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Post by sidestep on Jul 2, 2010 16:25:59 GMT -5
Back when I first found this forum, I worked on my kitchen. It had a walkway thru either end which had gotten blocked. When I decluttered enough I was so used to 'taking the long way' around it took me awhile to retrain myself & the animals to take the shortcut & it felt so strange! The kitchen counter got re-cluttered pretty soon afterwards, and once again I adapted by using the range top & balancing things on the center sink divider during food prep. I do my dishes daily so it wasn't dishes, but covered in stuff (that apparently gravitates to flat surfaces). During the June Purgeathon, I cleared a small area of the counter, but caught myself trying to use the rangetop & center sink divider again for food prep again & had to laugh & remind myself to use the cleared counter portion. How ironic that it seems to take nothing to adapt to the more difficult cluttered way of living, but changing back to uncluttered seems to take reminding even though it makes things far easier. It in fact is so much easier doing food prep on an uncluttered counter that it actually amazed me how much easier it was! I again found myself saying 'Wow--this is so much easier!' It amazes that it takes adaptation to live an easier lifestyle. Anyone care to share their similar experiences?
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Post by mrsmess on Jul 2, 2010 18:45:05 GMT -5
I think it's not so much about adapting to an easier lifestyle, it's just that it takes a while for the brain to adjust to a new habit. When you are used to doing something a certain way, it takes a long time for the brain to learn a new habit. I have read that it takes 3 weeks of doing something new to learn a new habit. However I have found it can take much longer than that to unlearn old habits!
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Post by clutterific on Jul 2, 2010 18:48:42 GMT -5
, I'm the same way - my room's floorspace was cleared of stuff, and I would still push hard on the door to get it to open (even though it could open easily after the floor was cleared). I also had to really adjust to stepping on carpet, not a sea of junk/papers/clothes. It was so weird to me to have to step all the way down and to lean over to grab my phone and have it be all the way on the floor instead of right next to me, on top of a pile.
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Post by messymimi on Jul 2, 2010 20:19:00 GMT -5
Teresa Bloomingdale, who had 10 children and wrote humorous books about raising a large family, used to say that men hated to move, not because they didn't like the hassle of moving, but because they didn't like to have to reprogram their brains to drive home in a different direction.
Maybe our brains just take a while to reprogram.
messymimi
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Post by yearning4order on Jul 4, 2010 18:10:51 GMT -5
Yes, in general when ever a positive change is afoot in my life I find myself very uncomfortable. This goes way beyond retraining from squalor, can even be things like a nice employment situation, etc.
Case in point--the new place we live now is in a "good" part of town. This causes me a great deal of discomfort for some reason although, quite frankly the view is lovely, it's not as hot (more trees), and I have somewhat more privacy.
When I got a new-to-me car after driving a horrible rebuilt total that was not reliable enough to ever leave town in I struggled painfully with feeling I did not deserve something like this.
You all know that when I finally desqualored my bedroom the most painful part of the process began when someone asked me how I'd like to *decorate*.
Still overwhelmed with move stuff, but very timely topic.
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Post by Meme on Jul 4, 2010 20:22:26 GMT -5
It amazes me too how programed our brains are to a certain way of doing and going and being---I have a corner window which I have struggled for years to open in the summer because I could not reach it properly to open---so last week I cleaned out the corner so I can walk over and open the window with free access but I still expect the struggle and it feels strange to walk right up to the window to open or close---and when I look at the corner I expect to see the space filled and to see the open space each time just feels so good--- I can see the floor and I can see the shine on the floor. I love the change and the feeling of pride each time I walk to that corner ---hugs from Meme who slips back and forth too
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