Three Ways to Deal with Your Clutter

l. Let Nature-Take-Its-Course or Abdicating-Decision-Making method.

Dan and I cleared our basement out one summer, and everything we thought we would use in the future was put in our friends’, Gary and Lynn’s, barn 25 miles away. The barn had no heat and there is still some horse hay left from a decade ago strewn on the dirt ground. We could even see light coming through the slats of the barn boards. That was 7 years ago. Today, we can’t remember more than two items that we stored in that barn. We think it is the red metal children’s bed and that paper poster of the Beatles. All of it is mildewed and rotting from the elements.

When Dan said, let’s get our stuff out of Gary’s barn and have a barn sale, I looked at him and said. "We need help." Let’s hire a professional organizer coach which will help get our thinking straight as well as our clutter out and gone.

2. Wait Until-You-Die and Let’s-Get-the-Relatives-to-Sort-It-Out method.

Frankie, my dearest elderly woman friend, is 85 years old and last year before she had her latest stroke that caused aphasia, she decided to rummage through 50 years of her and deceased husband’s records, clothing, possessions in the basement, the attic, the floors of the house, a beautiful window laden workshop, filled with Johnnie’s photographic pictures, slides, books and sundries, and of course the horse barn, that has in it’s attic, items that Frankie and Johnnie abdicated making a decision about (see #1 above) and placed there 20 years ago.

Frankie was adamant that she did not want her two children, who had busy households themselves, to have to sort through this. So she hired me as her coach, and for one full year, we touched and discussed every piece of paper, letter, memoir, legal and financial statement, pair of shoes, piece of clothing, book, drawer, cupboard and together Frankie decided what was to be chucked and what saved and how and where to save it.

The first two days, every 4th piece of paper Frankie looked at slowly slipped under the cushion and her bottom in her easy chair – she said “I’ll get to this one later”. As her coach, I asked her to take it out from under the cushion and to make a decision right then and there about that piece of paper. We agreed that from now on we agreed papers will not be shoved between the cushions of her sitting chair. She halted, sighed and looked at me with a bit of frustration, (she really did not want to deal with that piece of paper). I reminded her that she has the freedom to keep whatever she wants. She just needs to make that decision.

By day 3 Frankie was chucking and recycling 98% of her important papers and cherished items filled with memories. She got the freedom fever and has never stopped since. It took us one year to accomplish her goal to declutter and not leave the task to her children. She was one satisfied customer!

3. Take-Responsibility-For-the-Stuff and Clear-It-Yourself method.

Well, I guess we addressed this one in No. 2 above. Oh! By the way, all the dusty boxes and molded clothing were rummaged through one by one, on Frankie’s beautiful back porch overlooking the green Mountains of Killington and Okemo in Vermont. It was summer. It was a great, peaceful, empowering, and special time. We focused, kept our intentions clear, held each other accountable in our tasks and celebrated each day with a smile, good tiredness, and increased energy to enjoy life!

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Please call me at 802 229-5256 or e-mail me at jo@greenmountainlifecoach.com for a free conditional consultation and experience coaching first hand and find out whether we are a match for each other.