This week we are going to concentrate on consolidating an area of your home that seems to have somehow become scattered. Let me explain using my home as an example. When I first started decluttering there were tools all over the house. In the office, in the laundry, in the kitchen drawers and in the garage. Over time I gathered them all up and relegated most of them to the garage while keeping just the one inside tool kit in the laundry cupboard for those quick inside jobs. Tools may not be your issue maybe you have stationary all over the house, toiletries here there and everywhere, sports equipment, books etc. So I have come up with a series of mini missions for the week to reunite like objects in your home.

• Monday – Give some thought as to what it may be that is lurking in places all over your house. Items that for ease of finding  when you need them would be best gathered up and kept in the same location.
• Tuesday – Start gathering up these items from the places you know they are hiding.
• Wednesday – Now that you have all the items together declutter the items out of the group that you no longer have a use for.
• Thursday – Get together any storage solution containers you may need to organise these items and prepare them for their new home.
• Friday – Decide where you are going to store these items and do whatever rearranging you need to do to fit them in and rehouse any displaced items.
• Saturday – Place your items in their new home making sure to arrange them in the most convenient positioning to suit your needs.
• Sunday – Today you can sit back and enjoy your handy work. See I am not the slavedriver you think I am after all everyone is entitled to at least one day off a week.

Good luck and happy decluttering

Today’s Declutter Item

These two Star Wars toys found a new home with the son of a good friend.

Things I am grateful for since my last post

• A lovely walk by the beach with my hubby on Saturday evening before dinner.
• Finding a great burger place – Actually it wasn’t a case of finding it but more about finally getting around to trying it.
• Sleeping late on Sunday morning.
• Finding my lost picture files – I will be even more grateful when we find my lost word documents (It’s a long story that I won’t bore you with.)
• Funny lines in movies – sometimes a person needs a good laugh to brighten up the day.

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow.

Clutter has an effect on a space no matter how little or how much of it there is. It has a habit of building up over time  so you need to maintain the upper hand over it if you want to feel truly comfortable in your surroundings.  I am usually quite vigilant when it comes to clutter build up so things usually stay in pretty good shape. Below is a photo of my living/dinning area last Sunday morning when I got up. I know it looks in pretty good shape but clutter is clutter  and it would only take a couple of days of build up to become quite a mess. So I took action.

The offending items shown above are as follows…

• Steve’s watch which he puts here when he is at home. I would prefer he put it in the basket provided for the car keys and his wallet but he is concerned it could get scratched up. Acceptable reason for positioning.
• Steve’s backpack that he takes when riding his motorbike to work has a habit of  living in my dining room from Monday to Friday whether he is riding all week or not. I have spoken to him about this and we agree it can hang on the hook where his bike leathers hang in the upstairs closet. That way it will only come out if the leathers are out and can be put away when they are put away. Problem solved.
• Baseball declutter items. These items were left here for me to process after Steve had another declutter cycle through the garage. He is getting more ruthless with every round and I love it. They have since been photographed and put back in the garage with some like items to be collected by a Freecycle customer.
• Liam’s shoes. I despair of him ever learning to put his shoes away after him. There is almost always a pair sitting under my kitchen bench or near the front door even though there is a perfectly good shoe cupboard right in the front entry. They are now put away.
• The patchwork quilt is usually draped over an armchair by the window but we had friends over about two weeks previous and needed the extra seating. The chair got put back but the quilt never did. I have now put it back where it belongs.

Tidying up this landscape took about 10 minutes which included a quick conversation with my husband about a solution for the backpack and taking a photo of the baseball declutter items. I was happy  with the difference it made to the look of the space even though there wasn’t that much clutter there to begin with. Below are the before and after photos beside one another so you can see the difference.

This week  I have been glad to see some new additions to our fold of commenters. There have also been a few comments from some fairly recent new-comers which is also great but quite a number of our old faithfuls seem to be on vacation somewhere. Where have you all gone I am missing you.

