text: I have too many clothes. I think you might have too many clothes also. Here’s what I do and am doing. I have a “give away” clothes box.
  It’s nothing fancy, so when I finally finish the de-cluttering of my clothes, if I want, I can recycle the box. Smart thinking right?
  The box is outside the laundry room, so that when I am folding I can make decisions to keep or donate. And this way the clothes are clean. Children can easily learn to put what they won’t wear any longer in the box. And it’s really good for them to learn to donate and how to let go. I line the box with a large heavy duty trash bag and when it gets heavy but I can still lift it, I put it my car and take a trip to our local Good-Will.
  Funny thing is, when I am shopping at Good-Will sometimes I see my old things. I still like them, but I never ever want to buy them back.
  Anyway, Good-Will gets more money per item than I could ever get in a garage sale, and money is put to good use. It’s all good, a win-win.
  ( I recognize this is a box. Oops! My rationalization: it’s a temporary box being use as a tool to get to my goal)
  This entry was posted in clothes, donate, easy, habits and tagged closet, clothes, donate, easy, habits, letting go.
  I love boxes! It’s true! I never met or saw a box I didn’t like. The problem is once I own a box, I put stuff inside it. End result, I have a lot of boxes with God-knows-what inside.
  By not knowing what is inside, I definitely can’t just throw it away. Therein lies one of my many problems. Sorting, blah!!! I hate it. It takes forever, so of course I don’t do it.
  This is the cutest box ever. It’s tiny. I have saved this box as a reminder to myself -NO MORE BOXES!!!!
  The mass marketers would like you to believe that if you buy a container then all your “stuff” will be protected and organized. They want you to believe that your children will suddenly want to put away their toys or that your house will instantly become neat and orderly. They do a good job. Now plastic containers come in all shapes and colors. One is bound to be perfect for your “whatever.” I have a plastic box just for a wreath. The wreath’s original box was perfectly fine, but no….a green and red one is better. It’s all bullshit. (I didn’t need the wreath either, but that is beside the point.)
  Buying boxes, containers if you will, is a license to hold on to unnecessary stuff! Don’t do it. I realize there are valid uses for a containers, but if you are anything like me, a storage container stores stuff we don’t need, we may not even want, and stuff that we usually forget we have until we look inside. (we’re never going to look)
  Next time you see that shiny new container that is going to miraculously solve your clutter issues, remember my tiny box. Get rid of the stuff you want to store – you aren’t going to use it anyway. Be brave, be box-less.
  This entry was posted in change, consumerism, emotional, habits, save, storage and tagged change, consumerism, emotional, habits, save, storage.
  This is particular difficult to achieve one hundred percent of the time. I mean if you are like me, you spent the last 20 plus years buying stuff. You bought for your house, your garden, your dogs, your cats, you bought for the new baby, and the new baby after that and so on. When I am faced with looking at those things I bought sometimes I see the joy it brought, but more times than not I see a price tag. Front and center my mind tells me, “Man that was expensive.” The next thought is “and we barely used it.”
  My item today: our pool table. I bought it as a birthday present for my husband, back when the children were little. We thought they would grow up have friends over and shoot pool, like we did when we were younger. Not so much. Video games, organized sports, movies and social networking was the main stay of their teen years.
  This particular purchase is more “dwell” worthy than just it alone, because when we moved we actually put an addition on our house to hold the table. Ugh! I recently tried to sell it for weeks – not a single bite.
  I can’t dwell. Currently the pool table is in storage, at a U-store-it place. It’s been in storage before , so there still may be hope for future usefulness. I am not sure.
  My key here is do not dwell on it. It is what it is. Move on and do one thing today to move closer to living better with less.
  This entry was posted in emotional, habits, letting go, money, moving on, waste and tagged emotional, habits, letting go, money, moving on, waste.
  The minute you realize that you have too much stuff, a sudden feeling of dread and hopelessness is sure to follow. It can break you and make you cry. The work appears endless, and overwhelming. I have cried, and drowned myself in music and random car rides. I have fabricated needless errands as a method of avoidance. Many days I can be found aimlessly wandering in stores. I like TJ Maxx to mindlessly wander in because they have music and all different departments all in one place. Sometimes when I return to the house I like to buddy up with my friend Chardonnay.
  Eventually, avoidance will become boring and you will want to move on, you will want to be free of the clutter. But you still will not know how to even start.
