Clutter Busting Coach

…clearing clutter from your mind, body and space

clutter busting

The Journey Into Clutter Busting: My Basement – The After Photo

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Ta Da!!!! This feels extremely good. All the Christmas holiday decorations are sorted, stored and labeled. And yes, I have 25 holiday boxes ranging from four Pointsettia plants per container to ornaments to serving pieces. Christmas is my biggest holiday celebration where every room in the house is decorated in some fashion.

You may say…but 25 boxes? I thought you were clutter busting? Remember the goal is to get rid of clutter and then store what is left.

I used the clutter questions or citeria as I worked on this area. Everything left I use and love.

I have one garage sale/donate box to handle once the subdivision sale date is selected. And I have created a location/holding place to put this with an end date. If I don’t have a sale by August 15 it is out of my house via donation.

I have set a limit on the storage space for Christmas decorations to the alcove they are housed in right now with the intention of installing sliding doors in that area and creating a closet space.

The good news about this project is that I did not have to buy any new containers for storage and I was actually able to decrease my number of containers by two.

How did your clutter busting project go for this past week? I can’t wait for my next project! Success sure feels good.

The Journey Into Clutter Busting: The Basement Project Before Photo

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  Not a proud moment for me… sharing a before photo of one area in my basement. Here you see the area where my Christmas supplies are stored and more that has gotten in the way.

My goal for this week is to sort, purge and organize this one area of the basement. I will use these sorting questions:

  • Is it in good shape?
  • If it’s broken, can it be fixed?
  • Do I really need it?
  • Have I used it in the past year?
  • Would it be hard to replace if I needed it again?
  • Would I pay money to store it?
  • Does someone else need it or LOVE it?

I have scheduled time on my calendar. I have made a list of needed clutter busting supplies including a broom, a box for giveaways (to family/friends or for regifting), a box for garage sale items, a box for donations, a garbage bag and label maker. I will gather the supplies before I start working in the area. I plan to let the phone go to voicemail if it rings during my scheduled project time. For this phase, I am asking my husband to stay out of the area…because Christmas is my thing.

So what are you working on…I would like you to share your project and photo with me and our other readers.

The Journey Into Clutter Busting: My Basement Project

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Well I learned something from my journaling last week. I am great at project management…tackling a cutter busting project and making it happen. What got out of control for me this last year was time.

Now it is a myth that you can manage time. We all have only 24-hours in a day. We have to pick the best way to use it. If you want to call it time management that is fine, but it is really a matter of priority management or implementing daily practices. [Read more…] about The Journey Into Clutter Busting: My Basement Project

The Journey into Clutter Busting- Creating a Vision

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“Be prepared” is a motto of the Boy Scouts. Well this motto works for me as well. Anyone who has worked on a project or taken a trip with me will tell you so. I am the best list maker around. Even though I have been known to forget my husband’s dress shirt and tie on our honeymoon and a dress belt on another trip. I have learned my lesson and make sure I get input on the list now because he is still not a list maker after many years of marriage to me.

You can create all the lists and action plans you want but unless you see where you want to go and believe you can get there you will have a laborious journey. And how will you know when you get there unless you have a mission and vision?

So, as promised, here is a portion of my vision for my journey into being clutter-free and in balance: [Read more…] about The Journey into Clutter Busting- Creating a Vision

The Journey into Clutter Busting- What’s my destination?

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Okay. I admit that I am a planner. A person who likes to have the details spelled out, who needs a plan and who needs to consider all the possibilities of a project. I am that person who creates a project checklist for anything that I more than once (another confession). It doesn’t make sense to me that others don’t do this. In fact I was so “proud” and a little stunned when my adult niece pulled out her checklist for a family holiday dinner I was attending and proceeded to tell me she had learned that from me.

It is proven that writing down goals and visioning what you desired will make success more likely. So my first step on my journey to again becoming clutter-free was having a vision of what I wanted, write down my goals and create an action plan.

Now I know that sounds like a lot of work…but how many times have you tried to lose weight or get organized only to go backwards? Having a clear vision of where you want to be and writing down your goal and action plan will help ensure your success. Setting the stage for success is important in reaching your destination. It can also help you enjoy the journey along the way.

In my next post, I will share my vision for this journey I am on. In the meantime, you may want to do a little work yourself by reading my previous posts on mission, vision and values. I look forward to sharing my vision with you…