Crisis and Management

by Christine Kane

When it comes to clutter, rarely do people talk bathrooms. Maybe they’re scared to “go there.” Maybe they’re tired after clearing out the rest of the house! But think about it.

Bathrooms are places of cleansing, healing, and release. Dirt and clutter are counter-productive to these all-important creative activities.

So, is it time to clear out your medicine cabinets? Only you can decide! See if you’re cluttered by any of these…

1 - Mostly-Used Hair Gunk

Mostly-used toothpaste. Mostly-used soap, shower gel, and all tubes you’ve twisted to the point they’d make Salvador Dali pull out his paintbrush. These can go into recycling.

What’s more valuable? The 12 cents you save by tilting shampoo bottles on their heads? Or the peaceful feeling of showering without empty bottles tumbling all over the tub?

2 - Soap

Here’s a math problem:

Let’s say you’ll live to be 112.

Write the number “112″ on a piece of paper. Then, write your current age under it.

Now subtract.

If the final number is less than the number of bars of soap in your bathroom, you will most likely never use all of those soaps.

Organization Tip: Soaps are a great give away item to homeless shelters.

3 - Gifts with Purchase

On any given visit to the mall, some cosmetic counter lady will announce a Gift with any purchase of $24. “Hooray!” we think. “More stuff for me!”

But is it really a gift?

Perhaps here’s how the announcement should go:

“Ladies…. [Brand Name] has a Gift with Purchase this month only at [Department Store Name].

That means that you’ll get YET ANOTHER Flowered Zippy Bag that will sit under your sink until the day you die.

In this Flowered Zippy Bag, you get a sample of our new fragrance called [Dysfunctional Emotional State]. You’ll put this under your sink with your Zippy Bag in hopes you’ll remember to give it to [Unsuspecting In-Law Name].

You also get this new season’s lipstick shade: “Didn’t I Wear This in My 8th Grade Class Photo?” Pink. You’ll carry this lipstick in your purse, but it’ll end up in your medicine chest and roll out every time your husband (or lover) opens the door. He (or she) will curse and slam it back in there, adding the perfect dynamic to your love life…”

Note: If you haven’t used your Gift with Purchase since you got your Gift with Purchase, then you’ll probably never use your Gift with Purchase. (Same goes for the Flowered Zippy Bags.)

4 - Single Earrings

If there are single earrings, barrettes, or hairpins in your medicine chest or on any flat surface turning blue or creating rust, it’s time to let them go.

Organization Tip: Put single items in a jewelry case where they can wait among their supportive metal friends for their missing partners to return.

5 - Old Prescriptions

I know someone who kept powerful pain-killers around for over ten years “in case something happened again.” (His words.)

I also know someone who keeps patches (years after she quit) just in case she starts smoking again. (She says patches are expensive.)

Okay, peeps, let’s talk Law of Attraction!

Essentially, you’re telling your subconscious that you fully expect “something” to happen. AND that when it does, you’ll be so broke you’ll have to use an expired product with zero effectiveness.

Do you really want that thought-form out there?

Organization Tip: If you don’t have it now, don’t keep products around that remind you that you ever did have it.

6 - Kitty Litter

Bathrooms with kitty litter all over the place make people want to upchuck.

If you have to keep the litter box there, just keep it clean! This will make your life cleaner and your cat happier.

Organization Tip: Keep a dustpan near the box. Make it part of your morning routine to do some litter clean up. Create a litter-changing schedule.

7 - Old Magazines and Damp Books

Stacks of 2002 O Magazine. Wrinkled copies of Women Who Do Too Much. When was the last time you read these?

If you have books or magazines in a basket, remove them (and the basket) and see how that feels. If you must have a book, pick one. Change it every now and then so the damp doesn’t ruin it.

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Finally, to motivate you, here’s a quote from Bruce Lee, who, I imagine, had a very clean bathroom…

“One does not accumulate but eliminate.

It is not daily increase but daily decrease.

The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity.”

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Performer, songwriter, and creativity consultant Christine Kane publishes her ‘LiveCreative’ weekly ezine with more than 4,000 subscribers. If you want to be the artist of your life and create authentic and lasting success, you can sign up for a FREE subscription to LiveCreative at www.christinekane.com.

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 19th, 2009 at 10:07 pm and is filed under Health, Self-Help. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.