Imagining only owning 100 things!

I read an article by Kristin Tillotson from the Star Tribune in Minneapolis where she wrote of a family that are really trying to live green, save money and be free.

Think about what is the minimum number of items you could live with and how different your life would be with only the minimum.

This Swindlehurt’s family is breaking tradition and really going against the grain of current society by getting rid of as much stuff as they can.

Simplifying their lives

Apparently there is a National movement in America of people who are simplifying their lives – and imagine the difference on your savings by eliminating as many possessions as you can and resisting buying anything else.

It is linked towards green living, The Swindlehurt’s who the article focused on said that “The 100 Things Challenge” was what started it all. This challenge dared people to keep only 100 things. It was launched by Dave Bruno three years ago. It has picked up a Facebook following and naturally a book deal.

The goal is to free you from the demands of consumerism, from being stuck on stuff. Imagine how different your life would be. No filing cabinet, no dresser, no incredible collection of DVD’s, no mismatched coffee cups. What would be the 100 things you would keep?

Living minimal like this has definite benefits beyond the reduced environmental footprint such as reduced cleaning time. Not being anchored to material possessions, the money saved the feeling of being more organised.

Times are changing

It is interesting to note that we tend to travel in a circle through our life and many years ago our grandparents or parents grew up in the depression with very little, until now-a-days when we have excess everywhere from our possessions to our weight. Many people are feeling overwhelmed by their possessions and are making a conscious choice to reduce and eliminate.

People are starting to feel different. Material possessions are not necessary to show how successful you have been. According to a study of the American Dream by MetLife Generation Y is more into making friends than amassing objects.

You don’t have to get down to 100 things but really take a look around and every day take some possessions out of your house. It is a real freedom. It opens up so many possibilities. What is the minimum you could live with?

About Us

LifeStyle Refocus is a Melbourne based professional organiser and lifestyle management consultancy. We are all about saving you TIME. We conduct workshops on ‘Managing your Time’, ‘Systemise Yourself to have a Productive Day,’ ‘DeClutter and Take Back Control’ and Mind Clutter.’ We work with individuals and businesses to help them create a better life.

For more information go to www.lifestylerefocus.com.au or contact Michele on 0437 311 802.

Developing and Establishing Good Habits

To make changes in our life we need to change some of our habits and routines. This means replacing our existing habits and routines with more positive habits and routines. When the going gets tough it is our habits that get us through. So what are the areas of your life that you need to tweak and change?

Do you realise that how you live your life is actually based on decisions you have made? Wow that may be a little bit confrontational really. It is much easier to look for someone else to blame for the areas of our life that are frustrating us or not satisfying us.


So once you have identified an area to change then we need to make the changes part of our daily routine. When it becomes a habit it is easy and natural for us to do. Think about your morning routine – if you are leaving the house late each day is it because you stay in bed and hit the snooze button? If this is the case you have to change that habit and replace it with a more positive habit. Like getting up on the first buzz or only hitting the snooze button once.

It really is the little changes which add up to bigger improvements in your life.

The idea is that these new habits become embedded into your subconscious mind and you do not have to think about it. It becomes automatic.

So don’t tell yourself that you will start tomorrow – start today – start now. You may even want to write it out as a new habit. Tackle one new habit a week – that will be 52 improvements in your life this year! Wow that’s progress.

So what habit are you going to change today?

About Us

LifeStyle Refocus is a Melbourne based professional organiser and lifestyle management consultancy. We are all about saving you TIME. We conduct workshops on ‘Managing your Time’, ‘Systemise Yourself to have a Productive Day,’ ‘DeClutter and Take Back Control’ and Mind Clutter.’ We work with individuals and businesses to help them create a better life.

New Habits to Your Responses

To make changes to ensure we have the ‘The Power To Choose’ in our own life we have to develop some new habits. I recommend the following two new habits to start.



Stimulus and Response
Understand that you are choosing your reaction to the stimulus presented to you. You have the power to choose. Pause to ensure you are making the right choice for you, your values and goals.


> Are you going to yell at the driver that cut you off in the traffic or how are you going to react?
> What about that extra bit of work your boss gives you with a tight deadline? Will you spend the next few hours working yourself up because you are annoyed or will you just focus and get it done?


Evaluation
Every choice we make has consequences which can be empowering but if we make a bad choice we should not blame ourselves but reflect on that choice so we are always aiming to improve.


> Will we make a choice to hang out the washing or play with the children?
> Will we make a choice to start that new course or just keep wondering?


About Us
LifeStyle Refocus is a Melbourne based personal assistant, corporate concierge and lifestyle management consultancy. We are all about saving you TIME. By taking care of your “to do” list so you can spend time doing the things that are truly important to you. We conduct workshops on ‘Managing your Time’, ‘How to have a Productive Day’ and ‘DeClutter and Take Back Control.’


For more information go to www.lifestylerefocus.com.au or contact Michele on 0437 311 802.

Taking Action with out Choices!

