Start to End the Clutter

Prepare, Prepare, Prepare. 90% of the work is in preparing emotionally and physically for eliminating clutter. Here is a structure to guide you.

1. Center yourself with a mantra, or sitting, standing, lying down, jumping up and down, or any kind of meditation.

2. State your intentions on paper and out loud to someone. “I intend to easily and happily get through that pile of papers on the desk right now and use the sorting boxes I have to organize what I do”, “I will not pickup an item or a piece of paper more than once. I know my choices and options for where all will go. I embrace letting go and feel the abundance and space that opens up in my heart and in my life.”

3. Write a one-year from today vision about your space. Dream about how you want your space to be, how it looks, how it smells, how it feels, how it sounds, how it receives others. Write this dream vision out in your journal spelling out every detail of feeling and describe in Technicolor vision how it looks and feels. What are you doing in this space? Who are you sharing it with?

4. Overcome your inertia enough to get moving toward your goal. Then watch your energy release and rise to supply you with enough to keep going.

I like to feel good. Don’t you? I find that when I tackle a smaller little space, like the pencil drawer in my hand-me-down Uncle John‘s desk on the first floor, then all drawers become a target of my imagination to keep my juices flowing each time I throw a pencil out or separate a pen out from the rest to bring to my bedside to write with. I have so many pens, pencils, colored pencils, markers, and tiny sharpeners of all sizes. I am amazed at how many I bring home with me and wind up in that drawer. I removed 90 percent of the pens and brought them back to my office where they originated from and belonged. The mere fact of moving those pens out of the drawer, out of the door, into my car, and into my office, I became ready to take on my tasks at work with vigor and clarity because I was on a roll with good feeling and good energy.

5. Do it fast or slow, all in one day, over a 3-month period, or an hour at a time. There is no right or wrong. Take the words "should" "must" and "can't" and replace them with "could" "can" and "will”. Go gently on yourself, and remember to Halt and to BSO

Here is a trusty formula to keep in mind – Remember to HALT and to BSO.
Try not to get yourself too hungry, too angry, too lonely, too tired notice when you are busy, stressed and overwhelmed. Take care of these 7 and you will be ready to roll. And yet, we have the capacity to procrastinate and walk away from what is screaming at us to tend to. So words of caution.

If you are too busy – remember you DO somehow find the time to acquire the clutter so you CAN make the time to get rid of it.

If you are stressed – know that clutter clearing is one of the best therapies there is for worry, stress, anxiety, and fear.

If you feel overwhelmed - lighten your load; go to your venerable inner place, where you are your authentic self in a powerful and happy place. Draw from your innate wisdom and strength, and take one baby step toward a small task.

If you are lonely, call a friend, and/or hire a coach to work with you. Think about 20 things you are thankful for in people you know and love. Feel the abundance and contact two or more of them to share you appreciation.
If you are tired, take a short rest, nap for l5 to 20 minutes, meditate for 2 minutes, deep breathe and fill you lungs with air and release all toxins on the out breath. Feel the circulation in your body, mind and heart.

If you are too angry, ask yourself “what pattern or habit am I noticing that is limiting my ability to step up to the plate?” and “why do I allow myself to react in a way that keeps me stuck”? “What is one thought, one inspired action I can take to dissolve the anger within the next 2 hours?” Watch your innate wisdom and health burst forth ideas, forgiveness, responsibility, and ownership. Watch you go from feeling victimized to taking back your power. You will feel so powerful, you will want to use this power to tackle what really matters, one of which is to get back to the cupboard and do some more sorting and letting go.

If you are hungry, ask the nearest person around to share any morsel of food or drink that will immediately satisfy you. At home, have a basket of healthy delights, to nibble on, to get you through the tasks. Eat to satisfy hunger.

3. Timing is critical.
Determine and notice when it is the best time for you to clear the clutter. Any time is good as long as you are able to make decisions and feel strong in heart and mind.

Capitalize on the energy from others around you. Make it a game together. Use the natural instinct that comes along with the beginning of new day or new season, especially Spring.
Transition times are good times too.

The holiday time and “friends and family coming to visit” times are real motivators for me. The excitement I have generates “happy juices” in my brain that builds my energy, which enhances my focus, which leads to intention and clarity, and a desire to let go to let in the new season, event, and happy occurrence.

4. Prepare to clear clutter when you want.
Once per year, weekly, daily – it is your choice. What ever your preference, you can make what feels new and uncomfortable a habit that happens naturally over time.

For me, I choose a multiple of options.

Daily: Mail. I walk through the door, pick up the mail. While it is in my hands, I separate the junk mail. Open personal notes and cards and display them, put bills in the bill basket and put all empty envelopes and junk mail in the recycling bin for paper and newspapers. It feels so good and takes about 30 seconds to one minute and lightens me up for the rest of the evening and motivates me to start dinner.