Kathleen in response to Mini Mission Monday 21FEB – Perfect! It’s funny when I finally have a chance to get back to my decluttering project… Read more

Kelley in response to Mini Mission Monday – I can’t do the mini mission this week because… Read more

Loretta in response to Excessive clutter…– I definitely suffer from lethargy, being a naturally idle person… Read more I loved this response from Loretta simply because she was so up front about her idle streak and I like people who are honest with me and with themselves.

Jayme in response to To Sell or Not to Sell – Great post! I learned the hard way of using a site like Craiglist… Read more

Susan S in response to Mini Mission Monday – Thank you, Colleen, for this week’s mini-missions… Read more

Here are the five post or web sites I enjoyed reading this week. I hope they are useful or inspiring to you.

Psychology Today – The procrastination equation/201101/crazy-procrastinating maybe

Slow Simple Conscious – When-did-shopping-become-a-verb?

Listen Feel Breathe – Can-one-word-change-an-entire-mindset

Small Notebook – Loosen-the-grip-of-more-stuff

1000 Awesome Things –Unpacking-the-last-box

Today’s Declutter Item

Magazines for the recycling bin. I no longer subscribe to magazines for two reasons 1.) They can be hard to part with ounce they enter my house. 2.)They are just far too expensive here in Australia. The price was an instant cure for my craft mag fetish.

I am grateful from anything that brings me joy. Below are five things that gave me joy today.

• Treating a friend to lunch for her birthday and giving her one of my handmade cards.
• Hearing the magpies warbling as I drank my first cup of coffee this morning.
• Choosing two items out of my wardrobe today that I had never thought to wear together before. They matched perfectly and I can’t  think why I hadn’t thought combined them before today.
• Getting a phone call from my girl telling me she got a pay rise today because she is doing a good job. It is nice to know that there is at least one boss left in Australia who knows how to treat his valued staff. I am also pleased that my daughter has a good work ethic.
• Google maps – There is go much to discover about your city before you even leave your lounge room.
  

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow.

Excessive clutter is often generated by two kinds of self indulgence – Acquiring too much and Feeling sorry for yourself.

Strong words I know but keep with me and I will explain what I mean. I speak from experience here so forgive me if those words sound harsh.

The first part of this statement is self-explanatory by sheer definition… Clutter – a confused multitude of things; fill a space in a disorderly way. Either we have over indulged in a multitude of things we don’t need to the point where we don’t even use most of them or cannot accommodate them easily in our space. AND/OR . We have not disposed of items as they have become redundant or perished (sometimes from lack of use)  nor stored these items in an orderly manner. I think that explanation describes clutter in both its forms, that is hidden clutter and messy clutter. Either way we have over indulged and/or been careless in our maintenance.

Now for the second part to this statement – Feeling sorry for yourself. There are so many ways that this issue manifests itself and sorry may not be the best word but with a little manipulation it sort of works for all categories. Keeping in mind that  self indulgence was the focus for the initial statement.

Some ways that feeling sorry for yourself causes clutter to build up in your living environment…

• Retail Therapy – Buying stuff to make you feel better when you feel sorry for yourself. A common cause of the first part of the self indulgence issue, acquiring too much stuff.
• Lethargy – A state of sluggishness, inactivity, and apathy. This condition is often a result of  illness, depression, bad eating habits and lack of exercise just to name a few. All of these causes are bound to make you feel sorry for yourself. It often results in neglect of your belongings, your surroundings and quite often yourself causing a downward spiral that is harder to recover from the longer it is allowed to take hold.
• Avoidance – Feeling sorry for yourself in advance causing unnecessary delays in tackling an unpleasant task. Especially a task that is hard to break down into smaller more manageable portions. Such as my hatred of cleaning my oven.
• Denial -A situation where you  have had an intense period of justified self sympathy due to any number of causes – marriage breakdown, loss of a loved one, accommodation upheaval or loss of employment just to name a few – can quite often lead to a severe case of insecurity. Such cases can in turn lead to a tendency to hoard items that give you back a feeling of security – items that hold fond memories and useful items that you may need if you hit hard times again. Of course to you all these items are justified therefore it is easy to live in complete denial that you even have a clutter problem.