We now recognise we have the power to choose so the steps to take ACTION are as follows:

Know your outcome [Set your goals]

We often know what we don’t want. Know your outcome and you have a target. Be clear about what you want to achieve today. Don’t leave life to chance.

Take Action

You have the power to choose. You can choose to act today - go for that walk, eat that apple, call that friend, join that program, finish that book, clean out that cupboard, and give away those clothes …

You don’t have to be great to get started,

but you have to get started to be great.

Les Brown

Evaluate

Evaluate and answer honestly. Notice if what you are doing is moving you in the direction of your goals or away from them. Are you on track? We need to be aware, ask questions and be honest about the answers

Be flexible

If we are off track we have to have the behavioural flexibility to get ourselves back on track by changing direction. We may need to:

> Stop

> Tweak

> Get advise

Being flexible makes a big difference to achieve out goals by adjusting, tweaking and improving.

About Us

LifeStyle Refocus is a Melbourne based personal assistant, corporate concierge and lifestyle management consultancy. We are all about saving you TIME. By taking care of your “to do” list so you can spend time doing the things that are truly important to you.

For more information go to www.lifestylerefocus.com.au or contact Michele on 0437 311 802.

Time for Reflection [Part 2]

How is your reflection?
Last post we discussed that at this time of the year many of us are reflecting on what we have achieved this year and what we would like to achieve in the New Year. The answer for many is that they would like more time or balance and therefore I felt the saying below to be very appropriate.

Many of us struggle towards the balance goal
without ever stopping
to think what we are doing and
what we really want
in our lives.

Reflect to identity the direction you want to go.

About Us

LifeStyle Refocus is a Melbourne based personal assistant, corporate concierge and lifestyle management consultancy. They are all about saving you TIME. By taking care of your “to do” list so you can spend time doing the things that are truly important to you. For more information go to www.lifestylerefocus.com.au or contact Silvana on 0417 595 744 or Michele on 0437 311 802.

Tackle Clutter in Small Steps

Sometimes the thought of tackling the clutter is overwhelming however it does not have to be that way. The following are some small steps which will help you work up to the bigger more overwhelming projects.

Small steps:
§ Pick a cupboard – just one and start there and only there
§ Start in one room – an easy room
§ Throw out 5 things a day, this adds up over time:
o 25 items a week
o 155 items a month
o 1,825 items a year
§ Pick up things off the floor
§ Clear a surface
§ Toss old magazines
§ Dump junk mail immediately as it comes into the house, flick and throw
§ Put things away – a place for everything and everything in its place
§ One book shelf
§ One draw
§ The pantry – toss anything expired
§ Pile of paperwork use “the 4 D’s” – Do it now, dump it, delegate it or date it

I hope if you have been struggling with where to start clearing the clutter, these tips will assist you get started on your clutter. A little bit every day helps.

About Us

LifeStyle Refocus is a Melbourne based personal assistant, corporate concierge and lifestyle management consultancy. They are all about saving you TIME. By taking care of your “to do” list so you can spend time doing the things that are truly important to you. For more information go to www.lifestylerefocus.com.au or contact Silvana on 0417 595 744 or Michele on 0437 311 802.

DeCluttering Excuses!

Taking the time to declutter is not always easy but at times we can actually talk ourselves out of even starting with the following excuses.

Have your ever heard or said yourself:
“It’s alright for you to be organised but I live in a small house.”
“I don’t have the money to buy the boxes and containers to declutter”
“I don’t have the money to redo the room so everything fits”
“I need to buy another book case to fit everything in”
“I don’t have anywhere to put …”
“It’s going to make a mess”
“I don’t have enough cupboard space”
“I don’t have time"
“I don’t know where to start”
“The job is too big so I just haven’t started”
“I have young kids I have no time”
“I’m too busy”
“I’ll do it next week”
“I want to clean up first then I will …”
“I have too much stuff”
“I might wear it one day”
“It will be great for a dress up one day”
“I might lose weight and fit into it again”
“It might come back into fashion”
“I’m keeping it for the holiday house”
“I’m the only one that can do it”
“I have to go shopping to buy what I need first”
“I have all my stuff because I might need it one day”
“Its memories that I don’t want to let go of”
“I can’t get rid of my stuff; it’s worth a lot of money”

What other excuses have you said?

Decide to take ACTION rather than let the excuses distract you from getting yourself organised.

About Us

LifeStyle Refocus is a Melbourne based personal assistant, corporate concierge and lifestyle management consultancy. They are all about saving you TIME. By taking care of your “to do” list so you can spend time doing the things that are truly important to you. For more information go to www.lifestylerefocus.com.au or contact Silvana on 0417 595 744 or Michele on 0437 311 802.

Tips to Tackle Clutter

Knowing that you want to start decluttering is one thing. The next is actually having an action plan. The following are some tips to help you tackle the clutter.

