Work with ease, find the flow.
Blue Monday!? There's a tradition at my workplace for Blue Monday, where people wear their brightest, clashing-est clothing to fight off the darkness and cold of winter in Canada. I'm not sure the science behind it is solid, but it does mean I get to wear purple polka dot pajama pants all day so I…
So still and grey, it could’ve been the sky, but the lake's small waves lapping on the shore whispered hello. I always feel at home by the water. The campground was full of people and my yurt had little privacy, but I had miles of shoreline to myself. I was confused by the solitude. While…
A funny thing happened as I cleared my house of excess stuff: The invisibility cloak lifted off my furniture. I'd taken it for granted, it was part of the scenery. I hadn't considered living without my lovely living room wall unit, for example, until there was almost nothing left in it and the starkness of…
Resetting My Life I wrote before about the start of my radical decluttering journey (Powerful Books) - it was (officially) in 2015, after years of chaos and trauma in my personal life, when I'd found hope and excitement about the future. (Unofficially, I can trace my first step to a moment of sparkling lights glistening…
People talk about privacy laws and confidentiality requirements with worry and annoyance. I see it differently, and love talking about it in ways that inspire people. I got to do just that last week at a conference in Toronto. I don’t have many specific goals in life - I’ve written about this before - but…
In the video called My Furniture-Free Minimalist Apartment Tour, I was charmed by Youheum Son, an extreme minimalist. I could listen to her soothing voice for hours, but it was the hope of seeing more of her cat, Boru, that kept me glued to my screen. I scrolled through many of her other videos, wondering,…
I’m years into my quest for less, and the more radical decluttering I do, the happier I am. There’s an urgency to it now though, that has nothing to do with the delight I find in simplicity. It’s my children. The earth is on fire, and their future is burning along with it. Our home…
Do you always get through your to-do list? If you're laugh-crying at such a ridiculous question, you're not alone. If your answer is "usually, not always" then congratulations, that's awesome! A) Tell us how and B) Are there things you'd like to be doing but can't fit them in? Maybe this will help. The key…
I’m giving a presentation soon to a new group, who aren’t familiar with my radical decluttering methods, but they are professional organizers, so … I’m tempted to ask them: What will you do with the handout after the session is done? I love Marie Kondo's approach: “My basic principle for sorting papers is to throw…
We may not yet have paperless offices, but times have definitely changed when it comes to keeping mementoes. Most of my kids’ schoolwork is done through google classroom, my ticket stubs and boarding passes are QR codes on my phone, and I don’t get many airmail letters with exotic stamps from pen pals anymore. Cleaning…
