Wendy B wrote this very wise statement in a comment recently in regards to decluttering ~ 

“The thought of tackling the job is often more consuming than doing the job itself.”

How very true this is. I bet there are many of you out there who spent more time and metal energy putting off your decluttering than the time and effort that you actually needed to put into it once you got started. I was a little guilty of that myself to be honest. I knew, before returning home to live in Australia in 2007, that downsizing was our ultimate goal, but aside from the necessary ejection of stuff required to fit comfortably into our new home, and some extra bursts here and there, it was 2010 before I got on with the task in earnest.

And the problem with procrastinating is that you are wasting all that mental stress on getting nowhere. When it is as easy as putting one item aside each day, in the garage, or wherever you choose your transition area to be. Then donating the stuff to a charity when you have a pile big enough to make the effort to drop it off. And if you live in a place like the USA where the charity will come to you, it is even easier to get the job done, or at least make progress.

Of course you can complicate things by selling items via online auctions or similar, or by having a garage sale, but there is always an extra reward for your labours there, so it is often worth the extra effort. But that is entirely up to you.

We often procrastinate because we focus on the harder aspects of the task rather than just getting started on the easy stuff. How does the saying go? ~ “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” And there is always those things that are much easier to deal with than others. That is how I got started and in the end I got rid of far more stuff that I ever thought I would. Even things I had no intention of ever letting go. The more I decluttered the easier it was to part with things and the more things I realised a didn’t need to keep.

Actually just writing today’s post was a case of procrastination for me. That seems a little more than ironic. In the end I figured I would get a better night sleep if I took care of that and another small task before going to bed rather than leaving it until today. And I did sleep better for it I think.

The thing about procrastinating is that it makes you feel bad, then feeling bad makes you sorry for yourself so you self medicate by doing something else you would rather do. While actually by doing what you don’t want to do you can make yourself feel a lot better than avoiding it.

I know there are plenty of my readers out there, who are a long way along their declutter journey, who have been there and done that, so why not share with us your procrastination story, and how you overcame it. And those of you still torturing yourself with futile procrastination, hopefully reading our about experiences will help you start eating that elephant, one bite at a time.

Random Acts of Unusual Kindness

As a pedestrian treat the sidewalk as if it were the road. Keep to the side that the road traffic travels on in the country that you are in at the time. Don’t dart out from side allies and shops into oncoming foot traffic. And don’t walk three abreast. This ought to be common sense, but it doesn’t seem to be, and life would be a lot easier for everyone if we all adhered to these simple rules.

Do you have trouble with procrastination? Is “later” always the perfect time to do something? Are you stressed, missing deadlines, and constantly playing catch-up? Well…..hello! It’s so nice to meet a kindred spirit! Procrastination has always been one of my worst habits. But I recently finished an online course in “Learning How to Learn” (www.coursera.org) that has taught me something new about procrastination.
Brain researchers have discovered that when we dread doing an activity, the thought registers in the same physical area of our brain where pain registers. So naturally, we do the same thing we do when confronted with pain – we attempt to avoid it. However, the minute we refocus or re-frame our thinking by looking at the first step needed to successfully tackle a project — well, then the thought moves out of the area where pain registers and into an area I call the “getting things done” area. More focus – without the pain association! This has been such a tremendous help to me.
Now, instead of looking at years of files that need to be sorted and thinking, “I’ll get to that first thing tomorrow,” I focus on what my beginning step should be to get the job started. In this case, my beginning step included:
• using a filing crate and creating categories for the files I want to keep
• purchasing a shredder
• making a commitment to go through at least 5 files a day.
This has really jump-started my file de-cluttering process. I usually end up purging and sorting more than 5 files, but if not, I still pat myself on the back for the progress I am making.
Another helpful tip is to use a timer. Our brains tend to function better if we alternate 20-25 minutes of focused activity with a 5 minute break. The key is set your timer for both the activity time and the break time, so your breaks don’t end up getting you side tracked. (Can you tell I am speaking from experience?!) If possible, try to walk during some of your breaks, even if it is just walking in place for those few minutes. The process of moving first your right foot, and then your left (or left and then right!), activates the connection between your right and left brain sections. This helps you think more creatively and effectively.
Re-focusing my thinking on the process instead of the end result has helped me so much. I hope it helps someone else, too!
Jackie
P.S. The “Learning How to Learn” course is being offered again by Coursera. It is free and worth checking out. The course began on October 3, but you can jump in at any time during the four week course. Here is the link: https://www.coursera.org/course/learning

