Taking Decluttering Public - Group Clutter

It's no surprise that 1/4 of these 8 Habits of Organised People involve decluttering. And even though I've been far too quiet lately, the decluttering has continued...and it's grown!

With the goal of decluttering professionally, I have decluttered at my sister's house (hopefully more on this later.) I am also decluttering for an entire club.

As the new president of Explorers, I have a serious job on my hands. The previous long-serving and super hard working president is also a confirmed packrat, who doesn't think we should get rid of anything if we've spent money on it.

No prizes for guessing what the club storage cupboard looks like.

Along with the overstuffed shelves of activity resources, we have three library carts of books and games. Rather, we had about five carts' worth stacked onto three carts.

Making the Decluttering Case

In home decluttering, you will encounter resistance from those attached to the stuff. At an organisation level, it will be worse. You will hear all the usual enemy whispers, this time on behalf of the organisation.

We have a treasure trove of super cool stuff in the cupboard. Here is why the club agreed to declutter:

Dependence

The storage cupboard was so full that things only fit tightly packed in a few ways. Only one person really knew where to find things and where to put them away again so we could slam the door closed at the end of the day. Nobody else was sure of navigating the cupboard, and nobody wanted to.

This is a dangerous state for a club to be in!

Wasted Time and Energy

Every activity day needed a major extra commitment simply to take out materials and put them away again. Often we would still be setting up and in a rushed mess as people arrived.

Because only one person knew the right way to pack up (but often other people had to put stuff away anyway), the storage cupboard needed regular reorganisations (at least once a year) where many people stayed for hours to take everything from the cupboard and put it all away again.

People aren't too keen about this. Constantly shifting and sorting stuff is not a rewarding volunteer job.

Damage

Overstuffed storage damages the stored material.

For example, on our library carts, we had books in every crevice. Books stacked on top of each row of books plus piles on top. It was too heavy for one person to move. There were so many games that they spilled off the sides.

And when we moved them in and out of the cupboard, stuff on the edges got crushed against everything in our way. Of course, we had to pile other boxes on top of the books and games carts to get the cupboard door closed.


Access and Utility

The usual clutter complaints also apply

• People could hardly browse the library carts for fear of starting an avalanche. Small children certainly couldn't do it. There was always a mess to clean up simply from people trying to get things out.
• We often rebought materials because we didn't know we already owned them - or suspected we might but couldn't find them in time.

Decluttering Process

We've had two decluttering marathons already - the library carts and the general cupboard shelves.

Library

Our librarian defined a purpose for our library. This meant when we looked at a book or game, we could see it in the context of its use for our club, not just how cool it was.

We also took into account how easy it is for Aucklanders to get books from our public library.

The games and books now fit on their carts.

Shelves

I didn't know what was on the shelves, but my purpose was at least to

• remove any damaged or outdated material
• reduce duplication
• consider the value of all materials for the club's future

This is still a work in progress. We only got through about half the shelves, and we took out lots and lots of stuff.


What happened to the stuff?

After library clearout, before Open Day Sale

It's at my house. Good thing I'm an expert declutterer.

We sold some for about $400 at our annual Open Day, and a few large items sold on TradeMe. We are donating the rest.

Beneficiaries have been:

• NZAGC (our national org)
• Franklin Discoverers
• Playcentre
• Gifted Education Centre
• Montessori

After Open Day Sale and after cupboard clearout

Today, after many donations.

Someday very soon, I will post a photo of a clear floor. If this had been an easy task, someone else would have done it long ago.

The lesson?

Groups need to be even more careful than individuals with their decisions about stuff. With shared responsibility comes avoided responsibility.

Has anyone else encountered group clutter in your organisation?

The punchline?

The cupboard is still full.

Vegan Astronaut Food, or Why braces are cool when you're old

It's cool to get braces when you're old, because:

• Your peers congratulate you or sympathise - instead of calling you names and avoiding you
• Your kids think your new hardware is interesting, or even sparkly (my 4 year-old girl)
• You get to hear a thousand stories from people who've done it already.

I expected teeth too sore to chew hard or sticky foods, and to look strange.

I didn't expect cheeks so scraped by the braces that it hurts to suck down soft food. Or smile. Or talk. Apparently, it should get better any day now.

Anyway, I can't chew.  So I here's my chance to experiment with vegan astronaut food! The old-fashioned kind sucked out of a foil baggie, not the new gourmet style going to Mars. 

