A Wall Street Journal article shared plans some people made to help them stick to their resolutions. Some kept their goals small and achievable. Others asked friends to help them stay on track by holding them accountable. Others found success when they changed their environment to support their new behavior.

Here we are at the start of the second half of the year. How did you do with your resolutions this year?

Regardless of how you fared in this annual practice, here’s an opportunity to start anew.

On August 9th join me in celebrating the first “Color Your Life Happy Day”, a day to participate in something you enjoy, some activity that will make you happy and others too. Then make a decision to make it a habit to continue finding joy, pleasure, a way to help others for the rest of the year.

Happiness is not a destination, but the things we do along the way as we live our lives. At the end of their lives, many wish they had slowed down, worked less and spent more time enjoying family, friends and fun activities. Don’t let this be you. Regrets are a waste. Do the things that bring you joy and happiness everyday.

This special celebration was inspired by the memory of my mother, Mildred S. Morris, who would have turned 100 years old on August 9, 2010 (she passed at age 92 in 2002.) She spent her life making people happy with her music. She played piano and organ from childhood through her mid 80’s for many churches, organizations and events. Everyone who ever heard her play was touched by her lively and fervent style.

I invite you to join me in celebrating Color Your Life Happy Day on August 9th. Then between August 10th-15th send me a photo or video of how you celebrated to my email at flora@florabrown.com

You may choose to enjoy a simple pleasure such as taking time off to read a neglected book. You may join the courageous who use this day to get control of the clutter that has been making them very unhappy.

I’m thinking of creating a new vegetable garden or maybe I’ll do some long-neglected scrapbooking.

So get busy thinking of how you will celebrate “Color Your Life Happy Day.” Then on August 9th take a picture showing how you celebrated. Email it to me at flora@florabrown.com with your name, activity, and city/state/country. I will post all entries on my blog and Facebook.

I’m looking forward to the wonderful array of celebrations.

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Working dog by meg price on flickr

Weeds are the dreaded enemy of beautiful gardens because they compete with your garden for water and nutrients. Likewise, the weeds in your life must go because they sap your energy and block the intake of positive thoughts and action toward your goals.

What are some of these weeds?

1. Some weeds were born into your life through no fault of your own. They are better known as family. Some family members are wonderfully nurturing and a joy to have in your life. Others are toxic, negative, choking the life out of your goals and positive action. You know the ones I mean. They are the ones who leave a heavy cloud of doubt, depression and sorrow even after they are no longer physically present.

2. Some weeds you brought into your life. These are better known as friends, spouses and children. While we all would love to be able to share our dreams and goals with these people closest to us, it’s not always the wisest thing to do. Be selective about sharing your dreams with those who don’t have your best interest at heart. Even though they may have good intentions, watching you go after your passion makes them afraid for your safety and ashamed of their own lack of action. If you let them project their fears and insecurities on you, your progress toward the life that makes you happy will be slowed if not stopped.

3. Some weeds come into your life based on circumstances and situations. These are better known as neighbors, coworkers, and members of clubs and associations. When you were hired by your company or when you joined a given church or club, folks were already there. Some of these people will share your interests and become close friends and partners. Others may feel threatened by your positive actions and work to sabotage you.

How do you remove these weeds from your life?

Minimizing contact is the first step to reduce exposure to the life-sapping efforts of people out to diminish your worth and devalue your goals. When on a job, for example, you choose carefully the people with whom you will have lunch or take breaks.

There are some, of course, from whom you must sever ties as soon as you are aware of the damage they are causing. When you are in any relationship where you sustain physical, emotional or psychological violence, your life and well being depend on removing yourself as soon as possible to safety.

Preventing future weeds from entering and taking over your beautiful and thriving life is the next step. Now that you can recognize them, you can act quickly to keep them from getting a foothold in your life.

Finally, be on guard against inviting and entertaining your own internal weeds in the form of negative thinking and self-destructive habits.

As you practice more positive thoughts, follow your passion and pursue your goals be prepared for the efforts of the weeds to return. It’s their nature to go where they can get nourishment. Now that you are set on cultivating happiness, you must absolutely deny their presence in your life.

But don’t worry about them, they are a hardy and determined breed. They will soon find new, unsuspecting hosts nearby.

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Heart by Gabriela Camerotti on flickr

While many are scampering to gather gifts, flowers and candy to give loved ones on Valentine’s Day, others are ready to dump items that recall memories of relationships gone awry.

Just in time, one Goodwill created a campaign encouraging you to donate those unwanted mementos to them. The Colonial Park, PA Goodwill was accepting rings, monogrammed towels, and wedding gowns yesterday at their Dump Your Ex’s donation drive.

