18
Jan

Drowning in Clutter?

7 Steps to Achieving Your Goals

Do you feel as if you will never get out from under your sea of clutter?  Totally overwhelmed by the volume of clutter and don’t know where to start?  There is help!

(I’m going to age myself here…)  If only we were like that oldies TV show Bewitched and could wiggle our nose and have it all disappear.  Life isn’t like that but there are steps that you can take to work through the process.

The basic steps are simple.  It is important to block out time to get organized though.  So grab your calendar and set aside a few hours each week to spend specifically on eliminating your clutter.
Let’s realize that clutter can’t be organized.  It is called clutter for a reason.  It needs to be removed totally.  Here are seven steps to get you started:

1.  Choose a room to begin.  Think about which room causes you the most stress.  Choose a place to begin in that room.  Maybe it is just a corner but nothing will happen until something happens.  If it is a kids room begin in the toy box.  Eliminate all of the outdated toys, broken toys and the toys that haven’t been played with in ages.  This is a great activity to include your children.  Let them help make the decision to eliminate their clutter.  Let them feel the freedom of living clutter-free.

2.  As you go through this process put everything in one of three boxes.  One is for “trash”, one for “donate” and the third for “keep”.  If it is broken if goes into trash, it if isn’t broken but hasn’t been used in forever it goes into the donate.  What is left is “keep” and those are only things that you absolutely love or can’t be replaced.  Be willing to give up the old things.  This will give you a fresh and clear idea of living without clutter.

3.  Remember that things are not necessarily memories.  Memories lie within you.  But if you feel the need to keep sentimental items make sure that they receive the respect that they deserve.  Your grandmother would not appreciate her beautiful hand crocheted pillow cases being tossed into a box to turn yellow.  That is not honoring her in the manner that she deserves.  There are some very creative ways to display those memories that you keep.

4.  Stick to your calendar.  If you have allotted 2 hours on your calendar stay on that schedule.  Don’t feel as if you have to continue on for hours and hours to finish it in one clean swoop.  This will discourage you from taking on any further de-cluttering ambitions.  Realize that things didn’t get cluttered overnight and it may take some time to de-clutter.

5.  Remove the trash and donations immediately!  Don’t let them linger in your home and just become another part of your clutter!  Watch for Part 2 of this blog for help to organize your “keep” box.

6.  Don’t give up!  Stay on track and give yourself credit for what you accomplish.

7.  If you don’t get it finished during the time that you set aside, immediately get your calendar and schedule another 2 hour time frame to work on your clutter.