So What Can I Eat?

Here's what braces-wearers can't eat.  As a vegan, I won't be chewing meat off the bone any time soon. And while I enjoy chewy candies, it doesn't cramp my style much to avoid them.

But I can't eat a crunchy juicy apple or carrot! Right now I can't even bite a soft banana, because that knocks off the wax that stops the braces from shredding my cheeks into streaming ulcers.

My vegan astronaut diet so far

• Porridge - I processed my whole-grain oats into fine oatmeal because I can't chew.
• Apple/berry puree - another lucky bulk purchase because my subconscious was planning better than I was.
• Soy yoghurt
• Banana++ smoothies
• Refried beans and mashed potatoes - lucky I made those potatoes!

So far, pretty OK?

Well, last night we had Chinese food to celebrate my son's cross-country run. Rather, they had Chinese food. I had pumpkin and potato soup (thanks Mom!), kumara, and mashed potatoes blended with cooked broccoli, cauliflower, carrot, and cabbage. 

 
(The olive is food styling - but I did manage to gum it down)

I have a whole lot of this. I think I'll thin it as soup next time, for an exciting taste sensation.
And one night I blended tomato, lettuce, and carrot into mashed potatoes and refried beans for a complete nutritious astronaut meal.

 



The top reason braces are cool when you're old

1. Alcohol is liquid - and legal!

Presenting... the braces!


I can't even bite my back teeth together yet, so I'm in this for the long haul. 

I wonder what blended leftover Chinese food tastes like?

Please post your favourite vegan astronaut recipes.

Final Groan

This is my 222nd post @minimum - shame it couldn't have been #230 :-)

Dr McDougall's Starch Solution - What's in it for you?

Dr McDougall's gift is that diet no longer seems controversial. You can picture ol' Doc McDougall offering you a bucket of chicken wings, saying, "Do you feel lucky?"

Well? Do you? 

If you haven't already discovered Dr McDougall, The Starch Solution is this dietary medical pioneer's most complete and compelling work yet. Dr McDougall has the medical training plus decades of comprehensive references and real-life successes to make other food choices seem just a little dangerous.

If you're already a McDougaller, look no further to find out what his latest book has for you.

In Lani Muelrath's recent Teleclass with Dr McDougall, he said this might be his last book. "If you haven't got it by now..."

Getting It

A new book? What to do? I'm in deep decluttering mode, and I already have his 12 Days to Dynamic Health and A Challenging Second Opinion.

So I performed a public service and requested that our city library order The Starch Solution for Auckland, New Zealand. As an extra bonus, I got to be the first to read it.

As another public service for all you McDougall converts wondering what's in it for you - here's:
 

12 Days to Dynamic Health vs Starch Solution

12 Days	Starch Solution
History	History
McDougall's personal medical history, with illness leading him to medical study. When he finds he cannot make his patients better, he moves toward on dietary therapies instead of conventional drugs, and starts St Helena live-in program.	Same history with a few added extras. The fascinating story of the years in between: why McDougall left St Helena and successfully struck out on his own. McDougall comes out as a political activist.
Food Overview	Food Overview
Nutritional building blocks and dispelling food myths - comprehensive.	Starches and why we should eat them - includes reader testimonial for this simpler approach. Poisons in animal foods Food FAQ chapters: Protein, Calcium, Omegas (Fish)
Dietary Guidelines and Politics	Dietary Guidelines and Politics
No specific section	History of the USDA and what has influenced the guidelines.
Environmental concerns	Environmental concerns
None	"We are eating the planet to death" chapter - summary of latest consensus of livestock impact on the environment
Success Stories	Success Stories
Sam and Sally Waterman - in depth look at their 12 days of success. Very personal and moving.	About 10 inspirational Star McDougaller stories - longterm achievements
Vegans/Vegetarians	Vegans/Vegetarians
McDougall eats some meat every year to avoid the negative vegetarian label.	References to environmental impact of veg*nism Fat Vegan chapter - junk food veganism, dangers of isolated soy proteins in replacement meats/milks, recommendations for healthy veganism.
Supplements	Supplements
Recommends B12 to prevent rare cases of dietary deficiency	Chapter discussing latest research on risks of general supplementation - still recommends B12
Sugar and Salt	Sugar and Salt
Limits quantities	Chapter on history of these and current role as dietary scapegoats. Still limits quantities.
The Plan	The Plan
12 Days of Sam and Sally's progress - meal plan. Tips on social and kitchen preparation, shopping, dining out. Approved brands list	7 Days - meal plan. Tips on social and kitchen preparation, shopping, dining out.
Maximum Weight Loss	Maximum Weight Loss
None	Summary page
Recipes	Recipes
Lots of favourites - Healthy and richer listed separately	Lots of favourites
Medical Reference	Medical Reference
Mini Challenging Second Opinion guide	None
References section	References section
Fully referenced by disease	Fully referenced by chapter

