If you know anything about me, you will know that I love a list. And I love a to-do list even more. What I hate is an uncompleted to-do list.
I started reading Organized Simplicity back in March last year and it has been bothering me for a while that I hadn’t finished. I hadn’t finished because I reached the section called ‘Ten Days to a Simpler, More Organized Home’.
Since I could not find 10 days together where I would be able to tackle every room of the house, I had put the book to one side for later. I knew that part of this process would be preparing for the boot sale which we know we need to have but can’t bring ourselves to get to early on a Sunday morning. In the end, later didn’t happen soon enough and today I gave myself permission to skip that section on the ten days of sorting (which I WILL get to eventually) and I read the last chapter of the book.
It feels like a weight has been lifted. It also made me realise that my quest for a simpler, less-cluttered and more intentional life is not something I will be able to tick off a to-do list. It is an ongoing process, a way of life. It is not one of the many things I need to achieve by September. It is something I can aspire to and something which I can use to motivate me and guide me as we head into a year of frugal living (full-time student means no income for me), using our family purpose statement as our sounding board.
I already feel so much better.
Notes From My Day 
It is a very long journey for me and sometimes I feel like I am going round in circles, just as I feel I have reached a point where the house, garden, my life, my job and everything else are straightened out and running well – disaster strikes and I am thrown back into chaos!!! I am seriously wondering if anyone out there ever achieves simple, uncomplicated, organised living – but as you say it is something to aspire to. Hope you find your ‘ten days’ to de-clutter – is that 10 consecutive days or just any ten days?
I think it can be any 10 but I suspect it would work best if done consecutively or as close to that as possible. I don’t expect we will ever achieve a truly simple lifestyle but it does help to make decisions if you know what you are aiming for, especially around new purchases. Good luck with your quest!