My October Goals: More Decluttering, More Reading, and a Charity Walk

Tyrone sitting in the tote I'm using for Limbo books.

In September, I had too many goals. I realized it within a week and let myself off the hook for some of them.

The goals that stuck were:
1. So Damn Domestic Clutter Free Countdown.
2. Blog my way through the countdown.
3. 750 Words daily writing challenge.

None of them were perfect, but all of them were finished. Sadly, 750 Words has a different definition of "finished" than I do. I'm okay with writing twice as much the next day if I skip a day. They consider that failing. One month I will complete the challenge by their standards and you will be mine, Sassy Horse Badge!

I want it. 750words.com

It's too late for me to sign up for the October challenge with 750words.com, but I will continue to use it as a brain dump and to write drafts.

My goals for October are as follows:

1. Remove all decluttered items from my home. I was originally only going to give myself a week to do that, but it's a bigger job now that I know I have to check everything for roaches and sanitize it before it goes anywhere. (It should be okay. I packed everything up in air tight-ish containers. Eeeee.)
2. Read more! I've decided to give myself a daily page number goal of 75 pages.
(More about this below.)
3. Promote and prepare for the NF Walk in L.A. on October 25. A sub-goal of this is to keep up my routines and start moving them earlier in the day. I have a few events scheduled, including the walk, that start early in the morning, and I'd like to be rested and strong for them.

I thought about structuring this month differently. Instead of having task-based goals, I thought about using the Todoist app to set productivity goals instead. "Complete X number of tasks per day." I might do something like that for November, when I have big things planned, (wink wink), but it doesn't feel right for this month.

These used to be organized by color.
It was beautiful.

I like the idea of a reading goal because at the end I can say, "Look how many books I finished!" The idea came when decluttering my books last month. I realized I have four long shelves of books I haven't read, or haven't read in a long time.

Four shelves is the amount after decluttering 60 books! 


Many of my books are "In Limbo," because they very well may be decluttered if they aren't life-changing and referenceable. I'm also reading a few library books for book clubs, and because I couldn't resist.

75 pages is not an ambitious goal at all. I purposefully set a low number so it would be achievable without getting in the way of all the other tasks. It's still more than I had been reading, and that's how goal setting works sometimes. It doesn't always have to be a big jump. So far I've read closer to 300 pages a day, because I got in the zone.

I finished reading my first book of the month yesterday and it felt great, as that particular accomplishment always does. I'm reading four at a time in different genres, which I wasn't sure was the best idea, but I'm enjoying it.

I think I'll go read right now!

SDD Clutter Free Day 15: Plants Vs Zombies Figurines, My To-Do List, and My Expectations

It's Day 15 of the So Damn Domestic Clutter Free Countdown, which means time to declutter 16 items. I had to confirm the numbers a few times, like, "Wait, is it Day 16 or 16 items?" I don't need to make a list for my items today. I chose to get rid of my Plants Versus Zombies figurines. There's exactly sixteen of them, so it's perfect.

I bought them online, and when I opened the packaging, they smelled horrible, a strong, chemical oder. I didn't return them because I ordered them right before I moved to bring to CA as a gift for my cousin. There's too much going on when moving to deal with shipping a return. I didn't want to be responsible for my little cousin's lead poisoning, so I held on to them.

I'm not sure if I should sell them with a disclaimer, and let a buyer use their own disgression, or just throw them away.

Speaking of things I'm not sure of, I've been using this great app called Todoist, but I'm still getting in the groove with it. I love that it makes my to-do list an active part of my day, instead of a "someday I should get to this" list. I can assign different tasks to different days, set recurring deadlines, and compete with myself and how many tasks I'd completed the day before.

My Todoist Menu: After

My Todoist Menu: Before

I used it to pace my reading for book club. I did the math of how many pages I'd need to read per day to finish the book the day before book club. Then I set the task as "Read 15 pages Their Eyes Were Watching God every night at 11 PM." Sure enough, I finished the book right on time, and even had extra time to study the author's history and symbolism in the book.

