Self-Development Book Club - Outer Order Inner Calm

tracymartorana4
Sep 21
6 min read

If you have been keeping track, we are on number nine of my Self-Development Book Club books. If you recall, at the beginning of the year, I set a goal for myself to read or reread at least one self-development book a month and then share it with you. I hope I have inspired you to pick up a couple of these books.

What was my ninth book? Outer Order | Inner Calm by Gretchen Rubin. The subtitle of this book is Declutter & Organize to Make More Room for Happiness. I would consider myself a Gretchen Rubin fan. I also have a slight addiction to decluttering and organizational content, whether it's books, YouTube channels, or blogs. Therefore, this book was right up my alley.

Outer Order | Inner Calm was published in 2019, so you should easily be able to get a copy at your local library if you don't want to purchase one. The book is easy to read as it is organized into quick, bite-sized pieces of information... little nuggets of knowledge, if you will. You can read through it fairly quickly and pull out the pieces that speak to you.

Watch Me Talk About It

Outer Order | Inner Calm

Outer Order | Inner Calm is divided into 5 sections. Let's take a closer look at them. I'm sharing just a few of the nuggets that spoke to me. There are many more in the book, so please consider giving it a read.

I. Make Choices

This section is about decluttering. It's about getting rid of the extraneous junk that clutters up our homes and our lives.

While decluttering, Rubin asks that you consider 3 questions: Do you need it? Do you love it? Do you use it? If that answer to all 3 is NO, get rid of it.
Do you need more than one? If not, get rid of any duplicates.
Beware of the "someday, someone" rationale. The likelihood that someday, someone you know will want an item is very low for most things. Increase the chances by donating it!!!
Remember that in most situations we don't need to make the perfect choice, but just a good-enough choice.
Don't bring new things home. The endowment effect is real. We value things more once we own them, making them difficult to part with...not because we use them or love them, but simply because we own them.
If you have a storage space, do you even know what's in it? If you haven't accessed those belonging in say, a year, why are you paying to store them?
If you were moving, would you bother to wrap and pack it? If not, why are you keeping it?

II. Create Order

After we get rid of some of your clutter, it's time to establish order. I don't mean running out to the Container Store. Rubin takes a look at how to troubleshoot areas where clutter congregates and how to set up habits to help maintain order.

Beware of clutter magnets. Places where clutter piles up. Places like the dining room table, the entry hall, the bedroom floor. Find a routine to focus on these places like a 5 minute pick up at the end of the day.
Consider assigning each day of the week a cleaning or work task. Ex. Saturday is laundry day, Sunday is bake/cook ahead day, etc.
Pick up as you move through your day.
Identify and exact place for everything.
Create a Bowl of Requirements. This is where you place the things you must take with you when you leave the house.
Create a mystery box where you keep cables, keys, and parts that you don't know what they belong to. That way, if you find yourself missing a cable, key, or part, you know where to look. Put a date on it. If you haven't looked in it for the last year, the matching items are probably long gone! Or just keep the box forever...at least you know where that stuff lives.

III. Know Yourself and Others

"There are no magic, one-size-fits-all solutions for establishing order; we all need to do it in the way that's right for us.

When it comes to cleaning or decluttering, are you a marathoner or a sprinter? Do you want to work on a project for a full day and see a big change, or do you prefer small bite-sized work times?
What types of clutter bother you most? Focus there first.
Are you furnishing your home or filling your closet for your fantasy self? If you work from home and usually dress in jeans and a t-shirt, how many dresses do you realistically need? Do you actually do all the crafts you have supplies for? That fondue set sounds fun, but do you have people over for fondue? Get rid of things that don't fit your real life.
Don't let perfect be the enemy of good enough. Know your capacity and recognize your limits. Something is better than nothing. Don't let the fact that you can't do it perfectly stop you from doing something!

IV. Cultivate Helpful Habits

Once you've removed some clutter, created some order (even if temporary) and learned more about yourself, it's time to use that knowledge to create habits that work for you and your life.

Do any task that can be done in less than one minute right away.
Shop smart. Don't walk into a store unless you are shopping for something specific. Don't use a cart. Avoid samples - they make us more likely to buy something we don't need. Remember: Nothing is a bargain if you don't need it.
Create a space for waiting stuff. The book that is waiting to be returned to the library, or the package that needs mailing...these things need a place to live until you deal with them.
Can't find something? Clean up.
End each stage of your day with a 10-Minute Closer. Before leaving work, review your calendar for tomorrow, pick up your desk, and set out materials for your first meeting. After dinner, clean up and close the kitchen. Before bed, pick up, prep clothes, and lunch for tomorrow.

V. Add Beauty

It's not enough to simply remove the clutter from our homes and offices. We also want the spaces we live in to be beautiful.

Choose a signature color or pattern that you love. Find ways to incorporate that into your environment.
Use the good stuff. Don't save your good dishes or the fancy soap for 'some day special'. Use it now. Enjoy it now.
Everything looks better on a tray. If you have a handful of items on a flat surface, put them on a tray and they instantly look less like clutter and more like decor.
Create the mood with fresh flowers, candles, warm light bulbs, and background music.

Like I said, I only picked out some of the items that spoke to me. There are plently of other tid-bits that you might find inspiring. To learn more, pick up a copy of the book.