Peter Walsh
A Review...of sorts.
In my previous post I mentioned that I got a book on de-cluttering. It is Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat? by Peter Walsh.
Anytime a title references a cliche placed on women I get mad however after reading this book it is clear that he's not pointing the finger at women, only at the person holding the book. Walsh describes that weight and weight management are in the eye of the beholder. That a perfect weight is that weight at which you no longer think about your weight. Essentially it isn't "weighing" you down. You can live the life you want to live without turning to your weight problems.
For some people this is probably a "duh" concept but I think if you struggle with your weight you will find more to his book than a simple - "well do something about it." I also found that his relation of fat and clutter made perfect sense for my life. It put emphasis on prioritizing my life - deciding what is most important to me and realizing why I don't act on those decisions.
Some of the lines I highlighted for myself:
- "Do you want to keep the last three years of magazine subscriptions, or do you want to use that dining room table for dinner with your family?"
- "Clutter is about fear of losing memories, or worry about the future, or a sense that something bad is going to happen."
- "Just because someone gave you something doesn't mean you have to keep it."
- "Clutter gets in the way of living the life you want."
Walsh points out that "fat" and "clutter" can be used interchangeably throughout the book and in his examples. We want material items NOW just as we really want that piece of cake NOW. Both have consequences, some just come sooner than others. If you say you eat out because you don't have time to cook, Walsh will say you didn't plan well enough. A plan is needed for everything - how will you de-clutter? A plan. How will you eat for the week? A plan. He even goes so far as to show you how to map your meals and snacks for a week and clean out your cupboards to only include weekly meal needs. I loved this! I work a crazy schedule (work two days then one day off then work two nights) so it helped me realize when I eat, what I eat, and how I needed to plan to ensure my eating stayed on schedule.
As I mention above, Walsh describes cleaning your kitchen cupboards to include only items for that week's meals. He actually goes a bit more in depth - clearing your fridge, pantry, low cupboards, etc. His theme - what is the purpose of this room? What should be in here to fulfill this purpose? Everything else is gone. Thus, the purpose of the dining room is to eat meals with family. To accomplish this I need a table, plates, silverware, glassware. I don't need the last week of mail, the paperwork I brought home from my shift, the receipts I left for a rebate, and the shampoo that never made it to the bathroom. By having just the table and place settings I immediately have more energy to prepare a better meal instead of thinking on the way home, "crap - the table isn't cleared off. I'm too tired to do it; I'll stop and grab something I can eat before I'm home so I don't have to worry about it."
By clearing the table and taking ten minutes each day to put my receipts away, go through the mail, etc actually saves me time in the long run. Instead of spending two hours searching for a pair of pants that fit, an-hour counselling session discussing how I cried in the dressing room, and two-hours waiting to have my blood drawn and tests reviewed to determine if my cholesterol levels had dropped I could spend ten minutes hanging up my coat, sorting my mail, and setting the table for dinner. Sounds like quite the time-saver to me...
I did start on the kitchen drawers after reading this book. I was actually pretty happy with my choices. Only those utensils and cooking items we needed got to stay in the "main" drawer. I really wish I had a before pictures. Instead I will use a daily quotation from my boyfriend trying to cook dinner "Damn drawer! Where's the spatula?" Rifling through drawer angrily: "I'm so pissed off right now I can't even finish cooking." I moved the main cooking spoons, spatulas, and small things like the potato peeler and measuring spoons to the top drawer. I moved measuring cups and the cooking utensils we may use weekly to the lower door. I purged any cooking item we hadn't used in at least a month. Those that I knew we would still use or need (like my Kitchen Aid attachments) I put in a clear rubbermaid tub in our laundry room (right next to the kitchen). For those I knew we wouldn't use - like the plastic measuring cup that came with the dog food bins - I sent to a non-profit's yard sale. It felt darn good. It's been that way for two weeks and the number of "damns" coming from the kitchen has easily gone down by 80%.
Here's a glimpse at one of my works:
All the stuff hanging out under the kitchen sink - including a coffee pot we haven't used in two years
A bit more organized and so much more space!
Gone: Coffee pot, paper towel holder, three almost empty bottles of spray fragrance, hydrogen peroxide from 2006, drain cover that was too small for the kitchen sink, toothbrush used to clean, and a tub of moldy orchid food pellets.
I also consolidated the small bags of dish-washing packs to one large ziplock bag.
I will post a complete kitchen de-clutter (once it's done) to show off my other fancy drawer work. In my prior post I set a goal to be done with the de-clutter by this weekend and that sure won't happen, but I feel like I've made some good emotional progress that has systematically instigated physical progress.
And the beat goes on...