The main issue I've encountered is if I skip a day of a recurring task, it marks it as past due. I'd rather it just reset the task to let me try again. It needs an, "I'm not doing this. Leave me alone" option. It'd be great if I were a master of discipline and never ever deviated from my plans. But then, no it wouldn't. I like having flexibility built into my schedule. I like being able to rest when I'm tired or do more when I have a burst of energy.

I've been using Todoist for a couple weeks, and I'd typed in my routines as individual items. Today I erased all of them. I replaced the fourteen Morning Routine tasks with one task called Morning Routine. It had started to overwhelm be that I had sixty-four tasks on my list every day.

Now it's much neater. I changed my Kharma settings from a goal of 40 tasks per day, to a goal of 10 tasks per day. That means my tasks are weighted about the same as they were, so I'll still rake in lots of points. Yeah, there's points! Your status upgrades at different levels of points. It's pretty great.

I only completed my massive night routine once this week, so I decided to take Flylady's suggestion to build a routine up from 3 tasks at a time. I was able to build my full morning routine as whole by taking notes along the way, but my dream night routine is about 2-3 hours long, so I think starting small is the way to go here.

The three items I'm going to work on are:
1. Fill up the dish drying rack. I like this because it's very visual and finite. It's better than "Do all the dishes," which can overwhelm me. I have a feeling all the dishes will be done with this goal, anyway.
2. Read pre-planned number of pages. Right now I'm reading Wonder by R.J. Palacio, 50 pages a night, because it's a children's book.
3. Meditate. I'm using the Stop, Breathe, Think app. I like that it tracks my mental and physical settledness, as well as my emotions. It helps me notice patterns in my mood. Plus the meditations actually help me and there are stickers!

It hurts a little bit to let go of the rest of my routine for now. It brought be so much peace of mind when I was able to complete it, but if it's not working, I gotta reset. Anyway, it's not gone for good. It's just on hiatus. Once I feel solid in those three things, I'll add in another three things.

Looks like today I decluttered 16 toys, plus my to-do list, and my expectations. I like that perspective!

SDD Clutter Free Day 11: The Wire Drawer, and Going All In Vs. Baby Steps

The "before" pile, all pulled from one drawer.

It's Day 11 of the So Damn Domestic Clutter Free Countdown, which means I got to declutter 20 items! I also really like the prompt today, which was to think about the benefits of making a big push. It can be hard to know when to go all in and when to take baby steps. I talked about it in A Bath of Ice Water, when I made a calendar of what my Dream Day would look like, and committed to it.

If you dip your toe in ice water, you're going to pull it back out and say, "No way I'm getting in that!" If you dunk your whole body in, you'll adjust faster and, anyway, you made it into the water. Even if it's uncomfortable, you did it.

From all my experiments trying to better myself, I think I've figured out when to go full-dunk and when to go slow.

Baby steps seem to work best for establishing habits in any area where you feel shame or uncertainty.

The ice water method seems to work best for building new habits in areas where you aren't ashamed but you know there's room for improvement.

For example, I felt shame about my sleep, eating, and cleaning habits. I couldn't seem to get any of them regular, and it made it so much harder for me to function that I felt like a less effective/useful/worthy person. I had to practice self-compassion, forgiveness, and acceptance before I could make progress. To put it another way, I had to feel completely okay with how I was doing things already and then make small changes to create better habits.

The Dream Day calendar did not work for me because it was too muddled with uncertainty, not only in the calendar itself (a dinner hour is great, but you gotta have a plan for dinner), but I also felt uncertain about my ability to pull it off. Building up routines in 1-hour increments is working much better.

Alternatively, I don't have shame about my clutter. I have a healthy dose of Privilege Guilt, having an apartment to myself when my neighbors live six to a unit, but all it does is push me to be more mindful of my resources. I don't feel like my belongings define who I am as a person in a negative way. I'm also confident in my organizational skills, so that gives me fuel to get through a massive decluttering project like this one.

I'm still taking baby steps in other areas of my life: routines, budget, skill-building. I mean, baths of ice water are invigorating and make you feel like a badass, but you have to go through discomfort to get to that awesome feeling, so I guess what I'm saying is: take the pressure off and choose a challenge for yourself that you know you're ready for.

I'm also writing this to pat myself on the back for choosing the perfect challenge for myself. I believe celebrating accomplishments is a way to practice gratitude. I am rocking this Clutter Free Countdown!

