Page 23 - Talane Miedaner - Coach Yourself to a New Career_ 7 Steps to Reinventing Your Professional Life (2010)

STEP 1: PERFECT THE PRESENT 11

rats are rodents that live in the desert; they collect all the junk
and trash they can find and make their dens out of it—their nests
look like a pile of garbage!) There are a few quick cures for the
human pack rats out there. First, most people ask the wrong ques-
tion when they are evaluating whether to keep a thing or toss it.
They ask themselves, “Could this be useful someday?” The prob-
lem with that question is that the answer is always going to be
yes. You may not know how it could be useful, but it just may be.
Instead of trashing the item in question, you shuffle it around. A
much more effective question is, “Have I used this in the last six
months?” If not, and it isn’t a holiday ornament or a pair of winter
skis, then out it goes. If it is a decorative object such as a painting,
then you can ask, “Does this give me joy just by looking at it?” If
it doesn’t give you joy, then out it goes. These two questions will
help average pack rats safely eliminate about 50 percent of their
stuff. If you are still struggling to part with things and worry that
you may need them, box them up, put today’s date on the box, and
stow it in a basement or garage. Mark your calendar six months
forward as donation day. In six months’ time, take the box straight
to the charity shop. Do not—I repeat, do not—be tempted to open
up the box. If you’ve safely managed for six months without the
stuff, you don’t need it now. If you open the top, you’ll start pull-
ing things out again and cluttering up your life.
Another very helpful tip is to put a numerical limit on things
or to have only two extras. For example, you have twenty pairs of
shoes, and that is your limit. If you buy a new pair of shoes, one of
the old pairs has to go. It is easier to get rid of an old thing if your
policy when buying something new is to ask, “Is this an upgrade?”
If it isn’t, then why are you buying it? For linens and towels, you
can apply the two-extras rule. I have a set of linens for each bed
and two extras. You can swiftly clear out the extraneous linens
by choosing your three favorites. Obviously, get rid of, repair, or
recycle anything that is torn, damaged, stained, or worn out.
According to the principles of feng shui, the ancient art of
arranging your home and office so that it is most beneficial to you,
all clutter represents stuck energy. Any clutter anywhere in your