Doodle

Are there things you do to sabotage your de-cluttering goals?

I got the idea for this post after reading “No More Clutter” by Sue Kay. She suggests the following as ways we undermine our decluttering efforts:

1. Do you focus on how much there is left to do rather than how much you have achieved?
2. Do you find your self apologising a lot to others and calling yourself lazy and other derogatory names rather than defining yourself in more positive language and a ‘work in progress’.
3. Do you throw away essential things that then prove how risky decluttering is?
4. Do you create such a mess when decluttering that you give up half way through a task and have made everything worse.
5. Does being a perfectionist stop you from doing small 15 minute tasks; one drawer or one shelf at a time. Is it all or nothing; an entire room or it’s not worth it…but you can never bring yourself to face a whole room?
6. Are you easily distracted, starting off one task in the kitchen, wondering off to the bedroom to put something away and start sorting the  laundry on your floor  which leads you to the bathroom to put dirty clothes in the laundry bin when you spot the sink needs a clean…
7. Over complex or unrealistic plans of where or how  you might get rid of stuff

I have definitely at some point done all of these except for 3) The good news is,from my experience, that once you bring these behaviours from your unconscious to conscious level, all these traits you can train out of yourself and create new habits.

When working on my own stuff, I now consciously choose to tackle decluttering in small bite size chunks. If I am in the mood for a few hours sorting, I finish one bit before starting the next session, because I know how my energy for the task can suddenly go.

Of course, when working with clients, I work differently because we know we are going to be keeping going for 3-4 hours per session: I’m there as the energiser and motivator, attuning to each clients individual needs, so we won’t be giving up after 20 minutes. This does mean I can empty whole wardrobes and larders at the start rather than doing small chunks. In this instance, it is down to me to ensure the pace we work at balances with the time I allow at the end to leave the area we are working in   a far better state than when we started.

We create piles on the floor for things that need to be put away elsewhere in the house. Then we do that all at the end, rather than lots of too-ing and fro-ing distracting us from the task in hand.

A significant proportion of my clients apologise a lot and feel bad about themselves with regard to their clutter. I always gently challenge that view of themselves, because there are always life reasons why things have become too much and now they are taking steps to change: they deserve to praise themselves and believe this is the start of change.

In my own home, I find it very helpful to set an alarm/kitchen timer for 15 minutes to tackle an area I just can’t face: it means I make a little breakthrough and am then rewarded by being allowed to stop. Occasionally of course, it gets me going and I keep going long past the 15 minutes. But it is ok to stop at 15 minutes. It’s a technique I pass on to clients too.

Do you recognise yourself in any of the above 1-7 list? If you recognise any of them as the way you used to do things, how have you changed?

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something from a bathroom in your home.

Eco Tip for the Day

Here’s one way to save paper. Write your grocery list on the fridge with a whiteboard marker and then photograph it with your cell phone and take that with you when you go shopping.

For a full list of my eco tips so far click here

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

Related articles across the web

Mini Mission Monday is about finding ten minutes a day to declutter. To make it easy for you, each Monday I set seven declutter missions, one for each day of the week for you to follow. It takes the guess work out of decluttering and makes it easy and “fun” for you to achieve some quick decluttering.

We are going to spread our mini missions throughout the house this week. Choose whatever you’d like to declutter from the rooms /spaces that I mention below. I might even try this myself this week. It could be a challenge but when it comes to clutter I never cease to be amazed where it appears and that it seems to be endless. Lets see what you can come up with also.

Monday – Declutter something from your living room, lounge, family room or whatever you would like to call it.

Tuesday – Declutter something from your kitchen.

Wednesday – Declutter something from a bathroom in your home.

Thursday – Declutter something from a bedroom.

Friday – Declutter something from your study or craft area.

Saturday – Declutter something from the garage, attic or basement.

Sunday - Sunday is reserved for contemplating one particular item, of your choice that is proving difficult for you to declutter. Whether that be for sentimental reasons, practical reasons, because the task is laborious or simply unpleasant, or because the items removal requires the cooperation of another person. That last category may mean that the item belongs to someone else who has to give their approval, it could also mean there is a joint decision to be made or it could mean that the task of removing it requires assistance from someone else. There is no need to act on this contemplation immediately, it is more about formulating a plan to act upon or simply making a decision one way or another.

Good luck and happy decluttering

Eco Tip for the Day

Try to replace at least a couple of meat meals a week with plant based offerings.

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

When I began decluttering it was all about downsizing to fit into a smaller home. However it didn’t take long to realise that decluttering resulted in simplicity. Here are some ways in which my life has become simpler due to my decluttering.

