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Monday, July 12, 2010

The JOY of Order!

ORDER - Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.
Garage Feng  Shui

Greetings! As I shared yesterday Order week got started a little early over at my house since my Sweetie  and I spent the weekend cleaning our garage and sorting through other household stuff. We had a total blast doing it and last night we were both laughing about how satisfying it was to get everything we got done. We had a ton of fun AND we got a lot of work we had been avoiding out of the way. We did stuff, like sorting through boxes we have moved twice without opening before and going through every article of clothing and giving away ANYTHING we hadn't used or worn in the last year. We both had been hanging on too many things "just in case" and it is so liberating to have closets that we can find things in and drawers that close because we kept only what we like and what fits. If you haven't done this in a while I whole heartedly recommend it!


As a side note, we can even park a car in our garage now which hasn't been the case since we moved in! If any one has ever questioned why ORDER might be on any Bliss Virtue list just know that I found it to be pure delight to behold my garage yesterday. Knowing that we can proceed with getting garage cabinets installed because we have made room for that to happen and knowing that I can put my hands on anything that is still out there without a 20 minute search of digging or climbing over a pile of other stuff IS immensely blissful!! Today as I write this, I feel so light! 


We had planned on being out of town this weekend and when that didn't happen it would have been so easy to fall back into our usual lounging weekend routine. We had social invitations we had already declined which we certainly could have attended but having already said no gave us the freedom to be "away" and fully dive into our task. We have previously tried to pick away at the mess but pretending to be away really kept us on task. We both proceeded as if "This was our only chance!" and we got it done! If you have a big job that has been hanging over your head I heartily recommend this approach. We created a deadline and no distractions so we could really focus and working together kept us motivated and was fun!


So with all that behind us what could be left for this Order week you might ask? Actually there is a ton of stuff. Frankly, having the garage mess hanging over our head has kept us from moving forward on any other project for more then six months. Getting this done has opened up space for us to plan renovations, vacations and other family activities. The order and fun is just beginning!


This week's  "Bliss Initiatives" are color coded in purple for quick identification. They are concrete things that you too can try,  if you want to play along with me.  However, because as Earl Nightingale says, "you become what you think about,"  even if you only follow along,  and never take on any of the bliss initiatives,  I expect some positive results. I will be exploring and encouraging ORDER this way:

  • Just Start -  If you don't have a whole weekend to devote to a project, another good method is to JUST START. Pick something you have wanted to organize, you know that junk drawer, your hall closet, your desk, what ever has been weighing on your mind. Get yourself a timer, put 10 minutes on that timer and see how much you can get done in those 10 minutes. Timing yourself makes it a game and you will likely be surprised at how much you can get done in those 10 minutes.  My friend Aaron Bartlett  gave us  10 Things You can Do in 10 Minutes or Less in this Everyday Bliss post if you are having trouble figuring out where to start. Remember the key here is to just start!


  • Bliss work - This one is good for everyone no matter how organized you already are or aspire to be. Each day I will be giving  at least one thing away. Less is more and we have way too much stuff.  It is a great feeling when one frees themselves from the burden of their stuff and then to know that someone else could benefit makes the whole process highly addictive! If you like how this feels you may even want to consider the 29 day Giving Challenge.
Cami Walker, founder of the wonderful  29 day Giving Challenge said this about giving things away "I want to notice what happens in my life if I focus my energy on giving ... What space will it create in my life for new and unexpected things to occur? What shifts will I see in my thinking and behavior as a result? What impact will my gifts have on others? These are just a few of the questions I'm curious about. Who knows what will unfold?

Nothing is planned. I don't know what I'll give away each day. I just begin the day and when I feel moved to give something, I do. This really goes against my control freak nature, but taking contrary action is sometimes needed to create change. Part of me initially wanted to plot out the... days and line up the things I'm giving in my hallway so I have the illusion of knowing what to expect. But collapsing into that old, manipulative way of being would defeat the purpose of the experiment."




  • Get in the mood for order - This is a really fun one.  To figure out just what is important to me I am going to leaf through magazines like REAL SIMPLE,  PARENTING, OPRAH and figure out what organizational tools I want to use and activities I want on our family calendar. I will be creating a vision board to foster the new organized way into existence. (Sample board found at Parentology.)

How will you be Fostering Order this week?!!


Next Post:  A terrific Guest Post by Katina Rice of Peaceful Divas

My 13 bliss virtues are 
joy, order, creativity, passion, whimsy, serenity, inquiry, community, 
romance, gratitude, moxie, humility, and surprise.



This week we are exploring Order. 
Next week is all about Passion.


2 comments:

  1. I'm ALWAYS trying to foster order! LOL Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't . I try to plan everything out for each day - but there is always one thing or another that doesn't get done. Some days I actually create lists - other days I fly by the seat of my pants. LOL I'm always looking for more ways to get "orderly" - so I'll be looking forward to this week. :) Theresa

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kathy - Hi! I have been away for seemingly forever but have seriously re-arrived at a perfect time. Hubby and I were JUST talking about this today! Our last step to order is chucking all of that stuff that no longer serves us...and THEN park our cars in the garage. Hah! Love knowing there is someone else out there who has tackled this.

    I've been painting & creating like crazy and thus falling behind on my blog reading. It's all good, though, because like you what I do off of the computer only makes my presence online stronger! (At least I hope so)

    Good to check back in - promise I'll keep coming back!! :)

    ReplyDelete

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Ben Franklin's 13 Virtues

  • 1. TEMPERANCE - Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.
  • 2. SILENCE - Speak not what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.
  • 3. ORDER - Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.
  • 4. RESOLUTION - Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.
  • 5. FRUGALITY - Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e. waste nothing.
  • 6. INDUSTRY - Lose no time; be always employ'd in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.
  • 7. SINCERITY - Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and if you speak, speak accordingly.
  • 8. JUSTICE - Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.
  • 9. MODERATION - Avoid extreams; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.
  • 10. CLEANLINESS - Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths or habitation.
  • 11. TRANQUILITY - Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.
  • 12. CHASTITY - Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or to the injury of your own or another's peace or reputation.
  • 13. HUMILITY - Imitate Jesus and Socrates.

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