(Don’t miss the links hidden under each on of the heading above.)

I know I have fallen in the trap of lethargy and avoidance in the past and probably will again in the future. I find that when I have been ill or suffering from a bout of depression it is very easy to feel sorry for myself and neglect both myself and my duties. Most of the time I find that I don’t start feeling better until I shake myself off and decide just to make myself start behaving normally then before I know it I start feeling better. Sitting around feeling sorry for myself only seems to serve to make me feel worse and seeing my home fall apart around me doesn’t help the situation.

As for neglecting unpleasant jobs – who hasn’t been guilty of that? – I know I have. Yesterday when I starting writing this post just listening to my train of thought on the subject inspired me to get up and treat my motorbike leathers to a good feed of leather conditioner, a job that has been needing doing since we pulled them out of the shipping container the day we moved into this house three and a half years ago. I also sprayed out the oven so I could clean it today.  That is still a b***h of a job and it needs a second going over but I am getting there and it is a whole lot better today than it was yesterday. If anyone has any tips on roasting in an oven without make a huge mess please feel free to share them with me. I like my roasts to be crispy on the outside so I fear that cooking them in a closed baking dish will not allow this to happen but the mess I keep making of my oven is just not acceptable and I need to come up with a better plan.

Today’s Declutter Item

Guitar cords are like iPod jack cords – they don’t last forever. One of those built in redundancy tricks I suppose.

Before I start on my grateful list I would just like to send words of love and support and prayers to the people of Christchurch, New Zealand and anyone else affected by the recent earthquake. So far 75 are confirmed dead and there have been 300+ missing person reports lodged. Hopefully the numbers won’t be as high as that but at this point things are looking very grim. The rescue effort is being hampered by the threat of other buildings toppling. This must be heart breaking for those whose loved ones haven’t been recovered. My heart goes out to them and their families and I hope the nightmare of uncertainty ends for them soon.

I am grateful from anything that brings me joy. Below are five things that gave me joy today.

• Being one day closer to the workmen being finished at my house. It is hard to get out and do what you want or need to do.
• My air-conditioner is no longer sitting at the end of my bed but back on the balcony attached to its power supply and working.
  
• My friend Liz took a whole car load of clutter to the thrift store today. Way to go Liz! Tomorrow we will have more to celebrate than just her birthday. Happy birthday Lizzy!
  
• Finding time to do some crafting.
  
• Making contact with some old friends through Facebook.

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow.

Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom

Back on November 13, 2010, Eve commented on Colleen’s post about selling your decluttered goods. She said:

I do have an opinion on this, which is — just give it away. I picked up this attitude when I used to read the American decluttering/cleaning website called Flylady. She advised we just give our stuff to the Goodwill or other charity instead of burdening ourselves with starting a new project/hobby/part-time career of trying to earn back some money on the items we no longer want. . . It’s hard to face the fact that I may have wasted money on these items, but wasting my time in a pursuit that I hate won’t put that right. And I’ll think long and hard before buying stuff in the future that may just add to the clutter cycle. So I say — lesson learned, money has been lost, move on and try to do better in future.

I’ve trimmed Eve’s comments a bit; she definitely isn’t telling others not to sell, just saying it’s not for her.  I’ve thought a lot about her comment since then. Is selling on Ebay or Craigslist just cluttering my life with another hobby? Sometimes it feels that way.

Selling on Craigslist has a much higher hassle-factor than selling on Ebay.

Ebay involves taking photos, writing a listing, figuring out what you’ll ship in and how much shipping will cost, waiting for payment, and then shipping. Sometimes people don’t pay, and that can be a real inconvenience.  (Also, make sure you thoroughly investigate shipping charges. The quickest way to lose your earnings is to underestimate shipping.)