• Decluttering displayed items means less dusting making housework simpler.
• Decluttering items inside cupboards and drawers makes it simpler to keep them organised and tidy.
• Less stuff in general makes it simpler to keep an entire home tidy.
• And when the house is tidier it is also simpler to clean the surfaces because there is less stuff to move out of your way.
• Simplifying your housework means it is simpler to find time to do other things you enjoy more.
• The less clothes I own the simpler it is to decide what to wear.
• The less stuff I buy (because I don’t want to become cluttered again) the simpler it is to save money.
• The less stuff to choose from in any category the simpler it is to find the items I need when I need them.

And now that I have reached my goal of living in a smaller place in a wonderful location it is…

• Simpler to keep fit because it is a delight to go out for long walks and enjoy the scenery and atmosphere.
• It is simpler to get from A to B because most of what I need is within walking or cycling distance which means no getting the car out and trying to find parking spots. And public transport is in abundance here also.
• It is simpler to get to a cafe that sells good coffee because there are so many handy to my location.
• It is simpler to go to the movie theatre, the beach and restaurants because they are also within walking distance.

I am sure I could go on but I will leave it at that for now.

What have you found to be simpler in your life because of your decluttering? And what possibilities or opportunities have opened up in your life for the same reason?

Today’s Mini Mission

Make the effort to list an item for sale that you are been wanting to rid yourself of but haven’t mustered the effort to bother with.

Eco Tip for the Day

If you are one for ironing just about anything ~ sheets, underwear, pyjamas, tea towels etc ~ do yourself a favour and give it up for the sake of the environment. Electrical energy won’t be the only energy you will be saving.

For a full list of my eco tips so far click here

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

Way back at the start of my declutter journey it was obvious that my craft collection of tools and materials was way out of hand. Especially since I hardly bothered to find the time to use them. So I set about deciding which tools I used and which ones I didn’t and which materials I didn’t like so much. Separating the wheat from the chaff so to speak.

The before and after shots of my craft room. Click here if you want to see the progression shots.

As you can see there is a vast difference between the before and after shots above. But this didn’t happen overnight. It happened gradually through several sorting sessions to decide what I use, what I don’t and what I thought I never would. Many of you have read about my progress when it comes to my craft supplies but this post isn’t simply about that.

This post is about knowing yourself in this time period, seeing where you have come from and foreseeing where you are going and decluttering with that in mind.

This post was inspired by an email I received from my husband yesterday. A work colleague had posted a For Sale ad on their work social board. He had finally come to the conclusion that he and his wife so rarely ride their motorbikes these days that it was time to let them go to a new home.

I dare say this decision took a lot of soul searching because they had been avid riders and dedicated BMW motorcycle fans for a long time. Their bikes and associated gear were decked out with every mod con going. However after spending twelve months separated from their bikes, while working overseas, their lives had taken a different turn. As life is prone to do. It took a couple more years, of the bikes sitting almost idle in the garage, to finally come to the conclusion that life has moved on and it is time to let them go.

The situation was much the same with my crafting supplies. The only difference was that I still loved to craft, I had done so since as far back as I can remember, and I was still participating in it if only on an irregular basis. What I did was reduce what I had to fit the impending change in my lifestyle. Now I find I am once again crafting all the time and even have an outlet to sell my handmade items.

So you see it can take time to make the hard decisions. Every parting with clutter isn’t a sweet one. And sometimes it is just a matter of reducing rather than letting go altogether. Either way it is about know yourself and realising what is now clutter to you and what isn’t.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something that triggers fond memories but is never displayed where you can see it.

Eco Tip for the Day

While running the water in the shower till it gets hot only run the hot water so you aren’t wasting more water than necessary.

For a full list of my eco tips so far click here

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

I know I have written about this subject before but it is one of those issues that are worth revisiting every now and again. Especially for those struggling with it or who have only recently started reading my blog and don’t have the time or inclination to start at the beginning. I know I wouldn’t have that sort of time up my sleeve.

I think most people who read my blog would have a certain number of true sentimental items in their home. These items are often things like baby ID bands, a child’s old teddy, the glasses you toasted with at your wedding, Grandma’s engagement ring… We all have special things that we feel we will never part with. There is nothing wrong with keeping these items after all we are decluttering our homes and if these items are dear to us then they aren’t clutter.

However there is are another kind of  “sentimental” clutter that can pervade your homes. These are  items that we fear have more sentimental value to someone else and we are only keeping them to avoid feelings of guilt or betrayal. Or to avoid that awkward moment when the person who gave it to you notices it is gone. Sometimes this may be true but quite often it is a fear dreamed up in our own mind and the other person involved really wouldn’t care or even remember that they gave it to you in the first place.