  Here’s my rule. One Day – One Thing. In the most difficult areas, that’s is all you have to do, and more realistically it’s all you can do. The goal is to do one thing that will move into the direction of having less and being more. Do this every single day.
  Today- I am taking photos for some items for eBay. That’s it. That’s all I am doing on this. I worked a full day at the office, and I am burned out.
  This entry was posted in accomplishment, goals, habits, money, to-do and tagged accomplishment, clothes, goals, habits, money, to-do, waste.
  I realized the other day that I lost out on 200.00. It’s as simple as that. I saved the coupon that encouraged me to go to a new bank and open a new account. I saved it, I put the coupon in a file for future use. Problem is I opened my new account forgetting all about the coupon. BAM! Two hundred bucks straight out of my pocket. I didn’t find this “saved” coupon until well after I opened my new bank account, and way past the coupon’s expiration date.
  This is just one example of the many dollars I have lost due to my cluttered life and cluttered mind.
  Suggestions: Only save food coupons for items you know you will buy within the next 7 days. Place your coupons on your refrigerator in plain sight.
  Be strict with yourself. Write down the item or service that you will be using on your to-do list or make sure to mark it on your calendar. For service coupons, schedule the appointment right away, do not delay. You’ll will find over time you will be able to identify coupons that work for you, in reality, not just in your mind.
  I’ve been on tv and radio for my work hundreds of times, and recorded oodles of Bubble Hour episodes these past years. Even so, today was still nerve wracking.
  I just did a Facebook live video to promote an upcoming Bubble Hour episode with the creators of a subscription box for people in recovery.
  If you feel like spending ten minutes watching a sober sister talking, or if you’re struggling and you just want to see another human who is in this recovery thing along with you, or if you’re wondering what my living room looks like, please watch:
  What have you done lately that was out of your comfort zone? Were you happy with the results? Will you do it again?
  Hi Joan. Thanks for reaching out. You can write to me at unpickledblog @ Gmail.com (I’ve added spaces to deflect spammers – remove those and you’ll reach me)
  Jean, I’ll never be able to express what you have given me in recovery. But I can easily answer the core question in this post. Recently I attended a She Recovers retreat in Bali. Visiting a whole other country on my own to spend 8 days with women I’d never met was a fair way out of my comfort zone! And since then I’ve hit ‘publish’ on two blog posts of my own which is pretty uncomfortable. You’re gorgeous and inspiring and I thank you!
  Firstly – I was so excited to see this video after hearing you on the Bubble Hour for so long – so thank you for your bravery in taking the step to record it. And just look at you, Jean – you are SHINING! What an amazing demonstration in action of the gifts of recovery. So damn proud of you for doing this.
  The boxes both looked like great resources for people in recovery. I am so glad new tools like this are becoming available. It was lovely to watch your pleasure in finding each item. You also gave out details some valuable extra resources as you went along, so thanks for those too.
  I hope you used all of your self care skills after making this video in case you felt a little wobblesome?! Big hugs and a huge cheer from England! PRIM XX
  That was great Jean ! You always have such inspiring words for us and to have you delivering them this time made it all the more special. At Day 439 I’ve been able to step out of my comfort zone much more. My main plan was to just say yes this summer. If someone suggested an activity, I just said OK, when do we go? I have to admit that there were a few anxious moments, but in the end, I had a great summer. It helped that it was so hot out! I didn’t say yes to much in my old life. Next on my list-I’d like to do something like the SheRecovers trip to NYC-which I chickened out on. Hope there’s another one soon!
  Seeing your comment during the recording made me feel more calm (or should I say, stillness and peace-full)
  Welcome to Autumn - what a lovely couple of days so far. We have had sunshine during the day and mostly rain at night! The days are warm and the sun is shining and the sky is blue! That doesn't mean we haven't had a few moody days too:
  I didn't actually realise how different the landscape and fauna is down there it's like a whole different world! One I'd love to head back to in the future! .
  I hope this finds my many Peeps warm and cosy! The Beast has done his work indeed in Europe and the UK I am told. I hope our crafty friends across the Atlantic have stayed warm and well as well!
  You might have something in your stash that is suitable or you may have a piece that can be repurposed or recyled.
  Intriguing challenge and lovely inspirations! I will rummage in by boxes to found some wooden items :)