Clutter Busting Coach

...clearing clutter from your mind, body and space

Decluttering Treasures and The Legacy List

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As you identify a legacy list, that poses the issue of letting go and decluttering the other items not on the list…. your treasures. Again, we often keep things for a variety of reasons. In the case of treasures, it could be because it belonged to a loved one, or it was gifted to us or because we think it is valuable because of its age or someone paid hard earned money for it.

In looking around my home, I have realized that I have taken it upon myself to be the family historian. From Christmas ornaments that were on grandma’s tree in the 1950s to old photographs of people I can’t identify to baby congratulation cards to jewelry owned by my mother-in-law, I have many of those items. I have also realized that I have lost some of the knowledge about those items as the years have gone by and that the next generation is not into keeping things. So, I might as well make decisions of how these items will be handled now.

Because of this, our legacy list will serve to identify for our next generation what we would like to preserve within limits. And it will assist us in looking at our other items with the intention of making the decision of letting go easier. While I am still working on our legacy lists, I am beginning to go through some of those treasures. [Read more…]

Your Legacy List

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I recently watched the PBS show Legacy List with Matt Paxton and participated in an AARP video session that featured him along with another professional organizer.

I love the concept of a legacy list which is a limited list of items that are important to tell your story, or the story of your family. The book, Keep the Memories, Lose the Stuff, as well as the show has the person(s) identify a list of legacy items that they want to preserve. Legacy items “will enhance your life today and best relay who you are to the next generation.”

This is an excellent way of curating your stuff to downsize and let go of items that no longer serve you. And I am currently developing a legacy list for myself and my husband. This concept also speaks to the idea of setting limits on the stuff we keep.

As you begin to identify a legacy list, it is important to note that things are not memories. The memories are in our hearts and minds. Yet many of us have difficulty letting go of items because of the memories or people we associate with them. We may never look at them, yet we still want to know we have them.

So as your what are the items that are key pieces to your legacy to pass on to the next generation?

Digital Clutter

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We talked about paper clutter in a previous post and now I want to address digital clutter.

I found that once I started eliminating paper, my digital footprint increased, and I had more electronic files to manage such as emails and records. And that I ended up with digital clutter. You can find digital clutter in your emails, apps on the phone, recipes and other bookmarked items, social media, and documents.

Digital clutter can cause stress and can be just as much of a challenge as paper piles/clutter and possibly more. And it too can be overwhelming to manage. Since it doesn’t occupy a “physical space” per se, it can be “out of sight, out of mind” clutter such as in my case.

I have acknowledged that my emails and electronic documents are something that I need to get control of and have scheduled myself to do so in the next month or two. The Zebra has a great definition of what digital clutter is and how to manage it. They even provide a digital minimalist clutter challenge.

Join me in eliminating your digital clutter.

Declutter Challenge Check In – 40 Days Completed

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For those like me who did the 40-day declutter challenge, how did it go?

Lessons learned for me:

  • Regular maintenance and routines are important for keeping clutter under control. It can easily get out of hand even with the best of intentions.
  • Remembering the difference between records and reference helps me limit paper files.
  • That I can challenge myself to continue to reduce clutter even when I think I have previously gotten rid of a lot.
  • Organized clutter is still clutter.
  • That this annual 40-day challenges really helps me as part of my clutter-free maintenance plan.

What did you learn?

Declutter Challenge Check In

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If you did a 31-day March declutter challenge, how did you do? If you are continuing the 40-day challenge, how is it going?

I am continuing with the 40-day declutter challenge.

I wanted to do a deeper dive into one of the reasons we keep clutter. One of the reasons we keep clutter is because of the value we place on our items. We may value something because of the memories associated with the item or because we paid good money for it. Or someone gave it to us as a gift and we value that gesture even if we don’t use or like the item. We may also keep something because it is part of our legacy.

So, I wanted to speak to the value of our items by using my experience as an example. I have regularly taken clothing, purses, and shoes to consignment shops (yes plural) because in my opinion there is still value in them or because I bought them on impulse and didn’t end up even taking the tag off or because I paid “good money” for an item. What I have learned through this process is that what I think has value and what the stores take on consignment are two different things. And that is okay. It is okay because I keep the goal of having less clutter in my home at the forefront. [Read more…]