Day 11: 20 Items Decluttered

1-7. Ethernet cables. HOW? WHY? Seven?

8. Phone or camera computer hookup. Doesn't belong to any technology I have, and didn't ring a bell with my brothers.
9. Power cord. Might go to a piano keyboard. I'm waiting for my brothers to check the keyboard at our parents' house tomorrow, but however it goes, it goes.
10. Printer cable. I just bought this a few weeks ago. Such a bummer it got crushed. I don't even know how or when it happened.
11. iPod charger. It's too old to charge my phone or tablet and I never use it for my old iPad because it works with the new chargers.
12. Cassette to ipod adapter, broken.
13. RGB cable. I'm using HDMI now.
14. X-box to USB adapter. I'll send this back to my brothers.
15, 16. Computer power cables. Everything's plugged in and working so I clearly don't need these.
17. Y-cord splitter packaging. Such a big bag for such a small item. I moved the splitter to where I keep my headphones, a more logical place for it.
18. Promotional mousepad.
19. Another RGB cable.
20. iPhone charger smashed beyond repair.

I'm keeping one USB-to-USB cord, one HDMI cord, the y-cord splitter, a wireless printer kit, headphones, and the Wiimotes. I'm not going to store them in the same drawer for two reasons.

A. They don't need a whole drawer anymore.
B. Seems these drawers have become quite the roach habitat!

Gross.

The two drawers left are full of placemats and plastic grocery bags. I'm disgusted to think how many roaches are living in there if any were in the boring wire drawer. I'll have to remove everything from that storage console so when I disrupt them, they don't disperse into my other belongings. It might take me some time to work up the courage.

I'm open to suggestions.

SDD Clutter Free Day 10: The Tool Box and Living in the Moment

My grandma helped me decide which
tools to keep. I thought I had three of
the same kind of wrench. Turns out
I don't, and they're all useful!

It's Day 10 of the So Damn Domestic Clutter Free Countdown, and today I was tasked with decluttering 21 items. I'm running out of floor space, collecting all these piles, I decided to organize my toolbox and get it out of the walkway. I'm in the Facebook group for the Clutter Free Countdown, and I've noticed that some of the participants remove the items from their home every day. They post the items for sale online as they declutter them, or they take a box to Goodwill every evening.

I'm not sure how they manage it. I feel like just the act of collecting the items is big enough. But then, maybe they would think the same about my blogging.

I do wish I'd set up a system to get rid of these throughout the month. It's stressful having them all stacked in my bedroom. For the last few days, my nighttime routine has been messed up because I don't like hanging out in my room when it's like this. I'd rather stay in the living room and browse on my phone for an hour than practice piano, read, and meditate in my room.

I feel the loss of that.

It's also a reminder that stuff matters. I am affected by how much stuff I have, what kind of stuff, and how it's arranged. It's motivation to keep going with this countdown and get to a place where I'm mindful of every item in my home and what role it plays in my life.

Speaking of tools to fix things...

Day 10: Declutter 21 Items

No kitties on the bed today either. Another scorcher, so they stayed on the floor.
Proud of my work here! I took everything out and even washed the toolbox.

1-3. Screwdrivers. It is nice to have multiple when you're moving and want every friend disassembling a piece of furniture at the same time. But I think one battery powered screwdriver and one manual screwdriver will be enough.
5, 6. Hammers. With screwdrivers inside them. Very nifty, until you replace it with sturdier tools.
7. Broken phone charger wire. The ones that live in the car don't seem to last as long as the ones in the house.
8. Yoga mat wipes. I left my yoga mat at my parents' house. These wipes are expired now.
9-13. iPod dock adjusters for outdated iPods.
14. Wire cutter? I don't know what it is, but I know I don't need two of it.
15. Razor, rusted. Plus, I used to cut myself with it, so getting rid of it feels like Today Means Amen!
16. Dried up rubber band ball.
17-21. Hardware for furniture I no longer own.
PLUS! Rusted or stripped screws, unidentifiable do-dads, and pieces of trash!

I will say, the trash is leaving my apartment throughout the month, so even if the clothing, kitchen supplies, books, DVDs, linens, and toys consume my bedroom, at least I can say I'm not storing trash anymore.