Seasonally: Clothing. I pull out my big black plastic bags that I store in the knee wall in my bedroom in spring and fall. Taking spring/summer out and putting fall/winter away and vice versa. I make piles on the floor for Salvation Army. I decided it is too taxing for me to put one item aside for Cathy and another aside for Glenda. I just put them all in one bag and haul it off to the car, then to the Salvation Army store, where I wish it well as it gets picked up and used by someone who will be so happy to receive it and use it.

Yearly: I also make a pile once a year of clothing that are special enough to sell at my local thrift store for credit to buy more new and interesting clothes.

In the moment: Once in a while I will open my bureau drawers and scan the clothing. I ask myself” have I used this in the past month or two?” If the answer is no, I take it out, get motivated and use this energy to open the remaining drawers and do the same. I put it all in a tall plastic bag; haul it out to the car and back to the Salvation Army store.

If I have to think more than one minute about something, and can’t make a decision, out it goes in the Salvation Army bag.

5. Coach yourself through the three S’s
W hen you feel stuck, stranded or stagnated. Notice how old habits of fear and procrastination seeps in. Support yourself in discovering what your choices are to reach what you want to happen by the time you choose it to happen.

6. Listen to your language and let go of disempowering words.
“Should” and “must” are two of them. These words conjure up guilt, obligation and feelings of "not good enough" minimizing your ability to enjoy the process. Feel the difference: “I should start clearing clutter today” or “I could start or can start clearing my clutter today”. Use language that calls for choice and flexibility and allows you to celebrate your past accomplishments and a job well done. Should, must, can’t words are depressing, makes you feel at fault, and brings you little joy during and after. completing the task

Also let go of “can’t and substitute it with “won’t.” Feel the difference: “I can’t decide whether to keep this or let it go” or “I won’t decide whether to keep this or let it go.” In the “can’t” example, you are helpless and hopeless. In the “won’t” example you are expressing your decision with choice and clarity. If you then ask yourself why you won’t let it go, you will decipher whether there is some underlying block you may not be aware you had. “I won’t decide whether to keep this or let it go because it brings up strong feelings about my relationship with my children”. This takes you closer to making the decision to let it go and more importantly gets you seeing your truth.

7. Find and identify clutter zones and spaces.
Take a tour of your home with notepad and pen in hand. Jot down clutter zones, drawers, and spaces in each room. Put a sticky note or colored star on it. If you prefer, you can close your eyes and visualize yourself walking from room to room in your home. You will see exactly where the clutter spots are. Write them down.

Divide the clutter spaces into zones and categories. Smaller, medium, larger. Smaller zones like a cupboard, a hallway closet shelf, one bookcase, one drawer, your backpack, a briefcase or, toolbox can be sorted through in five to l5 minutes.

Medium size zones like wardrobes, a full set of kitchen cupboards, desks, and filing cabinets, anything that is a unit with multiple parts to it can be completed in 20 minutes to one hour.

Larger zones like the cellar, attic, garden shed, garage, barn, and junk room where you close the door behind you take even a longer time period. Larger zones can be completed in two hours to a full day or week.

Put a star next to the zones that irritate you most and that are painful to tolerate. Which ones evoke a heavy, draining feeling and zaps your energy just looking at it? The kind that your mind easily goes into denial about. When are ready to tackle the ones that really bug you, you will be more motivated to move into other zones with ease, fun and a light spirit.

8. Celebrate and dance to the music.
Personal pats on the back encourage, inspire and build energy for the larger tasks. Keep close to your vision and watch that dream of yours become reality one day at a time.

The Final Preparation

By now you have some idea how much clutter you are intending to clear, so you must create the physical means of getting if off your premises. Use a dumpster for the larger zones or simply get some cardboard boxes and/or trash bags ready to sort and organize. These will be your house angels.

Boxes

l. A trash box – for anything you decide to throw out using your intuition and innate judgment.

2. A repair box – for items that need repairing, altering, renovating, etc. Only put things in here that you are sure you will use. Set a benchmark to complete the repair. If you won’t set the completion repair date, then you may want to pass it on for someone else to have and repair or redirect it into the recycling box.

3. A recycling box – for items to be sold, exchanged, given to someone else. Release them back into the world so that someone else can use them. Find one or two places to bring all of your recycling. For me it is the Salvation Army in Barre, (on my way to work), the “One More time” Thrift shop in Montpelier or the Central Vermont Hospital Ladies Auxiliary Thrift Shop. Choose your charities and stick to one or two of them.

• A recycling box may need additional boxes or kitchen plastic bags.
• One for gifts to give to family and friends
• One for donations to charities, libraries, schools, hospitals
• One for returnables – things to be returned to other places and people.
• One for selling – things you can sell or exchange.

Note: if you absolutely cannot fathom planning and holding a garage sale or lawn sale, hire a coach to help you. It will be easy fun and you will realize more money from the sale than you thought possible with the help of a coach event planner.

4. A Transit box. – for things that need to get somewhere else in your home or to my work.

5. A dilemma box – for things you are still in a bit of a dither about whether to keep or let go of. This is a box where your Coach can really help you think through your needs and desires and to look at the bigger picture.

Adapted from Dealing with Clutter, Feng Shui

Back to Article Directory

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.