At first glance, selling on Craigslist seems easier, but successful selling actually takes more time.  You have to take photos and write a listing. Easier, so far. Unfortuntely, Craigslist is the land of ridiculous scams, people whose entire correspondence with you will be “Do you still have it?” and people who think they want it, tell you they want it, but really don’t. (On Ebay, these people would be “watchers” and never buyers, but there’s no such mechanism on Craigslist.) Craigslist items frequently need to be re-listed, because your listing can get buried so quickly. Austin, Texas where I live has 300 – 500 new furniture items listed daily, for example.  When someone does want to purchase, there can also be bargaining, which a lot of people despise, and of course, the inconvenience of arranging to meet someone at your home or another location. I get around this potential annoyance by rarely agreeing to meet elsewhere. My home is easy to find, I’m not concerned about being robbed, and I figure the item is a bargain enough without me investing extra to go to them. Also, if my item is $10 or less, I’ll just leave it on the porch and instruct the buyer to leave the money under the mat. This method has never gone wrong, and everyone appreciates the increased convenience.

Nonetheless,  both avenues have a place. Bulky or heavy items, for example, are better candidates for Craigslist, as are items with enough value to make them worth selling, but not for enough value that people would be willing to buy them and ship them for a price that makes your efforts worthwhile.

Then there’s selling books and CDs on Amazon.com. Without a doubt, this is the easiest listing service available. You can only sell what they’re already selling, and you can’t make sets of things (i.e. 20 CDs from the 1980s), so those are disadvantages, but you don’t take photos, writing the description is easy, and Amazon determines the shipping for you. The big disadvantage is the bite that Amazon takes out of your profits – about $3 per item.

So, circling back to Eve’s comment: Is selling a hobby for me? I guess it is. Am I OK with that? Yes, I am. In my eight months of decluttering (also a hobby), I have shed over 1600 items and I have made $1361.70, which is an average of 80 cents made on every item out. The vast majority of those items have been donated – a blessing to others, as the FlyLady calls it – but those that I have sold have been a blessing to others and to me.

Today’s Declutter Item

These were a great pair of shoes and they got a lot of wear in three years. After walking to work in the rain one day I soon worked out why me sock was getting wet. I checked if they were repairable but it would have cost three times their worth. So unfortunately this pair had to go in the bin.

I am grateful from anything that brings me joy. Below are five things that gave me joy today.

• I got plenty of exercise walking to pick up my car from the mechanic, walking to the store to buy an avocado and then going on my evening walk with Steve.
  
• Finally doing a few jobs I had been avoiding. It feels good to get them out of the way.
• Receiving a letter from an old friend from America. It was wonderful to hear from her.
• The little things you notice when you walk instead of taking the car.
• I love it when I write a blog and in the process inspire myself.
  

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow.

I received this request from Nurchamiel a little while back -  Do you have any tips for young-adults/students who only live in one room (studio etc.)?

As I said to Nurchamiel in my response the first thought that popped into my head when I read this request was – That person that nags you about keeping tidy, sensible spending, good hygiene, eating properly etc (this person is usually a parent or older adult that has a vested interest in your future well-being. You know the one you do your best to ignore because you aren’t a baby any more and can look after yourself.) – listen to that person and appreciate their wisdom for what it is. (Spoken like a true mother 😉 )

The bad news is that self control and restraint is the only cure for this problem. In order to live in a small space you need to be organised and sensible about what you can fit comfortably into the limited area you have. Which can be broken down like this…