I had been considering a book challenge next month (daily page number goals, probably), but now I'm thinking I might want to give myself the whole first week of October to find homes for 400-something objects. Perhaps I shouldn't worry about it. A daily countdown can make it hard to live in the moment, if you let it. The daily prompts can be focusing, absolutely, but I feel like I have one eye on the end date.

I'm going to work on living more in the moment, starting with getting back into my nighttime routine tonight. It's already 10:30, and I still gotta revise, format, and announce this blog post, so I better skedaddle!

SDD Clutter Free Day 6: Restoring Our Selves Through Challenges

The hardest part of any 30 day challenge, at least for me, is the weekends, or lack of weekends. I have social obligations and twice as many chores as on weekdays (daily plus weekly lists). But, the thing is, I know the resting, socializing, and chores are for me. Weekends are designed to be a restorative time.

When I think of it like that, as restorative, giving up precious weekend time for a 30-day challenge isn't bad at all. The challenge itself is meant to be restorative. (Unless you're in some Transgressive social circles. Woah, now my imagination's going wild.) 

The challenge reminds us of our ability to prioritize, our ability to meet deadlines, our ability to create, and reminds us that we have a wealth of stamina if we just focus.

The last 30 day challenge I completed was National Poetry Month-- write 30 poems in 30 days. I feel the same way today, on Day 6 of the So Damn Domestic Clutter Free Countdown, as I felt a week into NaPoWriMo, anxious and accomplished. I'm practicing as much self care as I can manage this month. Life gets busy. That's why projects get put off and we need these resets once in a while.

I hope this post is legible. I'm writing it at night instead of in the early afternoon like the others. I had a full and lively Sunday and now I'm pooped. (I made sure to collect and photograph my items this morning so it's all ready!)

Day 6: 25 Items Decluttered

1-8. Four-piece sheet sets. I have four sets but I can get by with two, one to use while the other sits in the laundry pile. One of the sets I chose to keep gave me a hard time with corners this morning, so it might get swapped out.

9-15. Pillow cases. That's 7 pillowcases (plus the 4 in the sheet sets). I get having one or two extra, for guests or in case you drool or pop a pimple or something, but 7 is more than I need.
16. Bath towel. I decided to keep 3, one to use while the other's in the laundry, and one for a guest. This was the 4th one, the smallest and most worn down, so it's gone.
17, 18. Hand towels. Again, "one to wash, one to use" seems like a good policy. I ended up keeping three because I couldn't choose between colors, but it's a start.
19, 20. Shirts that avoided yesterday's clothes slaughter.
21. Skillet. I have another one the same size, same quality, but the other one's easier to clean.
22. Yet another magazine. (Under cats.)
23. Yet another stack of papers. (Under cats.)

Uhh...oh boy. It appears I was too tired to collect the correct number of items originally. I'll go find two more.

Okay.

24. Charity cat calendar.
25. Plastic storage bag some pillowcases must have come in.

Hooray, I made it! I'm off to go through my nighttime rituals now. Btw, I added coloring book time and Hanon's Virtuoso Pianist. Self care + environment care (cleaning) + skill building = night has become a very special time.

I feel like saying, "I love you. Goodnight."

And so I will.

I love you.
Goodnight.

A Night Owl's Experiment: Developing a Nighttime Routine

"Tomorrow, I'm going to honor a nighttime routine."

One of my big goals for July was to develop a Wake-up Routine. I succeeded in that goal, and it's been wonderful starting my days with intention. My apartment stays clean with fewer cleaning binges stressing me out. I let the routine slide during a high-anxiety week, and that's okay. The routine was all set and reassuring when I was ready to step back into it.

The reason it works is because it's more than "cleaning," it's meditation. It's cleaning mixed in with tooth-brushing, stretching and affirmations, and breakfast. It flows together like watercolors and reminds me that I am part of my environment, and I'm worth taking care of. (From what I understand, the “care” aspect makes it a ritual instead of a routine, but that’s a topic for another time.)

