Vicki Norris in her book, Restoring Order, has a chapter on “The Pruning Principle.” Vicki talks about how therapeutic it is to cut out dead branches and superfluous material in order to restore plants to better health. The pruning gives the plant a chance to produce more life and fruit.
Now, apply this to your life. We all have “stuff” that is superfluous and that just takes up our time, energy, and space. Some of this “stuff” is physical items, but a lot of it is commitments and time gobblers that keep us from growing and devoting our time to things we love and places where we excel. Vicki points out that our priorities should drive our commitments, not a sense of guilt or obligation.
Vicki goes even further than eliminating the deadwood. She states that further pruning back of living plants will cause the garden to flourish. The pruning will cause resiliency and will focus the life energy. New life comes from the cut back stalks.
I think we can all see how this applies to our lives. The excess belongings and obligations keep us from moving froward and growing stronger. Once we start removing the excess, we can use our energy to grow in the direction we want. We can become more proactive and in control of our lives.
I highly recommend Vicki’s book, Restoring Order. The pruning principle was only one of Vicki’s great insights on organization.
Jonda S. Beattie Professional Organizer
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