A recent Habitat survey, as reported in The Daily Mail, showed that in a lifetime we spend over £18,000 buying unwanted gifts. The survey also showed that over 50% don’t return the unwanted gifts, over 20% sell unwanted gifts on e-bay, 23% give them to charity and 20% re-wrap them and give them to someone else.
The same survey revealed that two-thirds of us haven't cleared clutter for more than six months and one in ten haven't had a clear out in more than five years!
Imagine every room free of clutter. You can easily find things because you know where everything is. Everything has a place and everything is in it's place.
How does that feel?
Clutter interferes with our ability to see things clearly. It distracts us from our real purpose.
It holds us back; is frustrating, and leads to waste of time, energy, and money.
It sometimes leads to feelings of guilt and can make it hard to move on.
Yet once we begin sorting out the physical mess, we tend to find that some of the emotional junk starts to take care of itself.
Getting rid of clutter clears the decks for action. Letting go of 'stuff' is surprisingly liberating.
Are you ready to clear some clutter?
The first step is to identify what you clutter problems actually are.
It’s easier to start when you know what you want to achieve.
Prioritise and write down exactly what you want to accomplish.
Do you want to clear the whole house room by room?
Do you have one problem area?
Is it hard to do the admin because you can't find what you need?
Do you waste precious minutes, sometimes hours, searching through piles of stuff to find a vital document?
Next Identify The Benefits Of Tackling Clutter
Identify what you’re making room for by getting rid of clutter.
What will you get out of getting rid of junk? Be specific.
How will you feel when it's gone?
In what ways will your life be easier?
How will things look?
What is there room for when you get rid of your old stuff?
What are the benefits? Peace of mind? More space? Time savings? A sense of achievement?
Spend time thinking about what clearing clutter will give you. How will it make you feel?
Be aware of why clearing clutter is important to you.
It will help you when you’re deciding what to get rid of and what to keep.
How do I decide what to let go of and what to keep?
If something has negative associations or is keeping you attached to your past, maybe it's time to let it go.
Keep things that make you feel good, help you to function better and generally add to the quality of life.
One Step At a Time Gets It Done
It doesn't have to be a mammoth task. You don't have to do it all at once.
If you only cleared three unwanted things a day, by the end of the year you would have got rid of nearly 1200 items. You can deal with a lot of clutter in a relatively small amount of time and with surprisingly little effort.
Regular consistent action is all it takes to tackle even the biggest job. If you set yourself just ten minutes a day to clear clutter you will achieve an amazing amount.
There are many jobs that can be finished in just ten minutes: a shelf, a drawer, a filing tray, a briefcase, a kitchen cupboard or surface.
Big jobs can be broken down into ten-minute chunks. You’ll be surprised at how much you can achieve spending just ten minutes each day.
If you're looking for quicker results, try allocating half an hour. Still very doable and you'll soon reap the benefits. If you have a lot to clear and want quick results you could spend a whole day and indulge in a clearing binge.
Taking before, during and after pictures, will encourage you and help you to see how much you've accomplished.
Keeping Things Clear
The trick is to keep on top of it. If you leave clutter to grow again you'll be back to where you started. Deal with it before it grows.
Think about how you will tackle things day to day.
What will you do with unwanted gifts? Exchange them? Pass them on? Give them to charity shops?
How will you deal with the post? Set time aside to deal with it and adopt a 'touch it once policy', either - act on it, bin it or file it. No more overflowing in tray and everything filed and easy to find!
Decide exactly what you will you do the next time you have an urge to dump something in the spare room or in a drawer. There's little point spending time getting rid of clutter if you're going to spend the next year accumulating just as much stuff.
Think about how good it feels to be clutter free and take steps to stay that way.
Let me know how you get on, I look forward to hearing from you.
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