Clutter Busting

Clutter Busting: Letting Go

March 7, 2015 by clutterbusting Leave a Comment

Decluttering is a constant process of letting go. For some people letting go is easier than for others.

If you are experiencing difficulties with letting go of your clutter:

Evaluate: go shopping in your home for those items you need, then get rid of the rest.
Memorialize: take a few samples from the collection, mount them beautifully and get rid of the rest.
Curate: allow yourself one collection and display it predominately.
Enjoy: stop saving your stuff “for someday” and use your bowls for fruit or serving.
Limit: only allow yourself to keep a certain number or volume (one box) of items.
Wean: make a list of the types of things you need to get rid of, rate them from 0 to 10 according to how anxious it makes you to think of doing so, then get rid of the easiest things first and progress.
Out of sight, out of mind: if you can’t make a final decision to let something go, box it up and put a date on it for three to six months from now and put that date in your calendar. If you haven’t opened that box when the date comes remove the box (donate or giveaway) without opening that day.
Create distance: buddy up with someone who will handle your items according to your direction so you don’t touch or handle your items so it will be easier to get rid of the items.

Moving through the process of decluttering, you let go not only of the burdensome excess of things but also of the thoughts and feelings you associate with them. You cannot let go of one and hang on to the other. So let it go so you can open yourself up to so much more.

Clutter Busting: Dealing with Procrastination

February 28, 2015 by clutterbusting Leave a Comment

Do you leave things temporarily in a place? Set the shopping bag on the stairs temporarily? Leave the dishes on the counter temporarily? Leave the mail in a pile temporarily?

You may be a procrastinator. To overcome this:

Rearrange your stuff so it has a home near where you actually use it.
Establish way-station containers for things going up or down the stairs or out the door instead of leaving piles.
For one hour challenge yourself to put away as many things as possible where they belong immediately.
Post a sign that says “do it now”.
If you put something down temporarily, mentally set a time or physically set a timer to put it away. When it is time, do it.
Establish a regular cleanup time daily to put away all the stuff you temporarily left somewhere.
Allow yourself to do small tasks. You don’t have to wait until the mail is piled high to sort it.
Make a rule that anything you leave out temporarily has to be left out attractively arranged or put away by the end of the day.

Make a commitment today on how you will handle procrastination. Challenge yourself to follow through on handling your stuff now.

Clutter Busting: Are you Side-tracked?

February 21, 2015 by clutterbusting Leave a Comment

Do you have trouble staying on track when you are clutter busting?

It is important when you are doing your project that you stay in that area and that area alone. But that can be challenging.

Here are some tips to help you avoid getting side-tracked:

Limit your time when decluttering to keep your attention focused. Maybe scheduling an hour session helps you stay on track versus a four hour session.
Schedule mini breaks but have your refreshments or book in the area. Don’t leave.
Instead of scheduling a room, schedule a dresser or shelf. This will give you variety a little more often when moving from one item to another.

By implementing techniques that work for you, you can avoid getting side-tracked in your clutter busting journey.

Clutter Busting: Habits

February 14, 2015 by clutterbusting Leave a Comment

Have you been successful decluttering in the past, like me, only to find your clutter mountains reappearing?

You can conquer your clutter, but it will keep reoccurring unless you change your clutter habits. New habits or routines will let you maintain organization.

If you do not develop habits on a daily, weekly, monthly or yearly basis your things will reappear. What habit can you start today?

Clutter Busting: One Thing at a Time

February 7, 2015 by clutterbusting Leave a Comment

As you travel through your clutter busting journey, don’t be surprise if you experience times of panic.

If this happens to you, just remind yourself “one thing at a time”. This panic is just a feeling and by zooming into one thing at a time you can overcome the panic and continue on your course. This means narrowing your focus on one item. Focusing on this one thing makes it achievable and doable.

By practicing this each time you panic, “one thing at a time” will become a habit. And decluttering will become less painful and you will be able to keep up the progress…one thing at a time.