While this is the first drive of this kind for Goodwill, it is common for Goodwill to accept a wide variety of items year round that are unwanted in the wake of relationships that have ended for various reasons.

So, if you have leftover items, especially valuables, and were wondering what to do with them, donate them to Goodwill and remove the clutter from your home and heart. 

Be forewarned:  Goodwill is not accepting mattresses, firearms and homemade porn.

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Then along came the creation of self-storage units where, for a monthly fee, you can cram your old mattress, lava lamp, TV with the nonfunctioning VHS, and stacks of other possessions whose time had come and gone into a metal unit with a single lightbulb dangling from the ceiling. The self-storage companies grew and expanded as people clung tighter and tighter to things they would never use again but couldn’t let go.

There are some benefits

Self-storage units are great for temporary use.

Small businesses with homebased or very small offices  safely store their inventory, financial records and seasonal decorations for less than it would cost to have a large commercial building big enough for office and storage.

Homeowners use self-storage units to  hold the contents of an entire room or two during remodeling, to clear space for a holiday boutique or special event or when they are between houses.

When I sold my house, for example, I stayed with a friend for five weeks until escrow closed on my new house. I put all my household possessions in a self-storage facility near a freeway for those five weeks so it would be convenient for the big move when we were ready.

I treated the move from my house to the storage unit the same as if I was moving directly into my new house. I sorted, gave away and threw away over many weeks. Anything that wasn’t going to go into the new house was not going into storage.

I got rid of more than I took. It was very liberating for me, though not well-received by all.

I had been using my mother’s dining room set in my old house because she didn’t have room for it when she downsized to a studio apartment in a senior facility. But it wasn’t my style so I had no plans to take it with me, much to her dismay. She would never use it again, but she didn’t want to give it away. Visiting it at my house was a good compromise for her.

When I told her I wasn’t taking it with me, she asked. “What are you going to use in your new dining room?” I knew she was more concerned about the fate of her much-beloved dining room set than about my empty dining room.

“Nothing,” I returned, “until I get the furniture I want.”

She pondered my response trying to process the notion that my dining room would be sans-furniture for a while.

I had ended my term of being a storage for her dining room set, and definitely ended my willingness to keep anything I no longer wanted.

Are you storing someone else’s stuff that they will never use again?

This is where many people get stuck. They just can’t let go of their own stuff and can’t say no to other people’s stuff.

For too many people, however, the wide availability of the self-storage units offers an option that has leads down the path of literally clinging to old baggage. In this regard there are three reasons public storage units are not your friend.

1. Delay decluttering

They encourage you to store things rather than make an immediate decision about them. So much of what you keep is no longer of use to you, and yet you can’t seem to let go. When the storage unit becomes full to the brim you are forced to thrown something away after all, or rent a larger unit. Ka-ching!

Have you ever gone to visit your stuff in storage only to discover that it is mildewed, broken or shop-worn? Now your stuff is of no value to you or anyone else. And, to top things off, with rules changing about what and where we can discard things, you may even have to pay to dispose of it.

Now that just doesn’t make sense. You have paid dearly to postpone doing what you could have done in the first place and free of charge.

2. Weigh you down

Did you think putting your old bed, worn couch and miscellaneous lamps in storage got rid of them?

Just because you can’t see them regularly anymore doesn’t mean they’ve left your consciousness. If you feel stuck in your life, not as creative as you could be, it may be that the stuff you have stored that is blocking the flow in your consciousness.

3. Eat up your money

Self-storage units were a great idea for the companies who created them. They don’t even have to employ many people since you deliver and unload your own stuff. On top of that, they charge extra for locks and other accessories, as well as restrict your access by setting “viewing” hours.

I haven’t checked, but I bet they are not even liable if your stuff comes up missing.

When you rent a storage unit you have just created another bill. And it comes relentlessly each month. You don’t earn interest or even get a birthday card each year. In the end, if you are not able to keep up with this bill you earn the ignominious title “non-paying tenant” and your contents are considered abandoned and will be sold to the highest bidder at auction.

These auctions are a big business since you never know what folks have stored. Modern day treasure hunters love the mystery and possibility of finding something of value among your stuff.

Now you’ve lost your stuff for good while several layers of people have benefitted financially. Everyone except you, that is.

So, before you sign that contract to store your stuff in a self-storage unit reevaluate your reason, the anticipated time frame and the financial costs. If you discover that you are just delaying decluttering, don’t proceed. Declutter instead, then celebrate the money you’ve saved and bask in that feeling of lightness also known as peace of mind.

[Photo from Creative Commons, "Moving Day" from McCord Museum, Montreal]

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