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Experts share the 6 things you should remove from your home to make it more serene

"We live finite lives. Be deliberate with them."

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A frustrated woman is decluttering her house.

In the never-ending quest to declutter our homes, cars, and lives, it can sometimes feel like a frustratingly impossible task. So perhaps an easier approach than "throw out everything that doesn't bring you joy" a la Marie Kondo, you could start a bit smaller.

Many interior designers, organizers, and "flow/Feng shui experts" have noted that there are some items that are easier to part with than others. It's a good place to begin and can often make the biggest impact in a space.

Renowned minimalist Joshua Becker, who runs the popular organizing blog Becoming Minimalist, shares his thoughts about the importance of living with intention. He writes, among many mantras, "We live finite lives. Be deliberate with them." With this in mind, his decluttering ideas (spread amongst quite a few YouTube videos) promise to "instantly create more space."

Among his suggestions, one is to remove empty boxes. "We all have them that we keep around just in case," Becker admits. But we likely don't need them. "Recycle them," he insists. Whether it's an old iPhone box or the box for your TV in the junk room, you're never gonna need it.

  - YouTube  www.youtube.com  

Secondly, and this is common among many organizing tips, is to open up your kitchen and bathroom pantries and drawers and throw out anything that has expired. It's simple. Expired—toss it. Sure, maybe SOMEDAY you'll need that old Tylenol. But chances are, a newer one will get the job done better.

A third recommendation is to let go of mismatched or chipped kitchenware. This goes for Tupperware without lids, as well. Donate it and keep only what you need. Interestingly, this tip made it onto another list for a different reason. In a piece for Woman and Home, digital lifestyle writer Emily Smith suggests the angle is less about space and more about flow. The piece quotes Feng shui expert Denise O'Dwyer, who shares, "Chipped, broken, or unused plates and cups all drain your personal Qi, or energy, and obstruct the positive energy within your space."

 plates, dishware, broken plates, declutter, home A white, broken plate sitting on top of a wooden table.  Photo by Elanchezhian Narayanasamy on Unsplash  

 

In keeping with the Feng shui angle, O'Dwyer also suggests getting rid of most items that conjure up negative or painful memories. "Holding onto items associated with negative memories or unresolved emotions can keep you anchored to the past, preventing personal growth and inviting negative Qi into your space."

Another easy fix to help bring serenity to your home? Get rid of unused or broken clocks. In fact, it's considered bad luck, or at worst, tacky, to give a clock to someone in China. Shared on the beijinger blog, "Giving someone a clock can be a big mistake, as the pronunciation of clock (钟表 zhōng biǎo) is homophonic to ending, termination, or death (终 zhōng), and can be especially offensive to older people, suggesting that you are praying for their death."

 clocks, dancing clocks, time, decluttering, rudeness Clocks dancing in a film.   Giphy Warner Archive 

O'Dwyer concurs and explains that broken or unused clocks are "believed to symbolize a stagnant concept of time and hinder progress. They can create a sense of pressure, reminding us of time passing without purpose. Repair or replace broken clocks and remove unused ones to encourage a healthier relationship with time."

Making nearly every list we perused on this topic? Unused clothing. This one can be tough because trends are always popping up again. Seventies bellbottoms became 90's flare jeans and lo and behold, they're back. But in a "Decluttering checklist" piece for Home and Gardens writer and content editor Chiana Dickson share wisdom from organization expert Jessica Litman, writing, "If you’re wanting to declutter your clothes fast, but struggling to make decisions, try items on and ask yourself how it makes you feel. There’s nothing worse than wearing clothes you don’t feel good in, so if that’s the case, remove it from your closet straightaway."


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Heroes

A simple way to be happier and do more for the planet, according to 'The World's Happiest Man'

What if you only had to do one thing every day to feel more joy?

Photo by Jon Schmidt/upload.wikimedia.org

Portrait of Matthieu Ricard

Matthieu Ricard, often called "the happiest man in the world," says that the way for all of us to live sustainably on this planet is to adopt a culture of thinking about each other. And not just the others who are here right now, but also people we'll never meet.

He tells us some stuff that you're probably tired of hearing. We're exhausting our planets resources. Humanity has completely screwed everything up on this planet.

But stick around because he's going to get crazy surprising.

 This is not a speech about recycling.

He points out that our situation is even more serious than you might have known. We're rapidly exceeding the planetary boundaries that make Earth habitable.

And, let's be honest, it's easy not to feel crazy urgent about this, right?

When we consider how we treat our planet, when we're talking about big action, we're doing it because we'd like our kids and grandkids to not live in a post-apocalyptic hellscape.

But then he offers a solution.

And it's not about buying a Prius.

So, his big revolutionary advice is just to look out for each other but in a tremendous way. Look out for your neighbor. Look out for your friend. Look out for your enemy and their great-great-great-grandkid.

But is that possible? And can we be happy if we think about others that much?

In fact, it happens all the time. So often that it's not newsworthy. This ordinary goodness is what helps communities and families grow.

An international survey found that the very most perfect predictor of happiness is the quality of human relationships.

But what is altruism? Is it a choice? Is it something we do for ourselves so that we will feel good about ourselves?

But how do we encourage that impulse to grow within ourselves, our communities, and our children?

For that, you'll have to watch the video.

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Planet

Educating women is the fastest way to combat climate change

True

We all want the world to be better and what better place to start than at home? Enter: Wildgrid, an all-female team providing education and empowering women to “electrify” their homes.

Why women? Women make 91% of ALL decisions in their households. And that’s no small thing when it comes to sustainability – 20% of all carbon emissions are from our homes! Electricity, gas-burning stoves, furnaces, hot water heaters, and many more – all of these everyday appliances make a big difference in how eco-friendly our homes are.

So what is the fastest way to make major reductions in household carbon emissions? Educating and empowering women!

Creating a more energy-efficient home – called electrification – is a process that can often feel confusing and overwhelming, particularly to folks who are often marginalized in male-dominant spaces.

“In spaces with men where this kind of topic is being covered, I find myself feeling [overwhelmed]... I found it really great that it was for women,” said one Wildgrid user who took Wildgrid’s women-only education course, Voltage Vixens.

Wildgrid’s online tool is simple, intuitive, and requires no previous background in sustainability to understand. To calculate all the rebates you qualify for, visit WildgridHome.com.

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Heroes

This is who we're feeding with our extra food. And you'll spit out your corn as soon as you know.

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Whole Foods Market

This article originally appeared on 12.17.14


Here's something you may not have known: In 2008, we grew enough food for 11 billion people.

(Reminder: There are just over 7 billion humans here on Earth.)

But half of that food went to feeding animals (you know, so we could eat them). And a great deal also went to fueling cars.

Clearly, we're not hurting when it comes to our ability to grow food. But how we grow that food matters. In the industrial system that feeds much of the globe, it takes 10 calories of fuel to produce one calorie of food.

Which, let's be honest, is not the most efficient process. That's why so many people are keen on growing food organically — by which Wikipedia tells me means:

In other words, organic farming involves growing food more naturally with fewer resources. But here's a good question: Can organic food feed the world?

Allow me to quote noted food expert Michael Pollan:

"In industrial areas, organic [farming] achieves 92% of the yield of industrial [farming]. But you go to the developing world, and it produces 182% of current yield."

Not too shabby, eh? Maybe there's some hope for our food system after all.

For the full talk (don't worry, it's short), check out the clip below.

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