Using a Timer While Clutter Clearing

Setting a timer is a good way to get a little bit of clutter clearing done when your motivation and energy are low. Timers are also a good way to moderate your effort when you're really "on a roll" and just want to keep going and going... which is a good way to reach "burnout." Use a timer to remind yourself to take a 10-minute break every hour. Or you may find you work most effectively with a 5-minute break every 30-minutes. Experiment with pacing to find what works best for you.

The goal is to not to work as feverishly as possible for as long as possible, but to pace yourself for maximum effectiveness over a long period of time... not just today, but over the weeks or even months of steady effort that may be required to reclaim your home from clutter.

"My income tripled last year, mostly in the second half of the year. I think that part of it is the economy, but a lot of it is the [effect of clutter clearing]. It does take time to undo years of accumulation. But each little step is huge."
~ Clutter-Free Forever! support group member

Getting Rid of 'Unhappy' Clutter

Life is enough of a struggle without adding to it by keeping things in our home that have unhappy memories associated with them. Ask yourself:
- "Do I enjoy it?"
- "Does it make me happy, or does it make me feel guilty?"
- "Does it bring back bad memories?"

Your home should only have things in it that make you smile and feel happy.

"The best thing about this course is that it makes me feel like I have permission to get rid of things that are still usable."
~ Clutter-Free Forever! support group member

Mini-decluttering sessions

Get in the habit of taking 5- or 10-minute "tidy-up" breaks several times throughout the day. This works as well in the office as it does as home, especially if you tend to sit at your desk for hour after hour. It's good for your eyes, your brain, and your body to get up and move around for a few minutes every hour or so. Use this time to toss a few things out, go through another file, or put away the stuff that's accumulated overnight in one of your clutter-magnet zones.

"Once you get going and start to see the difference, it becomes much easier to keep going. Every aspect of your life starts to change. And those changes become your inspiration to do more. Pretty soon the lessons are no longer just lessons but a way of life."
~ Clutter-Free Forever! support group member

Clutter-Clearing and Your Authentic Self

Have you ever felt so discouraged, your life so out-of-control, the universe so unresponsive to your needs and desires, that you couldn't help it: you just had to clean up? By paying attention to these impulses we recognize the deep connection between our personal environment and our innermost selves. It's as though by shifting the arrangement of our belongings we hope to rearrange the molecules of our emotional lives as well.

Feng shui teaches us that our spaces both reflect and affect our physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. When our homes become cluttered and disordered, other aspects of our lives tend to feel gridlocked as well. It's a chicken-and-egg kind of situation. Not only does a cluttered home reflect a distracted and cluttered mind, it also makes it hard to focus and think clearly. It gets easier and easier to stop making the item-by-item decisions that could put you back in control of the mess and help you to feel more in control of your life.

You can read more of this important article by Stephanie Roberts here: Clutter-Clearing and Your Authentic Self.