the stories of organ donation and transplantation through the eyes of young people.” Thanks to Carly Findlay who tweeted the following video as the winner of the FilmLife 2013 Project – it’s superb!  I think you’ll enjoy it. I did.

PS My dear friend Grace suggested that organ donation should be mandatory [by default] in Australia, and if you DON’t want to participate, that you then need to register your interest.  Genius.

Godfather of Punk, Iggy Pop. Image stolen from somewhere on the internet.

and for many more years than I care to admit, thinking the artist was this woman:

Children’s entertainer, Patsy Biscoe. Image stolen from somewhere on the internet

Seriously.

Thank god I finally discovered The Godfather of Punk.

Another corker was reconciling, aka checking off my ATM slips off my bank statement, because I thought that’s what you were supposed to do. oh. My.  Did I not have better things to do with my time?  Let’s just say I’m conscientious. Ouch. And other stupid things like going through 6 years worth of magazines to tear our the things I wanted to keep.  Was it worth my time? Absolutely not.

So while we are discussing mistakes, I want to hear your decluttering mistakes.  Let’s embrace them.  Let’s tell the world! What things have you gotten wrong?  Have you discarded something you shouldn’t have?  Have you wasted time doing something stupid?  Do you laugh at your decluttering effforts from the 1980′s? Or was it just your hair you were laughing at?  You can share here.  I promise I won’t tell anyone.