Clutter Busting

It’s spring and that means most of us begin formulating our best clutter busting plans…

And how’s that de-cluttering going?

Maybe you haven’t started yet because it’s still less than spring-like where you live. (I feel ya, still waiting for spring to show itself here!)

Or maybe you’ve more than begun and have already gone beyond mere clutter busting and moved to an all out purge! (if that’s the case…go YOU!)

For the rest of us who are stuck somewhere between “I admit I have a clutter problem” and “I think I need a dumpster and a match” I have some simple steps to help move us forward.

First, determine the area of clutter that needs your attention. Is it physical or mental? Yes, you can have mental clutter!

Let’s start with the physical clutter in our spaces. I’m not going to spend a lot of time on this one because I believe that most of our physical clutter comes from what’s going on between our ears.

So here’s your tip for cleaning up the physical clutter in one sentence. Are your ready?

Pick ONE space, a deadline day and do ONE thing everyday until the space is clutter free.

So simple, yet most of us don’t have the commitment to finish the job. Instead we’ll spend hours online searching for inspiration (Pinterest anyone?), money we don’t have on the “perfect” displays for our clutter and that turns into a whole “down the road renovation project” that never happens. 

Physical space: One space by ___ day and one thing done every day until you can smile at that space again!

Now let’s move on to the much more difficult clutter to clear…what’s in your mind! Don’t you just wish you could just shut the door and ignore the clutter going on in there?!

If any of that sounds all too familiar to you, your mental space may just be ready for a spring cleaning!

Here are a just a few tips to get you started on clearing out some of that mental clutter:

• Create some white space in your day.
  What’s white space, you say? It’s where nothing is planned or scheduled. Maybe you go for a walk, do yoga, read, pray or just enjoy the silence for a few minutes each day.
• A journal can be very helpful in clearing away mind clutter.
  Just the physical act of writing those woulda, coulda, shouldas is often enough to ease your mind a bit. AND can get you closer to a solution if you review your entries on a regular basis. You’d be surprised the answers and patterns that just pop off the page at you after a few weeks!
• A daily planner can help you with the first two…
  listen, you don’t have to record every event of every day, but a simple recap of the day’s highs and lows and your expectations for the next day can move you toward the next step. (I know of an awesome one that combines this step, the one before it and the one after it, BUT…there’s only one way to get it – here!)
• Envision what you really want.
  Where is it you are trying to go? What do you need to do to get there? Who do you need to be?
• Talk it out.
  Find someone to help you sort through some of your mental clutter. This is someone who will be honest with you, hold you accountable and keep you on the course you want to go.

No matter if your clutter is physical or mental, odds are that by hanging on to it, looking at it or living in it you are really hindering your progress in getting to where you really want to be.

Just remember this, your physical clutter used to be money and your mental clutter is choking your motivation.

You need both motivation and organization in order to avoid frustration!

Prioritizing my focus to stay both motivated and organized right there with ya,

Because I struggle with both too, I’ve created some things to help and maybe they can help you too. Check them out HERE!