I love coffee. 
I could go on and on about different roasts, brewing methods, and what to put in your coffee.  I'll spare you those details but trust me.  I like to drink coffee.

The problem is it becomes a vicious cycle when you drink too much coffee.  It happened to me without realizing it.  I was still tired after my regular coffee, so I would get more at work.  I fell into this routine.  Then I added afternoon coffee.  Sometimes the afternoon coffee was late enough that I had trouble getting to sleep at night.  Then I was even more tired the next day.  More coffee!  

Over time, it started to bother my stomach.  I realized I was drinking way more than a pot of coffee most days.  

Here’s a weird sidebar. 
The “cups” labeled on coffee makers are not normal cups.  They’re 5 ½ ounce cups.  I was putting down 12-14 “cups” every day and often more.  I was also spending a lot of money on coffee because I don’t like to drink cheap store brand crap.  I grind my own beans and was paying about $15 a pound for coffee.  

The money I was spending bothered me a little.  The worst thing about my coffee addiction though was being dependent on it.  If I was going to travel it became a source of anxiety.  Where will I find coffee?  Will it be decent coffee?  Will I offend someone if I bring my own coffee to their house to make?  It didn’t matter what time I was getting up, I still had to find some coffee first thing in the morning.  That’s what I hated more than anything.  Letting coffee run my schedule.

I decided I needed to quit but realized I'm no quitter. 
​I decided I needed to at least cut way back.  When I made the announcement to my wife, she was rightfully skeptical.  Then, being an engineer, I did what most engineers would do.  I made a spreadsheet.

I’ll spare you these details too, but in short I figured out the coffee-to-water ratio I was using.  I wanted to keep roughly the same ratio as I decreased the amount of coffee.  No one likes watered down coffee.  I figured if I decreased the amount by two ounces every three days I wouldn’t notice too much.  

I started on February 10th and here’s what happened. I did fine for two weeks.  Then when my dad was in the hospital far away and not doing well, I traveled to see him.  I even did OK during that trip but it was impossible to accurately measure how much I was drinking.  I did my best to enter an estimate in my spreadsheet.  I came home and did well for a couple more weeks, only cheating once or twice with an extra cup of coffee at work.  I had cut my intake of coffee in half.  Then I stalled out when my dad passed away.  I completely gave up after the Corona virus pandemic hit and I was working from home everyday.  

I maintained the reduced intake, but as Michigan’s stay-at-home order dragged on I crept right back to where I started.  Ultimately, I’ve decided that drinking a few cups of coffee is not such a horrible thing.  Besides I feel it’s my duty to support the two coffee shops here in my small town.  

In the end, not much has changed.  But I don't feel like I failed.

What has changed is my attitude toward coffee.  Even though I’m back to drinking almost my full amount every day, I don’t feel enslaved toward it like I used to.  Some days, I don’t grab my first cup until I’ve been up for a while.  I would have a good headache if I went a day without it, but I would be OK.  Besides, during the extended stay-at-home order, going out to grab a cup of coffee and pick up a bag of beans from the local coffee shop will be one of the few times I get away from home.  

I think we can apply this to our decluttering efforts.  It can be about our attitude toward our clutter.  Don't let your stuff own you and don't be a slave to it.  It might seem like you're failing but maybe you're not.  Maybe we just need to think about it differently?

​I know I keep saying you don’t need more bookshelves but I absolutely had to do something with my daughter’s bedroom.  She has a tiny bedroom compared to everyone else in our house but reads more than anyone I’ve ever met.  It’s not uncommon for her to have bookmarks in 4 or 5 books at any given time.  When she’s in trouble, the only threat that she cares about is the threat of locking all her books in a trunk.  The only thing that has prevented me from doing it at times is the sheer volume of them.  
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To finally wrangle some of the piles of books, I found some shelves that worked out pretty well.  I love these "invisible" shelves.  I ordered a three pack of these Umbra Conceal floating bookshelves.  They come in two sizes and you can order either a three-pack or individual shelves.  I love their simplicity and that fact that when you stack a few books on them, you can't see them.  They’re also fairly inexpensive yet seem really sturdy.  They allow you to basically make art out of your book collection while keeping them easily accessible.

​If you’re wondering how they hold the cover closed on the bottom book, there are small hooks that hold the cover.  This means also that the bottom book must be large enough for the shelf to slide into so the cover can go into those hooks.  That’s why they come in two sizes.  It wasn’t a problem for us.  Additionally, I used a stud finder and longer screws to mount each one directly to a stud.  They’re not going anywhere even with several hardcover books on them.  If I wasn't attaching them directly to a stud, I think I would still use longer screws with drywall anchors.

I still suggest you pare down your book collection as much as possible before buying more shelves, but books are something that I’m OK with having around.  Maybe it has something to do with the years I worked for Borders book stores.  If you’re interested in buying some, below are affiliate links to get them on Amazon.  Thanks for reading.

It's a little ironic that right after I published my last post, I found out I would be leaving my hectic job for a different position within my company. I thought for sure that a less stressful job, closer to home would mean more time to write. After 5 months at my new job though, I'm just now writing again.

I have however, been spending more time with my family. I actually get to see my wife and most of my kids in the morning before leaving for work. I also haven't been taking out my laptop in the evenings and weekends to get prepared for the next meeting. It's been nice. The busy times help you appreciate the less busy periods of life even more.

One thing I've found regardless of where I go, I end up having a conversation with someone who is struggling with the same clutter problems that I am. Right after coming to my new job, I had nearly the same conversation I've had many times with other people. We usually agree on a few things that happen at home.

• Our kids have so many toys that they are overwhelmed and end up not playing with any of them
• We've tried putting some away and planning to go through the pile so we can declutter, but we either don't make the time to do so or the kids find the pile and start playing with their lost treasures
• The kitchen counter seems to be a problem clutter accumulator for nearly everyone
• Ultimately, we don't know what to do so we end up living with the clutter and mess in frustration

I wish I had the ultimate solution to all of it, but I don't. We can read another book on decluttering or watch another episode of Marie Kondo, but unless we act on the lessons from those resources, we're just wasting time. So I want you to know two important things. First, you're not alone. Second, it's only going to get worse if we just keep buying things we don't need.

You aren't the only with too much clutter
Like I said earlier, I've had the same conversation over and over. People everywhere are struggling with the amount of clutter in their homes. Have you ever had someone over who saw your basement for the first time. I always apologize to people for the way mine looks.  The usual response I get is something like "this is nothing, mine is a lot worse".

​Here's an idea. The next time you're thinking of taking some items to donate somewhere, you call up a friend and see if they have some stuff to get rid of too. In my case, there's a brewery near the local Salvation Army store. I like to drop off a car load at the Salvation Army and then celebrate with a pint.

Stop buying things you don't need
Clutter is like calories when you're trying to lose weight. If you burn 500 calories by working out but then eat 1000 calories at the pizza buffet every day for lunch, you're not going to make any progress. We have to resist the bargains at our favorite discount store and we have to resist the mindset that because we got rid of something in our home that we just made space for something else.  Fight that urge and enjoy the extra breathing room instead.
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I'll leave it at that and keep this post short.  I've been neglecting my website and my Facebook page lately but I'm going to change that.  Expect to see more posts but probably short ones and more content being shared on Facebook even if it's not my own.  Thanks for reading.