1. Sensible spending – The old saying goes -Money burns a hole in your pocket. As a young person it is hard to refrain from purchasing that next frivolous item. Be it clothing that you don’t need, books, magazines, DVDs, CDs, make-up, decor items, computer games, tech gadgets.. need I go on. Limit your unnecessary purchases, be thoughtful and informed about the purchases you do make and the organising will fall into place because you don’t own more than you can accommodate.
2. Plan ahead – if you plan for the next event such as early class or a work shift soon after class and have what you need set out ahead of time it reduces the possibility of leaving a mess in your wake. If you can put your hands on what you need quickly you will eliminate the need to rummage through your belongings causing unnecessary disruption. When we loose things in the mess we replace them and that adds more unnecessary clutter.
3. Setting priorities – This one can be hard when you are young and social and have many things on the go at once. The only way to keep some semblance of order when living in a small area is to be realistic about what activities you can cram into a day and always set time aside for responsibilities.  Life isn’t just fun and games there are always chores that need to be taken care of. This doesn’t need to take long in fact just a minute here and a minute there to finish a task instead of leaving things dishevelled makes all the difference. I know a certain 21 year old whose room is always a mess and yet this person spends hours on the internet every night, chatting, shopping and watching worthless television shows. Yes we all need down time but we also need to set responsible priorities as well.
4. Reduce/Rehouse/Recycle – If you are reading this you are already at a stage where you own more than you need or just haven’t eliminated the redundant items as you have gone along. Now is the time to start to reduce the unnecessary items in your space. You don’t have to turn the place into a war zone to do this just commit to removing perhaps a bag of items a week until you get to an acceptable level.  Rehouse good items that you no longer require either by selling, giving to friends or donating them to charity. If you live in an apartment block put out a box of stuff with a free sign on and you would be surprised how quickly the stuff disappears and you don’t have to go further than the front door to donate it. Selling stuff can take a little more effort but worth it for the extra cash. Ebay, Craig’s list, notice board adds and word of mouth are just a few ways to go about this. Any of the things that are unlikely to be useful to anyone should be separated into trash and recycling piles and disposed of. Being a student there will likely be a lot of paper to be recycled.

If this advice isn’t what you wanted to hear that is probably because you knew that was the solution all along but naturally didn’t want to conform because it sounds difficult and dull but remember you can reward yourself for your efforts by treating yourself to things that don’t contribute to clutter, like a meal out, coffee with a friend, iTune uploads, facial, massage, manicure…

For a little incentive, instead of wasting money on stuff that just clutters up your space, spend some money on items that will organise your space. Don’t rush out grabbing the first thing you see really put some time into investigating the best option to suit your immediate and potential needs.

Nurchamiel has already decided not to reward herself for her efforts that the satisfaction in seeing her space improving is reward enough. Also after reading last Tuesday’s post – Space Solution – she is going to set up a similar space solution near their door to keep track of keys etc. She has also offered to write a guest post for me about the perils of decluttering with allergies. I am looking forward to reading it as I have some ideas about that topic myself. So stay tuned.

Today’s Declutter Item

A pile of papers that were decluttered from Liam’s room. The new university year is about to begin so it is out with the old and in with the new.

I am grateful from anything that brings me joy. Below are five things that gave me joy today.

• I wasn’t keen to do my housework today so I decided to use the 365lessthings approach and only focus on one task at a time. In the end I not only did the general house once over but I also cleaned out the drawers in one bathroom, tidied, vacuumed and wiped out the shoe cupboard, clean the outside of the French doors  in our bedroom, cleared and cleaned my craft room whiteboard and tidied up my ribbon supplies.
• I found out my good friend went for a job interview. She works where I used to work and it isn’t good for her either so I hope she gets out. She is a beautiful person and deserves to be happy.
• Liam was in a cheeky and playful mood today. It did cause some hindrance having him tickling me while I was trying to do the housework but I enjoy seeing him happy even if it is at my expense. Just don’t tell him that!
• The day is cool and rainy oh how I have longed for this day. The balcony outside out bedroom is being repaired and the air-conditioner is not connected and the nights have been sweltering. Need I say more.
• Getting to the end of the day and knowing I have achieved what I needed to achieve and can relax and enjoy the spoils of my efforts. A clean house, a nice dinner and a happy family.
  

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow.

This week we are going to do something a little different with our mini missions. I want you to pick a room in your home that has a clutter issue, and this room is going to be the focus of your mini missions this week. Make a vow to yourself that you are not going to add any extra clutter to this room. Anything you use from or in it during the week you are going to put away immediately after use. Choose departure points for your decluttered items, some will go in the trash some will end up in the recycling bin while others will be donated. Make sure your donation departure point is in an out of the way place, preferably in the garage where you can load them into the car at the end of the week. If you have the opportunity to dispose of them as you go along that is all the better because then you won’t be tempted to keep them. Lets get started.

