When there's less clutter to distract you, it's easier to relax and enjoy being in your home.

By taking a little time now to sort out your stuff you'll have more time and energy to enjoy the things you want to do.

I invite you to take a deep breath and take some de-cuttering action. 

Start with one small area

Begin with the area that bothers you the most or one you think will be super easy - such as desk top, kitchen counter or a single drawer.

With this exercise you’re just going through your stuff and either putting things away where they belong or getting rid of things that you don’t need. 

If you start small you’ll get the feeling of satisfaction that comes with accomplishing something and you’ll be motivated to keep doing more.

 Set a timer for 15 minutes    

No more, no less. When the time is up - stop and check in with how you feel.  

If you’re ready to stop after 15 minutes, simply tidy up what’s left and come back another time. If you feel like you want to keep going, reset the timer for another 15 minutes and continue. 

The timer allows you to focus on the task at hand. It’s also a way to measure your progress, see how you’re feeling and check your energy level. It can give you the little extra push you need to keep going or give you “permission” to stop.

Maintain Focus

If you need to go to another room to put something away, do it without getting sidetracked or distracted. Get back to the original area as quickly as possible and pick up the next thing and the next thing after that. Remember you’re just doing one small area to start. 

Even with the timer going, a clutter clearing project can still seem overwhelming. Stop for a second, take a deep breath, look at the timer and check on how much time you have left. Can you keep going? Yes you can!

The more you practice the exercise of focusing the easier it will get. 

Four Piles

1. For the things you want to keep

Is it something you really need and use? Is it something you really love? Does it enhance our life in some way or not? Be honest with yourself. 

2. For the things you want to toss

Just do it!  You won’t miss it and you’ll feel so much better.  

3. Giveaway pile

Try to get this stuff out of the house as soon as possible.

4. Undecided pile

It’s okay to decide not to decide. An un-decided pile will help you move the process along and not so get hung up on any one item. Things in this pile are temporary. Eventually they’ll need to find a home or be removed.

Making Decisions

Clearing clutter is about making decisions.

Deciding what to do with things, deciding where things belong, deciding whether to keep or get rid of things. All this deciding can feel overwhelming and exhausting.

Clutter happens when you delay making decisions. It gets to the point where clutter accumulates through sheer lack of action rather than conscious choice. 

Once you start to take action you realize that what you’re doing when you’re organizing is just making a series of decisions. It’s one of those things that gets easier the more you do it. It’s a skill you can learn. 

Everything Needs a Home

A home for your things means having a designated place where they belong. Sometimes clutter is just stuff that hangs around because there’s no place to put it. 

I’m sure you’ve had the experience that when you start to clear off a surface, you pick up an object and you don’t know what to do with it so you just put it back down and get discouraged with even trying to de-clutter. It seems impossible and hopeless that you’ll ever be able to make a dent.

This is where the idea of having a home for your things really starts to make sense. 

Until you find a home for things, clearing clutter is like a puzzle. You’re just moving stuff around if there’s not a home for it. 

This can be as overwhelming as the clutter itself. Clear clutter, yes, but where!

For now simply put the items that you’re clearing near where you think they might go. Then you can go back and start to make permanent homes for those things during another de-cluttering session. 

A few things to consider when figuring out where things belong:

~    how often you use an item

~    how accessible it needs to be

~    and if there’s space

Emotions and Feelings

Honestly, one of the reasons why it’s so hard to “just start” de-cluttering and organizing is because it can bring up some uncomfortable emotions. 

~    you may feel sad about how being disorganized has made you feel stuck

~    you may feel a sense of shame about the way your house looks or feel like it’s a reflection of you

~    you may feel regret about unfinished tasks or projects

~    you may feel annoyed or angry at yourself or at others that the clutter has gotten so bad

~    you may even feel bored by the process and resentful that you have to do it at all

These are some reasons why we avoid jumping in and doing the work. This kind of resistance is normal.

Once you become more aware of the little things you can do to take action to de-clutter and organize you’ll find what an amazing relief it is to no longer have the emotional weight of clutter hanging around.

Keeping Up With Clutter

Accumulating stuff is natural. New things come into the house that may not have a home yet. Old stuff that’s no longer useful becomes clutter when it’s not removed.  

Clutter has a tendency to creep, little by little. Small plies get bigger, available space fills up.   

When you start to notice clutter creeping back in take the time to find a home for new stuff and clear out old stuff. 

Keeping up doesn’t mean that everything has to be perfectly organized all the time; it just means that you take 15 minutes every so often to keep on top of  accumulation.

Appreciation

When you’ve cleared the clutter of one small area take a moment to stand back and appreciate what you’ve accomplished. 

Appreciate the way the space looks now compared to before. Appreciate being able to find what you’re looking for when you need it. 

Congratulations! You’ve taken the first steps to improving your home and your life.

This is what we all want. We want to feel good in our homes. We want our homes to be a place where we can relax, feel calm and be happy.

Need a Helping Hand?

I hope these organizing tips have helped and inspired you to take action to start organizing your home. But like a lot of things in life, knowing what to do is one thing and actually doing it is another.

There’s nothing like one-on-one attention to give you a solid foundation to get you going on the things that may not come naturally to you.

If you need help organizing and clearing clutter contact me for a free consultation.