‘Showing Up’ regularly really counts!

Moving into your fall schedule, embrace the idea of consistency! Take 5 to 10 minutes to think about your goals and dreams, and then work back from there to map out what’ll get you there! Once your schedule for work, play, exercise, rest, nutrition is figured out, you simply need to follow it! ‘Showing up’ consistently yields undeniable benefits.

1. Consistency begets consistency. Formulate and stick to a plan, and keep the process humming. This means you never have to restart, seeing constant progress and building momentum.
2. Celebrate the process.The progress towards a goal is almost more rewarding than achieving the goal. Whether training for a race, planning an important life event, taking a course . . . the consistent steps to overcome hurdles along the way are the reward. Track your progress and celebrate each step!
3. Consistency is key to creativity.We may think that inspiration comes out of the blue . . . but it rarely does! Consistent work towards a goal puts you in position for creative sparks. Work gives space for ideas to connect. Fires only burn when there’s room to breathe.

After reading Marie Kondo’s book ‘The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up’ this summer, I gave myself 1 full week of my vacation to purge my house. This was no small task, in fact, it had daunted me for years. I’d read other books who said ‘do a little every day’, and ‘pick one cupboard or closet at a time’. And I’d tried those methods, which gave me permission to just do a little at a time. Perhaps that method works for others, but for me, it wasn’t enough.

Marie Kondo gave me a solid push to carve out the time, space, energy and tools required, and to embrace letting go of SO MUCH STUFF that I didn’t need or want. The other big part of my success (which translated into 6 clear garbage bags of clothing, 7 garbage bags of ‘garbage’, 5 bankers boxes of books) was my PLANNING and SCHEDULING of the purge. I actually marked out time in my calendar for each specific category, with 4 hours on the Monday for my bedroom closet & front hall closet, 4 hours on the Tuesday for bookcases and file boxes, 8 hours (with a cleaner) on Wednesday for the kitchen, 5 hours on Thursday for the bathrooms and cabinets, etc.

I’m still in the process of getting my discards into the appropriate hands: clothing and shoes to Sistering on Bloor, books to the used book store, other bags ready for the Diabetes pickup, etc. There’s no going back, these things are leaving my house and my life, and I’m lighter and clearer because of it!

You may not have a week to give to purging your home. That’s okay. The key, in my opinion, is wrap your head and heart around the concept of letting go of the past, and to apply a consistent scheduled day/time to commit to the process. Perhaps you could pick 4 Saturday mornings in a row, and assign a category and/or space to each one. Put it in your calendar, be specific, let your family know it’s happening.

Let me know your thoughts! I highly encourage you to embrace the possibility of living with less stuff. Marie Kondo goes so far as to claim this also translates to how we live the rest of our life; our relationships, our work and hobbies – making choices that are honouring to ourselves and others, lightening our load!