• Monday – Tidy off one elevated surface in your focus room putting everything away in its proper home.
  
• Tuesday – Go back to your chosen room again and pick another elevated surface to clear off. Once again put everything away in its proper home and move any unwanted clutter to your clutter departure points.
  
• Wednesday – Today you are going to clear off the floor in your chosen room. Pick up anything that doesn’t belong on the floor and find a home for it. Once again move any unwanted clutter to its departure point.
  
• Thursday – Choose a drawer in this room and declutter it. If you have no drawers choose a small area that is out of sight. A box under a bed, a shelf or a small cabinet.
  
• Friday – Repeat the same task as Thursday.
• Saturday – Declutter an area of your own choosing in the room today. By now the room should be in pretty good shape.
  
• Sunday – Put your donation items into your car and plan on delivering them to their new home/s ASAP. If this room still needs some decluttering, vow to finish it in the near future and make a promise to yourself not to clutter this room again.

Good luck and happy decluttering

Today’s Declutter Item

The problem with picture frames of this nature is that the frame is so busy that it overshadows the photo that goes in it. So it is frame clutter in more ways than one. Maybe someone else will love it and buy it at the thrift store.

I am grateful for anything that brings me joy. Below are five things that gave me joy since my last post.

• Going exploring in an area of my city I haven’t spend much time in. We caught  the ferry to get there which we had not done before either.
• Two of my readers have offered or agreed to write guest posts for me. I am looking forward to the results.
• My husband revisiting keepsake boxes and getting more ruthless with the decluttering.
• I was grateful that we were undercover during our evening walk when the rain started to come down. We weren’t far from home so we waited for the rain to stop and went home.
• Big Bang Theory – even when they are repeats I still get a laugh.
  

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow.

Saturday is fast becoming a confession day for Cindy but if she is willing to keep sending me these pictures who am I to not use them.  I am quite willing to take anyone else’s confession if you are willing to send me your before and after shots. I promise I will be kind and not allot too much in the way on penance, maybe a couple of extra mini missions.

The before shot of Cindy’s desk

Putting things away when you are finished using them is not always easy to do when you have two children and a husband to care for and a part time job. At some point though the mess will catch up with you and instead of a couple of extra seconds here and there you find yourself with a twenty minute clean up task to deal with.

Cindy wrote – It had been looking this bad for at least a week, but I was shocked when I looked at the before photo. As we’ve discussed before, if you have trouble “seeing” your clutter, a photo will certainly bring things into focus for you. The great thing about this cleaning was, because almost everything on my desk actually has a home I was able to declutter two items, re-homed seven things, put a half dozen papers in the recycling bin, and dust my desk all in twenty minutes.

The after shot of Cindy’s desk

Quite an improvement don’t you think and only twenty minutes of effort. Good job Cindy!

Cindy you are a trooper. Thank you again for your before and after shots they are an inspiration to those who have given up hope of ever having a tidy home.

You are probably starting to think that I am very secretive about my own clutter but I have been up front from the beginning that my clutter is mostly hidden clutter and for the duration of married life I have always been a bit of a neat freak. I have added photos of both my husbands desk and mine for reasons of transparency. My husband’s desk is almost as usual clutter free except for that roller-blind that fell down some months ago that requires the ladder to replace and we just haven’t gotten around to it. While my desk has a project in progress but my white board could do with a bit of a declutter. Like Cindy said things look a lot worse when you see them through the lens of a camera.

