Rules provide a standard or default mode for doing lots of things.  This affords you the time, energy, and enthusiasm for sometimes doing things in a non-standard kind of way.  And standardization doesn’t mean flat or dull.  With the guesswork and confusion eliminated from parts of your life, you have room for spontaneity and creativity when it really matters. Remember, the Rules are not carved in stone.  They are my way and are offered only as a guide for you finding your way.  You might take a few and leave a few, but I’ve found that considering all of the Rules, or at least not dismissing any of them, makes order easier.  So breaking Rules is at worst a misdemeanor and at best, exactly the right thing to do.

1.     Handle it once.  Decisions postponed= paralysis.  Actions postponed=clutter. 

2.     Less is more.  Mostly true, but exceptions are permitted. The one perfect something that works well, looks good and makes you happy, is far better than a life full of so-so possessions. Does the thing in question bring value to your life?  Are you better off with it or without it?  An important, but often-overlooked question.  Cull your “herd”. It will make the herd healthier, happier and more productive.

3.     Curate your collection.  Sounds like a something reserved for a museum or library, but it works with possessions. They are your collection.  Editing isn’t a matter of just getting rid of the things you used to like, but of getting rid of the ones you’ve always disliked.

4.     A place for everything, and everything in its place.  Create systems for organizing, storing and retrieving your things.  The system can be anything that works for you.  Remember, it’s hard to get anything meaningful accomplished if you can’t even find a matching pair of socks. Manage your inventory.  Find a system- one in one out.  Rotate your “stock”.  Out of date, broken, mismatched, tired… they need to go.

5.     Create a uniform.  Not just in clothing, but in decorating, cooking, entertaining, gifting- basically a “lifestyle” uniform.  Habits (aka “uniforms”) are mostly helpful.  And breaking out on occasion is too.

6.     Exercise your “restraint” muscle.  Practice saying no to a bunch of pretty things you will not buy.  

7.     Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.   Thrift, practicality, and resourcefulness used to be desirable traits. Somewhere along the way, crafty corporations, seductive media and political agendas have besmirched these qualities.  Let’s bring them back.  The proverbial “Jones” are awash in clutter and debt.  Let them go.

8.     Better can be the enemy of good.  Consider the paradox of choice. 2 Good is usually good enough.  Sometimes better makes sense.  And perfection is rarely necessary and always illusive.  Searching for it is exhausting. 

9.     Be as careful about what you let into your home as whom you let in.   It’s hard to let go of things even if we didn’t want them or like them.  The letting go makes us sadder than the acquiring made us happy.   Roll up the welcome mat on stuff.  

10.   Fashion is fleeting and should largely be ignored.  Style endures. Define yours.  It’s nothing more than confidence, clarity, and consistency.  

11.  Mistakes happen.  Admit, learn, and move on.  Perseveration will only gnaw at you.  If you can afford to correct your mistake, do so.  If you must live with it, endeavor to not make it again.

12.  If everything is precious, then nothing is.  For something to shine, there must be something dull to contrast it.  We’ve eviscerated the word, special. Because it can now mean most anything, it likely means nothing.  It’s easy to understand why people don’t want to admit that much of what they own is not very useful or special, and seldom precious.

13.  Needs and wants are not the same. Needs are fundamental.  Wants are fleeting. No thinking person would dispute that our wants far exceed our needs.  We want our houses huge, even though family size has shrunk.  We want our food fast and large, even though we’ve never been fatter or less hungry.  We want more clothes, tchotchkes, furniture, toys, and equipment than we can cram into our big houses.  And at least one in ten of us is willing to rent remote storage rather than own less stuff.  Make sure you are mostly satisfying a genuine need rather than indulging a fleeting want. 

14.  Aesthetics matter.  On every level in every arena.  They are the main course, not the garnish. A well-honed aesthetic sense is best cultivated early, but it’s never too late to learn.  Filling our faux houses with plastic clutter stunts our affinity for intrinsic beauty.  Beautiful doesn’t mean rare or expensive. It means genuine, natural, and authentic.  Humble materials can be beautiful.  Use your nice things.  Otherwise, what’s the point? You and your family are the worthy occasion!

15.  Do or don’t do. There is no try.  So do it.  “One of these days”… is probably never. Discipline with your possessions can translate into discipline in other areas of your life. Habits take time.  A new way may seem awkward at first, then not so bad, and before you know it, you’re a convert.  Quit sabotaging yourself.  What decisions are you avoiding and at what cost?

16.   Mind the CPU (Cost Per Use). Sticker price is important, but it’s only a start.  What you really should ponder is the value of the intended purchase.  It’s a far better benchmark, as it considers both price and use.  CPU is an easy way to determine value.  Something with a dear price tag that is seldom or never used has a high CPU and is a very poor value.  If that same pricey item were well-used, the CPU would decrease and the resulting value would increase.  Think of the CPU as the means of finding your sweet spot- where you get the biggest bang for your buck.