Disappointments?

After reading this great new book, my only complaint is the same one I have about Dr T Colin Campbell.

Both unquestioned dietary giants have embraced the environmental cause but seem to fear entering the ethical arena, perhaps not wanting to be associated with weirdos who actually care about animals. Dr McDougall continues to distance himself from vegans and vegetarians, compared to the thorough research he invests in diet and now the environmental issues of industrial farming.

His environmental chapter is called "We are eating the planet to death." Kudos to you, doctor, for telling it like it is. How about a chapter called "We are torturing billions of animals every day"? That is another undeniable result of industrial farming.  

All the book's statements of gentle respect for vegans' sacrifices doesn't cut it. The ethical argument adds that crucial third leg of stability to the plant-based way of life. Readers deserve to hear it.

The Winner?

If you ask me which book to give to a friend you want to help, I'd say "whichever one you've got." The 12-Day book is still relevant, decades after publication.

But The Starch Solution is the book of today - it has more: more information from new research, more modern cover design, and more polish from those extra decades of Dr McDougall's writing and presentation experience. 

Get it for your local library (and your own)!

If Education Were the Answer - 5 things that would already be true

Heard this before?

We don't need to pass laws to make things better; we just need more education. If people knew better, they would do better.

I'm a writer. I'm all for information sharing. But telling the truth isn't enough.  If it were, we'd all already:

1. Eat more whole grains than refined grains
2. Eat 5+ fruits and vegetables every day
3. Exercise every day
4. Use public transport
5. Respect everyone, regardless of race, gender, religion, orientation, etc.

I'm accepting other entries for a list of 10, please submit in the comments section.

Education is the:

• talk in "Walk your talk"
• say in "Do as I say, not as I do"
• words in "Actions speak louder than words."

Inspirational educational messages can't beat real world experience.

There you see what is really valued. Money wins over health, environment, and peace. Most people will soon recover from any new lesson and go back to doing exactly what everyone else around them is doing - a much stronger educational lesson.
  
While the government and large corporations work together to maximise profits, educational truths are dangerous and unacceptable counter-culture.

Not convinced? Here's a prime example: the USDA and Maybe Meatless Monday.

Until society takes strong cooperative action to make the better choice the easier choice (instead of folding under pressure), the talk about what's good for us will remain...just talk.

4 seasons in one day...

It's the start of August - deep in our antipodean winter.

Could someone please break it to this dude?

Amazing what you can do when you don't know it's impossible...

And what can I say to these beauties?

 Thank you for brightening up winter!

Evolved to eat meat?

So I went to the local meatpacker. I didn't really want to, and I probably could have asked someone else to do it. But it was for a nonvegan children's club (traditional dissection activity), and I figured I could learn something. 

I was right.

This isn't an expose. I didn't take gruesome pictures of slaughtered animal bodies or abuse to show you.

I didn't even take a picture of the piles of organs - nothing worse really than what you can see in the stores.

I didn't visit the killing floor to witness life ended in screams of terror and blood.

But as I simply stepped out of my car into the parking lot, a wave of blood and meat smell surrounded me. And this was outside.

I challenge anyone who still eats meat to visit a meatpacker and take a deep breath. Then another. If you manage that, you've beaten me. I could manage only shallow breaths, through my mouth to minimise the smell, the whole time I was there. 

Each breath I took sent a powerful impulse through me:

Get away now.

Throughout all of evolution, it's been bad for human health to get near dead and decaying animals. If bacterial infections didn't get you, the real carnivores, omnivores, and tough scavengers would - they are evolved to be hungry when they catch that powerful scent.

When you visit that meatpacker, tell me if you felt hungry near all those piles of rich protein and iron.

Evolved to eat meat? My brain knows better. I bet yours does too.

Children of the Cult

Cults are those weird groups with those brainwashed people living by bizarre and often damaging rules. 

The saddest thing is, of course, the children. They're raised within the cult and often never know that any other way is possible.

A cult:

• is a group whose beliefs or practices are abnormal or bizarre    
• is a group that tends to manipulate, exploit, and control its members
• recruits people who suffer from a some variety of deprivation.
• promotes a belief system which is utopian/idealistic, and also dualistic and bi-polar in nature. Dualistic in that they see the world in terms of two opposite poles, such as good versus evil, the saved and the fallen, the enlightened and the ignorant, etc.
• is at high risk of becoming abusive to members - in part due to members' adulation of charismatic leaders contributing to the leaders becoming corrupted by power.
• is a group or movement exhibiting a devotion to some person, idea or thing and employing unethically manipulative techniques of persuasion and control designed to advance the goals of the group's leaders to the actual detriment of members, their families, or the community.

Meet the most successful cult ever

This cult's idea is the pursuit of more money - the cult of capitalism. And you're probably a child of the cult.
"Unlike other cults that are considered outside the norm, it has claimed center stage, and its propaganda appears to be unquestioned reality."

Living in the cult

Mostly, people

• hope to live in spaces with more than one room for each person. Social skills degenerate from isolation.
• cannot afford these large spaces - they spend their entire lives working off debt to live there.
• spend their days at tasks unrelated to anything or anyone they love
• do not know the people living around them
• live near so many other people they can't make meaningful connections
• buy objects (increasing debt) trying to replace connections with people

Power in the cult

Positions of power:

• are held by very few people
• cost enormous amounts of money to achieve - creating bias and corruption
• provide the illusion of democracy while real control is held by the companies providing money

Information in the cult

Most information:

• is controlled by a few large worldwide companies
• is propaganda to perpetuate the beliefs of the cult
• is presented as quickly and simply as possible, even when important meaning is lost
• avoids any positive reference to lifestyles contradicting the cult

Communication in the cult

Mostly, people communicate

• without even seeing each other
• using machines for very quick and short messages with little content
• badly, generating much confusion and ill feeling

Leisure time in the cult

Most entertainment

•  involves buying something
•  is enjoyed alone and is physically inactive (TV, computer games...)
•  includes propaganda for the cult

Food in the cult

Mostly, people...

• cannot and don't know how to provide their own food
• never eat any truly fresh food
• do not know where their food comes from
• do not cook much
• eat lots of foods which have been processed so much that very little nutrition remains
• eat lots of foods from animals who have been horribly abused their whole lives before being killed.

The cult invests in propaganda and promotes denial about food to protect profits.

Physical health in the cult
It's risky in here...

• Heart disease is the leading cause of death
• At least half of all people are overweight
• The next generation is expected to have a shorter lifespan
• The healthcare industry is a huge financial presence. Healthcare spending is increasing faster than society can create value

Mental health in the cult

Cults foster mental disorders.

Cults promote a vision of an ideal 'new self', which members believe they can attain by following the cult teachings.

The capitalist ideal new self is a wealthy person. The reality is that few can become wealthy. Many who fail to become wealthy blame themselves or other people.

Depression, violent crime, and suicide are skyrocketing.

Families in the cult

Most mothers and fathers pay someone else to care for their young children while they spend their day earning money (and generating money for an employer).

Mothers and fathers who care for their own children instead of earning money are low status and often ridiculed.

Most mothers

• although healthy mammals, give birth in hospitals and feed their babies with inferior artificial food they have to buy.
• are told by experts that they should separate themselves from their babies for everyone's sake.
• are isolated from their family and community
• suffer guilt, confusion, and depression about caring for their babies

Most children

• are in institutional care for most of their day instead of socialising with neighbours.
• Are regularly entertained by electronic devices instead of people
• Cannot concentrate on simpler entertainment
• Are more ignorant about the world than the previous generation

(Add your own section here)

I could continue...but so can you.

Escaping a cult

I've seen movies of people rescued from cults. They look stunned and a bit scared, coming out to freedom and the bigger world around them.

They have lots to learn.

Are you ready?

More Reading

• Obama on the profit motive
• Jimmy Carter's speech on consumption
• Capitalism and alienation
• Capitalism as a purely cultic religion