Steve’s Desk                     My craft desk

The five comments I chose to share with you all this week

Anne in response to Creating Enthusiasm by Changing your Thinking – Another important issue with decluttering is the support from others…Read more

Cat’s Meow in response to Decluttering Anxiety – I used to be like that too. Trouble finishing the task… Read more

Jo in response to Space Solution -  The thing that most amazed me about this process was… Read more

Nurchamiel in response to Simple Saturday – That reward-system sounds good, but I think I will try to do it without… Read more

Jo in response to Try!!!! -Being a perfectionist, oddly enough, can also contribute to not starting… Read more

This weeks posts that I have enjoyed. There are only three because I have heeded my own advice this week and ignored all but a couple of my RSS feeds.

A Guy Named Dave – Hoarders-ascetics-and-the-american-dream

Slow Simple Conscious – Challenging “it’ ll do” I loved this post. My son and I were just having a conversation on this subject very morning I was made aware of this blog when the writer left a comment on my blog.

Be More With Less – 5 simplicity diys you’ve been too scared to try.

Today’s Declutter Item

I am grateful from anything that brings me joy. Below are five things that gave me joy today.

• The excitement of a good thunder storm right overhead. Flash Bang!
• Oatmeal, brown sugar. all-bran, cream and blueberries. Yummmmm!
• Spotting the unicorn. – A graffiti artist has been painting unicorn stencils in my area and I have been having fun spotting them when hubby and I are out walking.
• Less interruption from builders today.
• A nice long Facebook chat with Cindy.
  

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow.

This post was inspired by Pamela from Magic Meadows. While visiting her blog the other day I noticed the following admission on her front page…

My word of the year is TRY.

My first thought when I read this is that ‘not starting because I think I’ll never finish’ is the way a lot of people feel when their homes get to a point where they can’t see the surfaces for the clutter. Giving up too easily is also an issue when you focus too much on the size of the job at hand rather than just steadily working at it. The job of decluttering reminds me of the songs lyrics – so high you can’t get over it, so low you can’t get under it, so wide you can’t get round it…The only approach left is to plough right through it one step at a time.

The task ahead may not look interesting but the end result is surely worthwhile. Doing the hard work may not be what you have always wanted to do but having a decluttered home is certainly something you want to have. It won’t disappear if you don’t try but once you start to see the results for your efforts it gets easier from there.

I don’t use a systematic approach because my clutter was hidden clutter but if your home has obvious clutter that is bringing you down then the best places to begin are the areas that you use the most and your area of rest.

I suggest you start with your bedroom so you have a haven for rejuvenating yourself at the end of a long day. You want to be able to rest peacefully which isn’t easy when you are surrounded with things that cause you grief.

The next area I would start on is the kitchen because it is the one area that gets used a lot and needs to be hygienically clean which is impossible if it is cluttered to a point where you can’t wipe down the surfaces. Wherever there is food preparation going on cleanliness should be a high priority.

Almost as important as the kitchen is the bathroom areas. These areas also need to be hygienically clean as there is no point trying to wash yourself in an area that is possibly less clean than you are.  As in the kitchen, this area can’t be cleaned properly if there is stuff littering the surfaces. Also like the bedroom, this is an area of rejuvenation where you wash away the grime and stress of the day. You will find that far more possible if this area is clean and uncluttered.

Remove all visible clutter from these areas as quickly as possible and then settle into and easier pace with the other the hidden clutterareas of the house. Trust me, so long as you add no new clutter you will start to see improvement quicker than you think.  If you get overwhelmed at times take a short break in an area of your home that you have already decluttered and look around you to remind yourself it is well worth the effort.

As the old saying goes

If at first you don’t succeed try and try again!

Today’s Declutter Item

I am grateful from anything that brings me joy. Below are five things that gave me joy today.

• Getting that pile of ironing out of the way – I have been ignoring it for a while.
• Coming to the rescue with an icepack for the builder that fell through my balcony today. – He didn’t fall all the way through only his leg but he sprained his ankle.
• Liam (my Son) registered for his university classes today and has a job interview tomorrow – Not bad for a guy who only four months ago had a serious brain injury.
• Finding something new to declutter everyday
• Crossing the railway tracks five times today without a train coming along and making me wait.
  

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow.