There are a multitude of ways that failing to get organized can impact on you financially, this one doesn’t relate to business but to your home. Here’s how

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What is it that you should ask yourself on a regular basis that could help change your life?
That’s in my Motivation Monday audio today + What holds you back from being

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I, like Oprah, had never heard of this movement before seeing her show (for U.S. readers - our Australian broadcasts of Oprah appear, to my calculations, to be about 10-12 weeks behind yours however I’m not 100% sure of this) but of course I’m fascinated because it represents the antithesis of clutter which is a symptom of our consumer society. To put those who have no idea what this is in the picture here’s the Wikipedia description of Freeganism:

“Freeganism is an anti-consumerism lifestyle whereby people employ alternative living strategies based on “limited participation in the conventional economy and minimal consumption of resources. Freegans embrace community, generosity, social concern, freedom, cooperation, and sharing in opposition to a society based on materialism, moral apathy, competition, conformity, and greed.”[1] The lifestyle involves salvaging discarded, unspoiled food from supermarket dumpsters that have passed, or in some cases haven’t even passed, their sell by date, but are still edible and nutritious. They salvage the food not because they are poor or homeless, but as a political statement.[2][3]
The word “freegan” is a blend of “free” and “vegan”.[4] Freeganism started in the mid 1990s, out of the antiglobalization and environmentalist movements. Groups such as Food Not Bombs served free vegetarian and vegan food that was salvaged from food market trash by dumpster diving. The movement also has elements of Diggers, an anarchist street theater group based in Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco in the 1960s, that gave away rescued food.[4] “

Whilst it is easy to view these philosophies or ideals as radical or over the top that fact remains that these guys are living a clutter free life by conscious choice for political reasons and environmental concerns. It’s always bothered me about how much food gets thrown away in western countries due to strict food standards (which by the way I’m not advocating be changed) and a lack of a system to deal with such issues. My idea has always been to; at least have a garbage collection system where commercial businesses must by law separate properly, food from all other rubbish so that the food garbage can be collected to be used to create quality compost.
However on seeing the footage of the kinds of food collected by freegans from dumpsters of grocery stores and bakeries etc I was astounded at the quality - OMG, it is a total waste of perfectly good food (fresh and packaged) AND other items - this effectively become our collective clutter adding to landfills and creating methane that we could do without. Lisa Ling reported that the estimated waste came to $3b - that could feed entire countries!

freegan.info provides more detail about what it means to be freegan. I think that the concept of reducing waste reducing and the amount of product you buy in the first place is without doubt the keys to a clutterfree existence, after all just how much do we really need? Shelter, food & clothing and thereafter it’s all just icing on the cake - and if you have ever tried putting heaps of icing on a cake ’cause it just never seemed to be enough and then when you ate it you discovered that in fact there can be too much icing then you’ll know that those basics coupled with the more important aspect of human existence - experiences - family, friends and community is what it’s all about.

Today I’m really feeling quite motivated and I have a good friend to thank. Last week I finally ‘got MY at together’ regarding my time management and started applying the techniques laid out in my friends program for ‘alternative’ time management. Now I’m still working on some of the basics with it but I done enough of it to know that I love this concept and the program! The difference it’s made in just a few days is just fabulous.
I have not only organised my to do list in a better fashion AND started on a mundane domestic task I’ve been putting off for ages but I’ve also totally changed my calendar entries to reflect this new concept and mentally it feels like a new lease on life. What I really love about it is the simplicity and ease of application - why the heck I didn’t do it sooner I DO NOT know!
If you’d like to learn more about this great time management strategy for the busy ‘entrepreneur /solopreneur’ / home based business professional visit Just 15 Minutes.

So finally to todays motivational quotes - and I am so motivated today with my ‘new’ time management system rapidly flowering. Our first quote is
“You can have anything you want, if you want it badly enough.  You can be
anything you want to be, do anything you set out to accomplish if you hold
to that desire with singleness of purpose”.  ~ Abraham Lincoln
Now obviously this can be applied to sorting clutter and not only getting organized but more importantly staying organised or being organized! Whilst it’s hardly daring or exciting the fact is it’s at the core of everything you do. Time wasted mucking around with stuff when you could be doing something really interesting or fulfilling is just such a waste of your great talent and skills.
Imagine that as the first step to achieving your goal you ‘get organized’ with the view to staying that way by finding and/or developing a system that works for you.

Now with that in mind our second quote is
“The only man who never makes mistakes is the man who never does
anything”. ~ Theodore Roosevelt

So when you do stuff up trying to get organised - and you will, often! DON’T do what I’ve done for years and that’s to mentally self flaggelate so badly that you stop doing….. anything significant, why - to avoid making a mistake! The dumbest strategy I’ve ever implemented whether it be conscious or unconscious. Thanks heavens I’ve finally come to the point where I don’t need ‘my duck all lined up’ before I do anything!

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