It's been such a comfort, I'm excited to work on a nighttime routine now. I'm a night owl. I get a burst of energy when the sun goes down and it takes major effort to pull me away from whatever I'm working on. I suspect learning to read my body's tiredness cues will be a big part of a nighttime routine's success.

When I experimented with a Dream Day calendar, I set numerous alerts to remind me to start winding down. They were absolutely useless, just like an alarm to wake up in the morning was useless. I need to apply the same strategy to nights that I've had so much success with in mornings, which is:

1. Focus on the task order.

I've tried making goals like "meditate every night" and they always get dropped for that extra episode of Cupcake Wars. Morning goals used to get dropped for extra time playing on my phone, and the way I got over that was by creating an “order of operations” for my morning. For my nighttime routine, if I blend meditation, cross stitch, and reading in with dishes, wiping counters, and washing my face, in the same order every night, I believe the whole will support the parts.

Every race needs a starter's pistol. I can start with the same task every time. I’m thinking first, put on podcast, second, wipe table. That feels like a good starting place for me.

2. Time the whole.

Instead of assuming I'll get to everything every morning, I limit my morning routine to an hour. My morning routine has dishes and laundry in it. Tasks like those fluctuate based on how much mess has accumulated. It took some practice to learn what an hour feels like without watching the clock. I have an even better idea for nighttime! I'm gonna put on a podcast or CD while I do the cleaning part, then finish it out to cross stitch, and after it's done, move to my bedroom/bathroom for tooth brushing, reading, and meditation. While my Wake-up Routine takes one hour, with how much effort it takes to convince my night owl brain to rest, the Nighttime Routine will probably take two.

3. It'll happen when it happens.

My hope is that the self-regulatory nature of routines will lead to a regular sleep/wake schedule. Then, I’ll be able to say, “My nighttime routine starts at 9 PM.” (HA, 9 PM, that's like early evening!) Until then, my plan is simply to commit to the tasks, not the hour, so I have to learn not to push myself to exhaustion by starting too late in the night. Tonight is a bad example of listening to internal cues. I was so excited to repeat the routine I practiced yesterday, I went straight to Google Docs to write about it.

It’s a process!

I’ve decided to break my Nighttime Routine into three phases, so I can master them in baby steps.

Phase 1: Leading Rein (Titled this, not because any of these acts give me control, but because they allow my mind to take me where it needs to go. Of course, listening to a podcast impedes that. Hmm.Something to consider, there.)

1. Put on podcast or album
2. Wipe table
3. Wipe counters
4. Wipe stove
5. Diffuse a calming essential oil
6. Prep tomorrow’s meals as applicable
7. Throw out trash / sort recyclables
8. Wash dishes
9. Wipe sink and faucet
10. Brew tea
11. Sweep

Phase 2: Passage (The phase between active and asleep.)

1. Tidy desk
2. Tidy living room (adjust couch cushions and pillows, fold blankets, stack books)
3. Enjoy tea and cross stitch [I’m still working on timing. Until end of podcast? End of one needle’s worth of embroidery floss? 20 minutes? I’ll try it a few ways and see what works.]
4. Play with cats until they lay on their sides
5. Plug in mobile devices to charge
6. Refill water bottle
7. Turn lights and other electronics off in the living side of the apartment

Phase 3: Landing Place

1. Put on PJs
2. Brush teeth
3. Floss
4. Wash face
5. Moisturize
6. Read, 20 mins.
7. Adjust the bed covers and window so the room is cool, dark, and quiet
8. Body scan meditation
9. If not asleep within 30 minutes, repeat last three steps.

I made these lists in the Reminders app on my iPhone 4S. Any to-do list app will work great. Of course, it’s best to minimize screen use before bed, so a whiteboard, chalkboard, or plain ol’ piece of paper could be used instead.

I make sure to use the checklists even if I feel like I have it memorized because, honestly, if it were intuitive, I would’ve been doing it all along. Besides, the point is not to recreate the order every time, but to develop habits of Thing B after Thing A.

I’d like to say my goal is to master this by the end of August, but with three phases, I have a feeling it’s going to take longer than two weeks to get it down pat.

It’s important to remind myself to do these things without expectation. It’s all for me, so if it doesn’t improve my life, I can let it go and try something else instead. It is impossible to fail.

What works for you?