De-Clutter Your life One Day at a Time

Have you ever looked around and realized your life was cluttered? Cluttered with stuff and more stuff, cluttered thoughts, clutter actions you name it CLUTTER. This seven letter word has a way of taking valuable, priceless energy and time away from us. It creates a sense of disorder and confusion. With confusion comes frustration, depression and a host of other negative emotions and feelings. We all have some sort of clutter in our lives. Your house may be a neat as a pin with everything in its place but your thoughts are random and scattered. What can a person do to eliminate their clutter: compartmentalize and break it down.

Steps for a clutter free house.

Step 1: Realize you are not alone in this clutter mania. So go ahead and breathe a sigh of relief.
Step 2: Prioritize your De-cluttering. Decide when and what you want to De-clutter. Pick only one-two projects per day.
Step 3: Pick a start date to begin your De-cluttering. Have a De-cluttering party and invite some close friends to help. Offer to do the same for them. Entice them with free coffee and lunch.
Step 4: Set a time line and be realistic. If you are De-cluttering your linen closet 20-30 min. should be ample. Set a timer and focus.
Step 5: Eliminate all distractions: Send the kids to someones house to play or if Daddy is home make him in charge. Make sure he makes you inaccessible to the children- have him act as if you aren't home. Don't answer the phone (including your cell), no computer...TOTAL 100% FOCUS ON THE De-cluttering.
Step 6: If you are De-cluttering a room, make sure you have three bins on hand clearly labeled: TRASH, DONATE, TAG SALE. Or just two if you don't want to have a sale.
Step 7: Once you are finished De-cluttering your room bring the unwanted items to the trash and drive to the donation spot as soon as you are done.
Step 8: Give yourself a reward for a job well done. Treat yourself to an ice coffee or even an ice cream on the way home from donating.

To keep your room clutter free try a couple of these helpful hints.
Take a picture of the room and post it in the room to emphasize your accomplishment.
Set a De-clutter date to go back through and make sure no new clutter bugs have entered your recently clutter free room.

You will notice an instant change of energy every time you enter the room or open the door to a clutter free environment.

Much of the above was eliminating tangible clutter from our lives but how do we eliminate it from our thoughts.

Steps for a clutter free mind.

Step 1. Slow down, sit and relax.
Step 2. Journal...write, write, write....It frees your mind up immensely.
Step 3. Read. Pick up a book about a subject you have been wanting to read about. Visit your library. Quiet is a prerequisite in the library so when the world around you is quiet your mind will slow down.
Step 4. Go on a mandatory walk. No ipod, no cell, nothing but you and nature. Take some deep breathes. Listen to nature, look at nature, and smell nature. It is the best medicine free of charge out there.
Step 5. Meditate if you know how but eliminate this step if you don't. We want to be stress free and not stressed because we don't know how to meditate. It would be very counter productive.

Live with the Clutter Free rules:
One in / One out.
Create spaces that are clutter free zones ..like a hazmat area
Eliminate broken (trash), unwanted (donate) and duplicate items (donate).
Once or twice a week go through your pile of papers and file them or trash them.
Sew items once a week. Replace batteries in toys immediately.
Marry off the single socks once a week. Eliminate that sock box. Who knows what is going on in there. They keep multiplying.

Remember sometimes clutter is just extra stuff...and how much stuff do we really need in our lives...Not much. Some of the happiest cultures in the world live with the least amount of stuff.

Many people asked about the previous blog and the freezer that was standing in the way of my friend. To clarify she is starting a business selling frozen gourmet cookie doughs and she didn't think she could start it without having her freezer empty in the basement. She needed to make the freezer clutter free and now that it is...she is clutter free and focused.

Good luck creating a clutter free house and mind.