The Little Things
March 12, 2018

“Only keep the best, favorite, or necessary”.  This has become one of my guidelines that I’ve tried to live so far in 2018. I think I found it in something related to Emily Ley, but I’ve tried to figure out where and can’t find it. But I’ll say it’s from her because I’m quite sure that it is.

I’ve known about the whole “spark joy” thing, and sometimes that has resonated with me but a lot of items don’t spark joy but are necessary, so the guideline didn’t fit my life. “Best, favorite, or necessary” really fits and I’ve found it resonating often with me as a guideline for how to use my time, what to keep, or what to buy.

As I look at my calendar or when I’m thinking of saying yes to something, I ask myself “Is this thing a best, favorite, or necessary thing to fill my time with?” If yes- then I go for it! If it doesn’t fit that guideline (or if saying yes to more would cross a boundary), then I say no, feeling confident that I’ve made a choice that fits into my values.

I’ve found myself asking myself this question a lot as I’ve been working on digitally decluttering. I had a come-to-Jesus conversation with myself in January as I surpassed the 9,000 picture mark on my phone and knew I needed to release pictures. My goal is to delete at least 100 pictures many nights of the week, and as I delete I remind myself to only keep the best, favorite, or necessary pictures. Same with personal emails (I opened up my gmail in 2008, so I have several thousand emails that have stock piled)!

I’ve also been able to get rid of over 225 items so far this year by asking myself the same question!

As part of my 2018 word of the year, reclaim, I’ve wanted to reclaim my space (both physical and digital) and not feel the weight of all the things around me. I’ve talked quite a bit over the past few years about not wanting to feel like I’m a victim to my things, and I feel like I’m making some good progress in this (playing the minimalism game last year helped too!). I continue to feel thankful for Powersheets and the intentional goal setting process that it goes through each month. It’s helped me be more direct in what I’m choosing to do and why I’m choosing to pursue things.

Now it’s your turn to share! How do you manage your digital clutter? Do you have a “simplifying mantra”?

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