De-Cluttering Your Life

Now what?

You're here, so you must have something you feel you need to de-clutter.

What is it?

Too many material possessions? Too much going on in your head? Too many chores or tasks on your 'to do list'?

Or D. All of the above?

If you're like most people, it's probably D.

Why do we do that? Why do we let ourselves get so bogged down with clutter? Why aren't we able to let go of some things?

Let's see if we can begin to sort through some of it.

How do you begin to de-clutter your living space when it seems there is no way you can ever get through it?

You start. It's that simple. Pick a place and start. Do it in 15 minute segments if you have to.

For me, I start with some spot that isn't quite so bad so that I get that sense of accomplishment rather quickly.

Maybe you could pick a closet that isn't so bad or the top of a dresser. Look around for inspiration.

You need three items:

• A trash can,
• a damp/wet cloth
• some decent sized boxes

Everything should either be thrown in the trash, wiped off and placed where it goes, or put into a box. You can sit down and sort through the boxes later. As you do this, you will begin to see improvement and feel better about things.

Systematically go over an area doing this.

Once you've cleared an area you're left only with boxes of things that need your attention. You can go through these a few at a time sitting in front of the TV or sitting outside relaxing in a lawn chair.

There are two ways you go about this depending on how many boxes you have to work with

• You can create a box for each room in your house and a 'get rid of' box

or

• you can dump several boxes and re-use them for the each of the rooms in your house.

The key is to not bite off more than you can chew. Take this a couple of boxes at a time. Begin sorting and putting things in the appropriate box for the room they go in or if you plan to get rid of the item. For instance, this pile goes to the kitchen, this pile goes to the utility room, this pile goes to my daughter's room. When a box is full take it to the room it belong in. If you have time, or feel industrious, go ahead and put away the things that go in that room. Make a stack of the boxes of things you plan to get rid of.

Keep repeating this as long as it feels productive to do it.

Once you see how much stuff you have to get rid of you can decide if you want to have a yard sale, give it to charity, or give it to someone you know. I know of a family that once a year they advertise a yard sale and once people arrive at the sale they learn that all of the items are free. This family chooses to do it this way because they don't have to haul the items off and they enjoy surprising people by giving the items away when they could easily sell them. I've done this at the flea market before towards the end of the day when I want to get rid of the remaining items rather than pack them up and haul them to Goodwill myself. I simply announce that all the remaining items are free.

I once heard it said, that you should put things you're unsure about keeping into a box and date it. If you have to get into the box to retreive an item, record the date on the lid. Revisit the box a year later. If you haven't gotten into the box once in a year, you can toss it. You won't miss it. I agree with this to a point. There are momentos that I don't look at every year that I wouldn't want to part with. So, carefully think about this one before deciding what to do.

As part of my divorce agreement with my first husband, I have chosen to relinquish the family home to him once my daughter graduates from high school. That is in two years. I have begun to anticipate this inevitable move. I have begun to downsize my belongings and tend to buy less unnecessary stuff. It is liberating to let some things go.

I read a story by Jack Canfield, I believe, where he talked about a woman who hated her curtains, but yet they still hung on the curtain rods above her windows. When she was questioned about it, she said they were there simply because she didn't have anything better to put in their place. That really made me think. Why do we do that? Why do we settle? Why do we 'make do'? Why do we keep things we don't really like? Worse yet, why do we keep spending tons of money on things we don't really care for that much?

As long as those curtains hang there, seemingly performing their curtainly duty, do you think she will ever look for new ones? It's doubtful. As soon as she gets rid of them, suddenly she'll notice sales on curtains, and the variety of curtains available everywhere she goes and suddenly she'll have new curtains.

If you don't like what you have, get rid of it. Make room for the new improved versions. Do this with your wardrobe, your shoes, your gadgets, home furnishings, etc. Try this on something in your life, you'll be amazed at the results in how you feel and how the situation plays out.

Do your thoughts feel jumbled? Do you feel scatterbrained and confused? Walking around in a fog or a daze?

Time to de-clutter your mind!

I've never been one to practice yoga or meditation, but I hear they can be very helpful for clearing your mind of clutter. If you know anything about them, or think you might be interested, I'd look into that.

If that's not your cup of herbal tea, then perhaps you might be interested in emotional freedom technique (EFT). This a technique that it is easy to learn and I have found it helpful when I don't have a lot of time. EFT is a tapping technique that is easy to learn and assists me in relaxing and shifting some stubborn thought patterns that make me tense or stressed out. Watch the videos to the right to learn how the technique is done. These are only a couple of the many such videos you can find on YouTube.

I have found that it isn't necessary to get fancy with the wording. It's just important that you start saying whatever comes to mind. At first, it will probably be things like:

• I have no idea why I'm tapping.
• I have no idea why KCC thinks this does anything.
• I feel stupid tapping.
• It feels weird tapping.
• I hope no one sees me doing this.

But keep talking it out. You'll notice something. What you're thinking and saying will start to change. Now, you'll be saying things like:

• This isn't so bad.
• This feels nice.
• KCC may be on to something.
• I am starting to feel relaxed.
• Tapping these points does seem to make me relax.
• I'm rather enjoying this.
• Why haven't I done this before?
• This seems rather simple.

No matter how busy or hectic your day is, set aside a little time for yourself. Even if it's only five minutes. Go somewhere and be alone and imagine your ideal world. Picture it vividly in your mind. You'll find it easier and easier to do this as you make time to do it. This focus will allow you to be clearer about what you want in life. As you become clearer and more focused the means to get this lifestle will become clearer. You are clearing a path to make your own dreams come true. This time isn't to figure out HOW to do it. That will naturally happen on it's own. This time is to decide what is is that you want.

What? You say you're too busy to write a "to do" list? That's part of the problem! If you have a million things to do, I don't know how you'll efficiently get through them without a "to do" list.

I am a list-maker. I love the sense of accomplishment when I can mark something off my list. The ultimate is being able to throw away the entire list at the end of the day because I've accomplised everything on that list. Obviously, there aren't enough hours in the day to always be able to clear your list. However, if you'll make a list you can bet you'll clear more items off it than you would without the list.

There are two approaches to lists. Some people like to see one continuous list that they always add to and mark off on. They get a sense of satisfaction from seeing lots of things marked off amongst things yet to do. I prefer to get rid of the ones I've done each day so that the new list has nothing but things yet to do. I enjoy marking them off only for that day. I don't want to see those same things on my list tomorrow. You decide what works best for you.

As you look at your list, determine if there are any items that can be delegated. Often, busy people have trouble delegating. Try giving whatever tasks you can to someone you trust to do them. This takes practice. Remember that you're not responsible for everything in the world. This has been a tough one for me in the past. Give it to someone else and forget it. If it's that important to you, let them do it and check back on things at a later date. For now, just concentrate on what you have to do.

As you practice using your list you begin to get better at making the list. One thing you'll realize is that breaking a task down into smaller tasks helps you plow through things easier. For instance, if you need to clean out the garage. Don't put "clean out the garage" on your "to do" list. Put specific parts of cleaning out the garage on your list, such as "sort through the boxes in the garage", "organize the garden tools in the garage", and "wrap up the water hoses and extension cords in the garage". Big tasks will become less daunting this way and you'll become more eager to do them and get them marked off your list.

I hope I've left you with something helpful that you can use to begin to de-clutter your life. Be proud of any improvement you can make. You'll begin to feel better about yourself and everything then becomes easier to tackle.