As much as we all might like to live a totally clutter free life it may not be entirely possible. If your is Clutter Overwhelming you, taking a look at what clutter categories are in our lives can help us understand what triggers our overwhelm.
clut·ter verb ˈklə-tər
There are many kinds of clutter in our lives. Take a moment to evaluate each category and decide where you can reduce clutter. Know that it might get worse before it gets better...all that dirt that may emerge by way of emotions and literal mess might not be pretty! Hang in there and you will be rewarded if you are can be open to the process. As your thinking about each of these categories, imagine them as you want them to be-intentions are powerful!
- Mail-incoming and outgoing (try reducing it by removing subscriptions to magazines, junk mail and catalogs).
- Kids-school bags, sports equipment, books, toys, clothes etc…get your kids involved and create a place for easy pick up and storage of transient items.
- Office-paperwork, files, receipts, mail etc. Create one designated area and consider using a type of action or tickler filing system to corral it all.
- Digital-photos (delete the impulse pictures that don’t turn out well and you would never print!), email (removed yourself from subscriptions and consider creating multiple email addresses for different purposes), digital computer files (create a file hierarchy similar to your paper file system).
- Household-things that you have sitting around but don’t love (rotate displays or give items away to friends and charity with no strings attached).
- Mental-those endless thoughts that run in circles in your mind, find a way to tame them by taking notes, writing in a journal and releasing them if the are out of your control!
As much as we all might like to live a totally clutter free that’s probably not realistic. Understanding our limitations and having realistic expectations can help us decide where to start. Once you’ve evaluated the clutter areas in your life, prioritize them from worst to best and get ready for action.
“Clutter is a physical manifestation of fear that cripples our ability to grow.” ~H.G. Chissell
- Mail-incoming and outgoing (try reducing it by removing subscriptions to magazines, junk mail and catalogs)
- Kids-school bags, sports equipment, books, toys, clothes etc…get your kids involved and create a place for easy pick up and storage of transient items
- Office-paperwork, files, receipts, mail etc. Create 1 designated area and consider using a type of action or tickler filing system to corral it all
- Digital-photos (delete the impulse pic’s that don’t turn out well and you would never print!), email (removed yourself from subscriptions and consider creating multiple email addresses for different purposes), digital computer files (create a file hierarchy similar to your paper file system)
- Household-things that you have sitting around but don’t love (rotate displays or give items away to friends and charity with no strings attached)
- Mental-those endless thoughts that run in circles in your mind, find a way to tame them by taking notes, writing in a journal and releasing them if the are out of your control!
Once you’ve evaluated the cluttered areas of your life, prioritize them in order of worst to best join me this month for the Clutter Purge Challenge! On day one we will release 1 item, on day 31, we will releas 31 things! That’s almost 500 physical manifestations that are holding us back! Click here to join the challenge, you can join in at any time!
“When you have cleared all of your clutter, you can be of greater service to those around you.”~Michael B. Kitson