Decide where you are going to DeClutter
> Take a moment to decide what area you will tackle
> Perhaps even make a list of areas and then prioritise them so you are only focused on one area at a time and do not get distracted by other areas or spaces
> Set yourself a timeline to accomplish a number of areas for example “I will tackle the top three areas on my list over the next 4 weeks.”

Set a deadline
Before you even tackle the first space allocate your time. I will spend 2 hours decluttering my wardrobe. You will find that you will work hard and stay focused for the 2 hours

Prepare
Have the tools you will need for your decluttering project ready, I find the following useful:
> Cleaning cloth for dust, marks, scratches
> Vacuum cleaner
> Box, bag or container for:
o Rubbish
o Recyclables
o Charity
o Other rooms / spaces in the house
> Pen
> Paper
> Music
> Drink of water

> Comfortable clothes

Reward
Decide on a reward for completing your project. It does not have to be huge it may even be a phone call to a friend, 30 minutes to read a book, or a glass of wine but either way you have achieved something and it should be celebrated.

Map out your “How to” steps
> It is important to have a plan of attack for example, if you are going to DeClutter your wardrobe know your rules such as I will throw out anything I have not worn for 2 years, I will throw out anything that is too small etc.
> Also have a plan for how you will reset your wardrobe, will it be colour co-ordinated, or garments together then colour co-ordinated. Have the end in mind before you start.

Make yourself accountable to someone
To ensure you follow through on your projects, tell someone else about it, whether it is a work colleague, partner or friend. It helps your motivation and focus.

About Us

LifeStyle Refocus is a Melbourne based personal assistant, corporate concierge and lifestyle management consultancy. They are all about saving you TIME. By taking care of your “to do” list so you can spend time doing the things that are truly important to you. For more information go to www.lifestylerefocus.com.au or contact Silvana on 0417 595 744 or Michele on 0437 311 802.

How to find the energy to declutter?

> Take a deep breath
> Are you an early bird or night owl? Work at the right time of the day for you
> Know your limits – sprinter or marathon runner
> Eat healthy
> Music is a great motivator

Understand that the hardest part is getting started so:
> Put all your focus on getting started
> Just spend 15 minutes
> Know what you are going to achieve
> Start with a small task to get started
> Make it easy to get started
> Have a rubbish bag and recycling bin ready

So take action and start decluttering, one small space at a time.

About Us

LifeStyle Refocus is a Melbourne based personal assistant, corporate concierge and lifestyle management consultancy. They are all about saving you TIME. By taking care of your “to do” list so you can spend time doing the things that are truly important to you. For more information go to www.lifestylerefocus.com.au or contact Silvana on 0417 595 744 or Michele on 0437 311 802.

What does clutter do to you?

Clutter affects you and the people around you in many ways, for example:
> You waste time searching for things
> Clutter occupies space
> You lose things
> Extra money is spent on items which have already been bought
> Money is wasted on excess furniture and storage to hoard the clutter
> Clutter makes you feel busy and causes unnecessary stress.
> You get distracted and have difficulty focusing
> Clutter affects your image. You look out of control
> You cannot prioritise or work efficiently when you can't see or find the tasks that need to be done

How do you know when it's time for you to Declutter?
It will become very obvious when:
> You have difficulty finding things
> You're always saying, "I know it's here somewhere!"
> You can't see your desk for the mess
> You cut your fingers in the filing cabinet when you try to dig out a file
> You have to push your body against the cupboard door to close it
> The bookshelves are beginning to break because of all the weight
> You've forgotten what your floor looks like because it's buried under the mess
> You feel out of control and overwhelmed when sitting in your office

Don’t let your clutter control you, your moods, your success, your time. Take ACTION and start to clear the clutter.

About Us

LifeStyle Refocus is a Melbourne based personal assistant, corporate concierge and lifestyle management consultancy. They are all about saving you TIME. By taking care of your “to do” list so you can spend time doing the things that are truly important to you. For more information go to www.lifestylerefocus.com.au or contact Silvana on 0417 595 744 or Michele on 0437 311 802.

Clearing the clutter

Did you know that clutter can bring you down? Think about how you felt last time you cleared out a space that was bothering you. It is a real sense of freedom whether it is a whole room, wardrobe or desk. It is worth investing the time in clearing the clutter.

What is clutter?
Over time our homes, have a tendency to accumulate and collect all kinds of treasures, gems and keepsakes. Now we all know that one person's trash is another person's treasures, but our homes can only hold so much!!!

Our motto is “Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful”.

Of course, this process will not be done in one day, after all it took years (or if we are really good, months) to make it this way.

Start slow and take the time needed to follow through. You will find that decluttering is not as hard as you thought it would be.

About Us

LifeStyle Refocus is a Melbourne based personal assistant, corporate concierge and lifestyle management consultancy. They are all about saving you TIME. By taking care of your “to do” so you can spend time doing the things that are truly important to you. For more information go to www.lifestylerefocus.com.au or contact Silvana on 0417 595 744 or Michele on 0437 311 802.