| 10
Easy Tips on How to De-clutter Your House
By Claire McFee, Author of Organise Your Life!
Chances are if your house is
full of clutter, then so is your head and that is where real damage
can occur if something isn’t done to address it. Eastern philosophies
have long espoused that clutter creates energy blockages in your
life, and the Western world seems to be embracing this view also.
Either way there is no doubt that all the unwanted or unnecessary
items we all have are affecting our lives in a negative way.
Most of us have let the clutter
build up for so long that we just don’t know where to start. Instead
of taking the necessary steps to tackle the problem, many of us
ignore the problem, in the hope that it will go away. I wish that
this worked, but unfortunately this is definitely not the case.
We have to make a conscious decision to ‘do something’ about it,
and ‘let go’ of items we possess that we know we
do not really need.
Don’t fret if just ‘thinking’
about the clutter that has invaded your home makes you feel stressed
- there is hope! It didn’t get there overnight and won’t disappear
overnight, so you need to be realistic about the time it will take
to address it. Taking many, many small steps will
give you the results you need to reclaim the lost energy, space
and time. Before you know it those steps will add up to a massive
step in addressing the chaos in your home.
Once you acknowledge that all
the clutter is having an enormously draining effect on you, you
will realise that there is no option but to do something
about it. The process of acknowledging and taking action
to eliminate the clutter is liberating and freeing. You will be
amazed at how de-cluttering one area of your life can positively
effects other areas of your life- including your professional life,
your relationships with others; the effectiveness of your parenting
and so on.
Below are 10 tips on
how to make a start. So lets get to it!
1. Set a day and time
to make a start, write it down and stick to it. Jot this
down on a ‘to do’ list start, together with what you need to make
it happen. i.e.- garbage bags, labels, boxes etc. Make sure you
have this all ready before the day. Keep this list in a spot you
cannot miss such as the fridge. Many of us are such procrastinators
that without this ‘reminder’ we find an excuse to put it off again
and again.
2. Use positive self-talk
and an “I can do it attitude’ to mentally prepare for your
first job. This helps keep your energy levels up as well as the
negative, lazy voice inside our heads. Don’t underestimate the power
of saying positive things to yourself, such as ‘It’s never as bad
as you think’, ‘One step at a time’ and so on.
3. It is a good idea
to start with just a drawer here and there before tackling
whole cupboards and rooms. Otherwise you risk being swamped with
too much mess, which may ‘scare you off’ doing something about the
rest. It’s also really important to complete one area before starting
on another or you will feel overwhelmed. Just remember to ‘start
small’ and not to get carried away with the job at hand, and forget
to clean up after yourself before going onto the next job.
4. Tackle ‘your own
areas’ first rather than your partners or your children’s.
Otherwise it’s too easy to find an excuse not to do it because it’s
‘their’ mess, not yours. Whereas if it’s ‘your area’ then you know
it is your responsibility and it will be harder for you to talk
yourself out of tackling the problem.
5. Have garbage bags
at the ready and psyche yourself up to fill them up. You
will need a ‘ruthless attitude’ and if you find yourself saying
‘But I might use it one day…’, tell yourself that if you were going
to use it, you would have by now. It may help you to focus your
attention on each item and say to yourself ‘Does this make me feel
good/positive’ or ‘does this make me feel bad/negative’. Anything
that makes you ‘umm and ahh’ should be thrown. You’ll have this
‘quick assessment’ down pat in no time.
6. Have a separate
bag for Charity items. Whatever you do, once full, make
sure you put the bag/s straight into your car and actually take
it to the nearest donation bin, charity store ASAP. Otherwise before
you know it, it will end up back in the cupboard it came from, only
to collect more dust and cause you more grief.
7. Give yourself a
‘set amount’ of time to complete your job/s. If you need
to, break down your tasks on a ‘to do list’ (making sure you write
it all down on the one piece of paper!!) Keep it close to you, together
with a red pen to tick off the jobs you complete. (I love the feeling
off marking off items one by one)
8. Reward yourself
with a regular coffee/tea breaks (every hour or so). Then
make sure you get straight back into it. You will find you are soon
‘on a roll.’
9. You may need to
find new, more appropriate homes for some of the items you keep.
So compile ‘designated areas’, (i.e. boxes and containers of various
sizes) for ‘like objects’. For example a bathroom box for soaps,
hair products; makeup etc; a book and magazine box, kitchen
box, miscellaneous box and so on.
10. Make sure you put
any new items, that you put it in the appropriate place straight
away. Don’t listen if you hear yourself saying – ‘I don’t
have time’, or ‘I’ll do it later’ – just do it ! You can make
time and get into the habit if you want to. It’s all about getting
into a new routine. Before you know it, you do it without even thinking!
REMEMBER IT’S NEVER
AS HARD AS YOU THINK SO STOP THINKING ABOUT IT & JUST DO IT!
Claire McFee
is author of Organise Your life!
A User-friendly Home-based Filing System that de-clutters your house
and head. www.organiseyourlife.com.au
1300 55 66 56 Downloadable version also available. Sign up
for their free monthly newsletter to help you get organised!
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