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

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.

Last Tuesday’s post inspired the idea behind this weeks mini missions which isn’t really a set of mini missions at all. Let me explain… This week we are going to tackle one declutter mission by breaking it down into seven small steps. Now the catch is ~ I want you to choose a mission that you have been avoiding because you think it is a bothersome task you don’t wish to deal with. Chances are it isn’t as big as your mind has convinced you it is. Be brave my precious declutterers and remember even if you don’t get the task completed you will have a least made it smaller and more manageable.

Monday – Choose the area you wish to work on (Or don’t wish to work on as the case may be). It may be a room, a cupboard a category like craft supplies or even just one single item that requires some effort to deal with like Cindy’s tent. Decide on your plan of attack ~ Take some time to consider the steps involved in tackling this task. Make a list in sequential order if that helps.

Tuesday – Start with step one. Each steps will be different for everyone because no doubt we will all be working on something different. Try to keep each step to a minimum so as not to get overwhelmed. It may be setting up the item/s, like Cindy and the tent, so you can determine the best method of disposal. It maybe dragging the item out of the basement or, like my trophy declutter, making a few phone calls to check on whether you can recycle this item in some way. Or it may be, in the case of clearing out a closet, pulling out the obvious items that you don’t want in order to make room to better tackle the rest of the task.

Wednesday – Naturally we go on to step two today, this might be ~Cleaning up the item/s, picking out a few more things from the closet and dividing them into keep, donate and sell piles, taking photos of the item/s for keepsake purposes or to list it/them on Freecycle or eBay….

Thursday – Now for step three on your list ~ remember this is a task unique to you so the steps are what is logical for your situation.

Friday – Hopefully by now you can see the light at the end of the tunnel or for some you may already be finished the task and wondering what all the fuss about.

Saturday – Today’s step may be cleaning up or rearranging the area that you have decluttered.

Sunday – The final task will be expelling the item all together which may be a little difficult to do on a Sunday so maybe it will have to wait for an appropriate day. The main thing is the task is complete and it is only a matter of disposal.

My trophy task, although stagnating, was only one step in an even bigger task of clearing out the large display cabinet that we want to get rid of. Getting the trophies sorted has catapulted us into clearing out the rest of the cabinet and now we are finally ready to get rid of that as well. So don’t be discouraged by the big picture just complete one small mission at a time and before you know it you will have achieved great things.

Good luck and happy decluttering

Today’s Declutter Item

No matter how big or small, clutter is clutter and every little bit you get rid of is one small step to the intoxicating freedom of a decluttered home.

Some little bits of clutter from my jewelry box

My Gratitude List

• Something that made me laugh ~ Anthony Bourdain’s interview at the Sydney Writers Festival on Saturday.
• Something Awesome ~ When things turn out to be easier than you expected.
• Something to be grateful for ~ Some unexpected good advice.
• Something that made me happy ~ Achieving more than I expected in the way of outside work yesterday.
• Something I found fascinating ~ How good advice sometimes comes along just when you need it even though you weren’t even looking for it.

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

I know that I have written about procrastination causing delays in the decluttering process but that is not the only role that procrastination plays when it comes to clutter. In many cases procrastination actually causes the clutter in the first place.