Take a look around your home in fact grab a pen and make a list of the sentimental items in your home that you would rather not keep. I am sure you can probably list them all without even looking. These objects are often easy to identify. They are the items that you feel obliged to keep even though they have outlived their usefulness to you or perhaps in some cases never actually had any in the first place. They are usually items given to you as a gift, an heirloom that has been handed down through the family or something made for you by another well meaning person.

The good news is it is actually possible to part with these items with minimal damage to your relationship with the giver. I have managed to give away many such things during my decluttering mission. And believe it or not I have not lost one loved ones affection because of it. Here are a list of some of those items…

• A calendar holder my father made for me – It was very nice and I am sure another person would love to have it. It soon became apparent that it was not suitable for my needs because I couldn’t turn the pages with out taking it off the wall and pulling the calendar out. I am a person who likes to write my appointments on my calendar and this was just too difficult with this style of holder.
• A silver tea set my parents gave me for my 21st birthday – I just didn’t like to clean it and it only ever sat there looking pretty and was never used to serve tea.
• A crystal duchess set my sister gave me for my 21st birthday – It is a bit dated now and I haven’t used it for years.
• A wooded 21st birthday key plaque my Godfather made me – It has warped over the years of varied weather in the multitude of places we have live and would no longer hang straight on the wall.
• A granny rug made by my husbands grandmother which didn’t suit my decor.
• Wine glasses given to us at our wedding.
• A bead spinner my MIL gave me – I actually gave it back to her and she was happy to have it.
• Shot glasses that were my Grandmother’s – I gave them to a friend of the family who collects shot glasses.
• And that engagement ring of my grandmother’s ~ Although I had no plan to let it go it occurred to me last year that my sister is more inclined to wear such things so I decided to give it to her. She was very pleased.

I am sure there are many more things but I can’t think of them right now. Yes I did feel a little guilty parting with some of them and yes I had to give it some serious thought before doing so and yes all of the people involved still talk to me. No most of them wouldn’t even realise that the items are gone and if they do so they aren’t so rude to ask. And no I do not regret it because I should not have to keep something I don’t want in my own home.

So don’t be confused between sentimental value and obligation. If there is something in your home that you no longer and maybe never did want you have every right to remove it. Hand it on to someone else who will appreciate it more. In some cases that may mean handing an heirloom on to someone else within the family. In another case you may want to offer the item back to the person who gave it too you. Maybe you can sell the item or maybe donate it to charity. Either way you should not feel obliged to keep it there.

TODAY’S MINI MISSION

Allow yourself to declutter something someone gave you, that you don’t really want, but have hung onto out of obligation.

ECO TIP OF THE DAY

If you have a garden purely for aesthetic reasons why not grow plants that require little or no watering. Purifying water uses a lot of energy and chemicals so the less we waste the better.

Here is an item that served me well for some time that I recently decluttered.

Mini Mission Monday is about finding ten minutes a day to declutter. To make it easy for you, each Monday I set seven declutter missions, one for each day of the week for you to follow. It takes the guess work out of decluttering and makes it easy and “fun” for you to achieve some quick decluttering.

This week I am not going to make it very easy on you. But it is up to you as to how easy you take it on yourself. If you can’t manage the missions declutter something a little simpler for you. Don’t force yourself to let go of something you aren’t ready for.

Monday – Declutter something you have been procrastinating about letting go of for some time.

Tuesday – Allow yourself to declutter something someone gave you, that you don’t really want, but have hung onto out of obligation.

Wednesday – Declutter something that triggers fond memories but is never displayed where you can see it.

Thursday – Make the effort to list an item for sale that you are been wanting to rid yourself of but haven’t mustered the effort to bother with.

Friday – Declutter an item that once served you well but now you never use. You probably won’t ever need it again some day.

Saturday – Declutter something you use so infrequently that it really isn’t necessary.

Sunday - Sunday is reserved for contemplating one particular item, of your choice that is proving difficult for you to declutter. Whether that be for sentimental reasons, practical reasons, because the task is laborious or simply unpleasant, or because the items removal requires the cooperation of another person. That last category may mean that the item belongs to someone else who has to give their approval, it could also mean there is a joint decision to be made or it could mean that the task of removing it requires assistance from someone else. There is no need to act on this contemplation immediately, it is more about formulating a plan to act upon or simply making a decision one way or another.

Good luck and happy decluttering

Eco Tip for the Day

Hang your clothes to dry when possible rather than wasting power using a tumble dryer. For me a clothes line isn’t required, I mostly hang my wet washing on an airer either inside or out depending on the weather.

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