Clutter is a thief we have invited into our home. It robs us of peace, joy, money and time. It has a detrimental effect on our mental wellbeing, our creativity, productivity and causes brain fog and fatigue. Research shows that clutter increases stress, anxiety, and depression. It is impossible to relax when there is clutter because your brain must process everything continually.
Conquering clutter is possible! Decluttering doesn’t have to be a giant project in which everything in the house is pulled out, every item touched and decided on in a weekend. Decluttering is not just getting rid of unwanted items. It is about developing new habits and systems and sticking to them to prevent clutter from taking over again.
Have a plan. What area causes you the most stress? Start there. How much time can you spend decluttering in that area? Be realistic. If you can do ten minutes a day, great! Do not make goals you cannot achieve. You will end up discouraged. Little bits of time each day or each week does make a difference!
You will need three boxes, one for trash, one for donate, one for relocate. If you have ten minutes, choose one drawer or one small section of the room. Set your timer for the time you have predetermined. Trash, toss it. Be brutal. Donate things that are useable and in good shape. Don’t make Goodwill take your junk to the dump. Anything that you are keeping that doesn’t belong in that area goes in the relocate box. Don’t take those things somewhere else until you are done. That is how you end up bouncing all over the house and never getting anything done. Never pull out more than you can put back in your allotted time!
Look at your now decluttered area. What do you need to do to keep it that way? If we do not change our habits, then it will go back to the way it was in no time.
You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself. That is something you have charge of.
Jim Rohn
Habits of an uncluttered home:
Everything needs a home, and everything needs to live in its home.
Don’t put it down, put it away.
Do it now. NOT later.
Make decluttering a daily habit.
Never leave a room empty handed.
Only touch it once.
Take the trash out, relocate things to their proper homes and take the donate box to the car. Do NOT leave it in your car for three months. It would be better to throw it all away than have mobile clutter!
Your clutter is someone else’s blessing. Get the clutter out, calm the chaos with new habits, welcome in the peace and bless others in need at the same time.
XOXO
The Self Cleaning House 