What starts out as a good intention can soon turn into a failure to carry out a particular task that leaves in its wake a pile of clutter. For example…

• The hem on your daughter’s dress has fallen and you put it aside to restitch but 2 months later it is still lying in an ever growing pile of other good intentions next to your sewing machine. Now the dress is not only still in a state of disrepair but it no longer fits your growing child.  Result – one dress that is now clutter.
• You bought that new novel that everyone was talking about but lets face it you are a doing person – not one for sitting around reading. Six months later the book in still on the shelf unread. Result – Bookcase clutter.
• You decided try a new hobby/sport and it seemed like a good idea at the time. You bought all the gear required to give it a go but alas you still haven’t taken that class you meant to take to get you started or made one step towards joining a team . Result – hobby supply/sporting equipment clutter.
• The monthly bills came in but why should you let those companies make interest on your money – better to wait until the due date to pay them right? Not if they just get lost in a pile of clutter on your desk you kept putting off tidying  up. Now the due date has passed and you are have to pay a late fee. Result – money down the drain and a bad credit history.
• You bought a new laptop but kept the old one with intentions of selling it on eBay to recoup some on the money you spent. Where is that old laptop now? Still cluttering up the desk while you procrastinate about a starting price and finding the box for it in the garage. Result – Desk top clutter, less dollars in your pocket and another empty box littering up the garage.
• Putting things off until you have more time, are more relaxed, feel up to it, are fitter, happier, healthier, the kids are grown…are some of the endless procrastination excuses that lead to clutter.

I think you can see where I am going with this. The solution is to make time immediately to deal with those small tasks around the home instead of putting them off until it is too late. You may be surprised at how little time it actually takes. And limit your financial commitment (eg. buying equipment and supplies) prior to learning the skills involved in starting a new hobby/sport etc. You may find that you don’t have the skills or patience for it after all or are just not as enamoured with the idea once you’ve tried it. Otherwise before you know it you are surrounded by unfinished tasks, unread books, magazines, sales catalogues, expensive tools, hobby supplies, sporting equipment…

Take some time out to identify some of this type of clutter in your home and deal with it immediately. I am sure you will be relieved to eliminate the guilt that comes hand in hand with it.

Item 355 of 365 less things

What used to be a pile of unused craft supplies is now a set of monogrammed birthday cards for the male members of my family. It will take twelve months for them to disappear altogether but I have saved several dollars by not having to buy cards, nibbled away at my abundance of craft supply clutter and had some crafting fun all in one effort.

5 Things I am grateful for today

1. Craft – I can’t remember a time in my life when I wasn’t making something.
2. Getting lost in what you are doing – Especially if it is something you didn’t want to do and the next thing you know it it is done.
3. Free access to things better than shopping – parks, the library, beeches, walking trails…
   
4. Dinner is over the kitchen is tidy and I can sit back and relax for the evening.
5. Imagination
   

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

Ahhh, procrastination how that can clutter up your mind and paralyze you into ineffectiveness. I can spend days on procrastinating about something that will probably physically only take ten minutes to deal with. How crazy is that.

At this moment there are four little white dishes on my craft table with unfinished projects, repair jobs and samples that await my attention or for the artistic inspiration to create something with. I look at them quite regularly and they annoy me no end yet I leave them sitting there taunting me day in day out while I find “better” things to do with my time.

At lease one of these projects is something that will be leaving my house once it is completed therefore designated to the title of  clutter while sitting there. I think today is the day to do something about it.

I challenge you to find some clutter in your house today that you have been procrastinating over and do something about it.

This is the necklace I created from one of the dishes on my craft table. I am sure my friend will love it and I am glad the procrastination is over and there is a little less stuff cluttering up my craft room. I also repaired one pair of earings, finished making a second pair, completed a necklace I had started months ago and packaged up some beads of my mum’s that I will start on today (hopefully).

Colleen’s Helpful Hint of the Day

I find the easy way to clean metal window frame channels is to use a stiff bristle artist brush and a vacuum cleaner. Scrub the channel with the brush and suck up the dust with the vacuum cleaner as you go.