As a writer, I’m often frustrated because I’ll have a great idea—once it’s too late to include it in my book.

I’ve been thinking about outer order and inner calm for a very long time, and I’m so fascinated by the subject that I’m still finding new angles or making new observations.

These ideas came to me too late to include in the book, but in case you find them helpful:

1. Beware the “frenzy of the clear.”
   Just as divers can experience the dangerous “rapture of the deep,” I’ve seen people experience the “frenzy of the clear,” when they become so intoxicated by the joy of relinquishment that they start tossing or giving away just about everything. When I was helping a friend clear clutter the other day, he threw away an unopened package of padded mailer envelopes. When I asked why, he said, “Those things never work!” I answered, “What are you talking about? Those things always work!” I fished out the package and took it home myself. I mail things constantly, so this was useful to me.
   
   The frenzy is helpful, because it makes it so easy to let things go, but too much frenzy could lead to mistakes and regret. Stay mindful.
   
   
2. If you’re annoyed by other people’s clutter, and you consider yourself “the neat one,” ask yourself, “Have I worked to eliminate clutter altogether, or am I just managing clutter in a neat way?”
   For example, are you putting the plastic containers back in the kitchen cupboard, closing the cupboard door, and complaining about how messy the cabinets are? Or are you pulling out all the plastic containers, sorting them, getting rid of the ones that don’t have lids or are just nasty, and giving away the ones that aren’t needed? Often, in my experience, people who claim to be “neat” are keeping things tidy at a very superficial level, and without consciously realizing it, they’re expecting other people to do the work of deep elimination and decision-making.
   
   
3. If you’re annoyed by other people’s clutter, ask yourself, “Have I truly done everything within my power to clear all of my own clutter?”
   A friend was complaining about how messy his wife is, how there’s stuff everywhere even though he’s very neat, and that they have a junked-up extra room that he’d like put to a better use. Then he casually mentioned that amid that junk was a big tub of athletic shoes that he’d moved from their last place but hadn’t opened since. Start with yourself! He had a great idea, though, which was…
   
   
4. If you’re trying to nudge yourself to clear a space, think about what other use you can make of it.
   Could this walk-in closet be a little playroom? Could this storage room be turned into a library, a music room, or a yoga room? It’s more satisfying to be getting something than to be relinquishing.
   
   
5. Face the problem of the quality discard.
   Some items are of a quality that’s too good for their purpose. Sometimes a store will use a box that’s really, really sturdy, or I’ll get excellent shoes bags. This is annoying, because what can be done with these things? I remind myself: if I can’t use them, they’re clutter, and need to be given away, recycled, or tossed.
   
   
6. Be willing to discard an item that you love deeply, but are sick of.I had a jacket that I wore non-stop on my book tour for The Happiness Project. I wore it so much that myagent emailed me to say, “When I look on Google Images, every photo is you in that same jacket. You CANNOT KEEP WEARING IT ALL THE TIME!” I did continue to wear it very often, for years, but now I’m just so tired of it I’ll never wear it again. I haven’t worn it in three years, in fact. It’s time to say farewell. Someone else will love it as much as I used to do.
   
   
7. Ask necessary questions to get something out of a holding pattern.
   I write about this in Outer Order, Inner Calm, but here’s another example, on the subject of something I love but am sick to death of — my mother lent me a blue-striped jersey summer shirt that I wore a lot for a few years. Then I got sick of it. Last summer, I  didn’t wear it all, but it was still in my closet, because I wondered, “Would my mother like this (excellent) shirt back, or should I give it away?” Just yesterday I emailed her at last! She said, “Send it back, I’ll figure out what to do with it.” Now I can send that shirt on its way. Does your sister want your old maternity clothes? Does your friend want your belts? Find out.
   
   
8. If something doesn’t fit or needs repair, give yourself a time limit and do it.
   If you can’t be bothered to do it in the next three weeks, you probably don’t care. And from my observation, by the time people bother to set a time limit, they’ve actually owned that garment for months or years.
   
   NOTE: Don’t spend money to fix an item that you don’t even like! I’ve made that mistake. I tell myself, “I don’t wear these pants because they’re a little long,” so finally I get them hemmed, and after paying good money I admit to myself, “Nah, I just don’t like them. The length was just an excuse not to wear them.”
   
   
9. When clutter is truly clear, we should know everything that is in our home.
   We should know what’s on every shelf, in every drawer, in every closet, in every box. There are no mystery areas. If someone says, “Do you own a hammer?” the answer is easy.
   
   
10. Watch out for the challenges of the open office.
    I touch upon this issue in a few different places in Outer Order, Inner Calm, but I wish I’d written more about it. I’ve read a lot of discussion about the challenges posed by the lack of privacy, noise, and interruptions in open offices, but I haven’t seen any discussion of the visual noise. I know that whenever I visit an open office, I feel overwhelmed by all the stuff that I see. Even if everyone’s individual “desk” is neat, it still looks wild — and of course every desk isn’t neat. Plus there are the outdated holiday decorations, abandoned items, piles of office supplies, and so on. If you work in an open office, do you find this difficult?

I have a feeling that this list will keep growing!