A Clutter Pep Talk
I can’t seem to tackle my clutter😩
Today's post is coming to you off the back of some messages that I've had this week from students, and listeners who are really struggling to sort their clutter out. So I decided on a whim to prepare this pep talk for you.
This is for those of you who have been meaning to or trying to sort your clutter, but are struggling to get it done.
If that is you I just want to take a minute to say I'm sorry and I know it feels bad….. There's messy cupboards and drawers, spaces you can't access, the floor spaces dwindling, you're running out of places to shove things and there's also that horrible doomy feeling that you get when you come across your clutter.
The reason it feels so bad is because our environments have a huge impact on our health and happiness- huge!
So many of us are spending so much more time at home than ever before so of course that environment is going to affect us- for better or for worse. Clutter particularly is a super draggy feeling; it really really saps the energy from your home.
This pep talk has 3 parts. Centre Joy. Just start small and Don’t add to it
CENTRE JOY
Holding onto clutter for lots of people is based on really complex stuff. Most of us have an emotional connection with our clutter that goes beyond “I just can't seem to deal with it”. Clutter can be about our childhoods, it can be about our experiences of money, of home, of having possessions, how safe home feels, there's all sorts of stuff happening.
I say this because if dealing with our clutter was easy we wouldn't be having this conversation today would we?
It requires gentleness. We must be gentle and kind to ourselves. don't try to shame yourself into decluttering. That's the most important thing. instead, you need to try to center joy.
Focus on how it will feel to live in a house with less clutter. Think about it right now. How would that feel? what would that give you in terms of physical space, and emotional space; what activities will you be able to do?
Center that feeling right there that you just had when I asked you that question.
2. JUST START SMALL
I know your clutter feels bad and probably a bit shameful; I know life feels like a lot and it takes energy to tackle clutter and energy is an increasingly rare resource that loads of us just struggle to hold on too.
So don't try to tackle it all in one go. It'll only add to the chaos and the stress. You need to put your blinkers on which is like horsey terminology (I don't even know horses in any anyway) Blinkers are things that you put on horses’ eyes to focus them just on the ground in front of them and not at the entirety of the race. That is what you need to do as well.
Don't get overwhelmed by the entire project in front of you, just start small and focus on that job only.
The way to tackle your clutter when you're feeling overwhelmed is to just start- yes it is that simple!
It's just about starting where you are with what you have even if that is only five minutes.
If for example you've got a huge big cupboard that you've been stuffing stuff into for the last year or so and you can no longer access it you can't really remember what's in there; instead of emptying everything out and trying to sort through it finding storage solutions etc which could take two days or more, open the cupboard and just do five minutes. set a five-minute timer on your phone, grab two or three things you know you don't need anymore, and rehome or donate them. Then tomorrow go back to that cupboard, set another five-minute timer, and do a little more.
Once you actually take the action of starting, you will probably find that you want to spend more than five minutes on it; loads of my students and clients have found this to be the case.
That is because starting is the hardest part of it! Once you start and you can demonstrate and prove to yourself that you actually can take a step to dealing with it, it'll feel so much easier to keep going!
Just start, keep going and don't stop.
3. Don’t add to it
Stop new stuff coming into the house; it can be temporary! But start being a guardian of your home. When you're next shopping online for something; when friends or family members offer you things; when you are browsing markets and charity shops: see yourself as a guardian of your house. Does your home actually need this? Do you actually need this? Do you love it?
If not you say in your best Gandalf voice “You shall not pass” to that object.
If you take that attitude around stuff coming into your home that will be a massive help in your decluttering journey.
A quick example: think about your weekly grocery shop. Are there things that you buy each week by rote without checking what's actually in the cupboard? If you can- and it is in if -sometimes there's just too much happening- have a look at what cans what packets what things you actually have in your home.
Do you need to add more? Is it important to you to have loads of duplicates? If so why is that? Can you slightly alter what you’re buying in your food shop so that you're not just keeping the cupboards full and not actually using it?
Your clutter does not need to rule you.
You can take control.
Just start small - today- do one small job then keep going.
That's it.
If you're nodding along to this and feeling motivated to get going then go, start decluttering, and be freeee!!
If you are listening and you know I'm right but that you still probably aren't going to manage it; if you need a bit more help I have a new program starting on the 3rd July. It's The 4-week summer refresh.
I designed it precisely for people like you.
It's a series of themed sprints that take us all over the house kitchen bathroom living room etc, and also optional two days sprints on toys and hobbies and a bonus week in the garden.
Every day I give you a small job to do. No thinking about what to do next, just follow the prompts.
You can pick and choose which of the activities and sprints you join in with.
The thing that makes this live round different is that I'm with you! I will be holding your hand and encouraging you along. Every day you'll receive a daily email and you'll receive daily live voice notes from me. I'll be there supporting you in the Facebook group. I'll be cheering you on and offering accountability and advice when you need it
Because the difference between looking at the clutter and actually doing something about it is support and accountability
It starts on Monday 3rd July, it's 100 pounds until the end of June or two payments of 52 pounds
You get lifetime access to the material and you also get 50 to 75% discount on future live rounds of the course including my January version which is my most popular.
I would love to help you let's stop talking about dealing with the clutter and actually get it done shall we?
