Find Your Why – To Keep or Not To Keep

Mindful Acquisition

November 18, 2020August 27, 2020Consumerism, Find Your Why, Goal setting, Priorities, The Rightsize Approach, ThinkLeave a Comment

In 2017 on Joshua Becker’s website Becoming Minimalist, he revealed that the LA Times reported that, ‘There are 300,000 items in the average American home.’ At some point we have either bought or been given these items over the course of the home’s life cycle. Contemplating the true cost of what and where we purchase our consumer goods from will contribute to the wellbeing of not only ourselves but the health of our planet as well. Before we decide to buy something we should consider the ethics, including the carbon footprint this object made before we commit to adding this to the colossal amount of items we already own. Buying local items or objects that have been crafted from sustainable materials that also can be recycled is a positive move in the right direction for us as a global society. Even before we are at the check-out we should consider some of the following:

Mindful Acquisition Questions

Why did I come shopping today?

Is this object, item or product something I need or something I want?

Can I afford the space and the dollars it will cost to own this?

If I wait to purchase this what will be the consequence?

In the words of Reverend Billy from the Stop Shopping Gospel Choir, ‘Give me the power to stop shopping!’ Knowing the answers to these questions will allow you to become a more Intentional Shopper. When you are an intentional shopper you purchase goods with clarity that are fit for purpose. By taking a moment to reflect on why, what and how we buy items we can reduce the fixed mindset of the Hyperconsumption cycle of work>buy>spend, allowing ourselves to progress into a more growth mindset using the Mindful Acquisition cycle create> live> share.

**2020 Special Book Pricing** Click here to order your copy for $20.00 plus $5.00 for shipping anywhere in Australia http://bit.ly/2020RightsizeYourLife

The Rightsizing Ratio

October 7, 2020August 27, 2020Clutter Mangement, Find Your Why, Goal setting, Planning, Project Mangement, Space in your home, The Rightsize Approach, UncategorizedLeave a Comment

When Rightsizing your life the concept of clutter management has traditionally been one of randomness and in some cases chaotic in its approach. We use the Rightsizing Ratio to anchor our thinking into segments that will assist in creating order to this process. The Rightsizing Ratio encases our project in a three-tier structure, where each of these segments are in proportion to the amount of effort needed to support each action. When Rightsizing our WHY is at the centre of all we do. Although its segment is smaller it is the core of our intention. Adopting this decision-making technique enables us to proceed to the next layer, our HOW. Exploring the HOW will enable us to implement our actions and will reduce the stress of our WHAT. This is WHAT we will keep and WHAT objects we will let go, which is the vastest segment of the Rightsizing Ratio.

Copyright © 2017 A.Balmer To Keep Or Not To Keep All Rights Reserved

**2020 Special Book Pricing** Click here to order your copy for $20.00 plus $5.00 for shipping anywhere in Australia http://bit.ly/2020RightsizeYourLife

You Are Your Memories

July 24, 2019June 12, 2019Clutter Mangement, decluttering, Find Your Why, Memories, Object Classification, Rightsize Your Life! The Balanced Approach to Living Better With Your Belongings, UncategorizedLeave a Comment

Memories

Arthur M. Schlesinger said, ‘Science and technology revolutionise our lives, but memory, tradition and myth frame our response.’ Our memories are stored in our minds and we are able to take them with us everywhere we go. They are a part of our identity and often account for a large part of who we are. Different types of our memories are stored in different parts of our brains. We have memories that are about events that have taken place in our lives and these are known as ‘episodic memories’. We also have ‘semantic’ memories that include facts and broad-spectrum information. We also store ‘implicit’ memories that are linked to movement or how our muscles remember how to operate a television remote or how to knit a scarf. We also have long-term and short-term memories; these assist us to navigate the past and present respectively. Once we have affixed a tangible physical artefact to a memory this object becomes a symbolic reminder of the memory we have attached to it. This object ‘becomes’ the memory. The feelings associated with it are what we need to identify before we are ready to let go of this item from our lives.

When we know WHY we feel a certain way about an object we will be able to assign it an Object Classification. This classification will be critical in understanding our own relationship to this object. If this is an object we identify ourselves with, we must give it space to live with us. Or we might well be ready to positively let go of this object but still retain the memory that we associate to it. By choosing to let it go we will create a new memory of this object in our minds. For example, when letting go of some of your good quality ‘work’ clothes, visualise the value the new owner may receive from your donation, such as obtaining employment because your no-longer-needed jacket allowed them to look the part for the job. Another example I like to use with my clients is donating good-quality items that have packaging such as crystal vases, candlesticks and sliver photo frames as they may be of great value to someone who needs to purchase a high-end item without the retail price tag. Our tangible objects serve us as physical reminders of these memories that we have attached to them. Ultimately, YOU are your memories.

Reclaim Your Space

July 17, 2019June 12, 2019Clutter Mangement, De cluttering, Find Your Why, Home, Project Mangement, Rightsize Your Life! The Balanced Approach to Living Better With Your Belongings, Rightsizing, Space in your homeLeave a Comment

Find Your Why

Finding your WHY is important for you to hook your motivation and ignite your intention to start your Rightsizing journey. ‘All knowledge meets an end at the question … Why?’, said American author and philosopher Criss Jami. If we know WHY we are doing something this will allow us to fully emerge ourselves in all we do. Drilling down through our WHYs will give us a clear, defined, specific outcome, which allows you to discover what your emotional outcome is. If we know what is in our hearts of hearts, or what our true emotional needs are, we will be able to provide ourselves with a new template to live our lives through. We will achieve our vision to live better with our belongings by identifying the emotional benefits we will experience from changing our physical space. Knowing your WHY is HOW we are successful but also it assists us in WHAT we maintain as lasting successful outcomes.

If we think back to our kitchen example, the why behind this could pathway like this:

Why am I starting in my kitchen? > I am choosing to start in my kitchen because I am frustrated as it is so untidy. Why is this frustrating? > Because I am unable to find items instantly. Why is it frustrating when you cannot find things? > Because I need to rebuy items I cannot locate. Why is this a problem? > It costs me extra money. Why would rightsizing solve this for you? > It will allow me to see all my utensils and I could avoid spending extra dollars on repurchasing. Why will this be beneficial to you? > Because I will have more time and money. Why is this important? > Because I will now be able spend both in other areas of my life. Why will this be valuable to you? > Because I will be happier as my quality of life will have improved.

This shows how asking ourselves WHY until we have reached our emotional outcome will allow us to verbalise our specific of our own WHY for our project.