Clutter Busting Coach

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

Back to Basics: 40 Day Purge

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While the Lenten season has passed, I would like to propose the concept of decluttering one item everyday for 40 days as a process for decluttering.

If you are still struggling to get started or were able to get rid of the trash and recyclables yet still can’t make decisions about the remaining stuff, this concept may work for you.

What if you committed to purge one item each day for the next 40 days or even the next 30 days? What impact would that make in your life? Your home? Your office?

By making this commitment it set up to make a choice each day…one step each day to getting rid of clutter and potentially more.

My experience from my 40- or 30-day challenges to myself, is that I ended up letting go of more than 30 or 40 items. Most times it is multiple items a day or even bags (small and large depending on the area).

So, are you ready to commit to a 40-day purge?

Curating Your Life: The Experience

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I posed in my last few posts the idea of shifting perspective when you are decluttering.

The idea sprung from my recent donation of craft supplies to a Craft Swap. Clearing out unused and unwanted scrapbook and craft supplies was a positive experience for me knowing that others who craft would potentially find a use for them instead of them sitting in storage and taking up space.
So, this past week I shorted through my seasonal decorations and moved some of those gently used items to another purpose as a donation for an upcoming church event.

And, while I still like the items donated, I reviewed if I had at all used them in the last year or more or would I likely use them for the next holiday. I pondered if my style and décor changed. I asked myself, if they still fit into my vision for this upcoming holiday season. If any of the answers was no, I gladly moved them on for a good purpose.

What items do you have in your home that could bring joy to someone else or be used for a good cause?

Clutter Busting: How to Let Go

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Letting go starts with the decision to do so. And yet many of us still struggle making the decisions of what we can and should remove from our home and our lives.

We have ended up with clutter because of delayed decisions. But you can change that. Making the choice to decide one item at a time can move you forward. And developing some guiding principles for letting go of your stuff can also help.

Somedays it may just be one item or another day it may be a box or bag of things. Somedays it will be easy and other days you may struggle. Yet, each decision makes the next one easier.

How can you let go of your stuff?

Clutter Busting: Craft and Hobby Supplies

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Through my clutter busting journey this summer, I have taken several side trips. Being able to declutter for me has been about making decisions in the moment. Decisions about where I am inspired to work and let go of things. Working in the moment.

Recently that moment happened in my craft closet/space.By focusing on just craft supplies related to card making, I completed two card kits in a two-day marathon (not suggesting that and not sure that was a good decision) and let go of supplies that became a donation basket for a silent auction for a cause that I support.

As you are decluttering your craft or hobby area here are some suggestions: [Read more…]

Clutter Busting: Decluttering versus Cleaning and Organizing

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Decluttering and cleaning are not the same thing.

Organizing and decluttering are also not the same thing.

Cleaning is easier and faster when you’ve eliminated clutter.

Trying to declutter and organize at the same time can be stressful because you must stop and problem-solve storage, usage or systems for your items. Decluttering is just getting rid of the stuff you no longer use or love or don’t have the space for.

My recent basement project has again reinforced the concept that decluttering, cleaning and organizing are different things. And that realization has lifted a weight off me. I can declutter without a specific plan other than making sure the decluttered items leave my house immediately or very soon after the decluttering session.

And even more good news is that by ‘just’ decluttering, the space feels more organized because there is less stuff.

What would happen if you only just decluttered a space?