Declutter
Your Life…Stop, Look and Listen
By Patty
Kreamer, CPO®
Spring
is such a great time to STOP what you are doing for
just a minute. Take a LOOK around you. I mean really
look around you. . Actually, when you no longer see
the clutter is when you know you have a problem; it’s
time to clean up. Clutter can surround you to the
point of paralysis because of its ability to creep
up on you. LISTEN to your mind and body and what the
clutter is doing to you.
Clutter
comes in many forms, two of which are physical and
mental. You can be the most organized person in the
world (and I’ll fight you for the title) with
your "stuff", but then you cram your life
with so many activities that you produce mental clutter.
This is also known as stress.
NEED
VS. WANT
If you
really want to declutter your life, you MUST change
your behavior and beliefs. If you believe that you
need to have more things, then you will never change
your behavior of obtaining them. If, on the other
hand, you start to think and question WHY you are
bringing things into your life, you will see changes
begin to occur.
SHOPPING
101
SHOPPING…a
clutterers worst enemy! To begin the decluttering
process, you must curb or stop the inflow. If you
decide to buy a new item, you must decide then and
there what item you will be discarding, donating,
selling, or giving to a friend.
For example,
say you are at the mall and you see a pair of pants
that you just MUST have. Ask yourself the following
questions:
1. Do
I NEED or WANT these pants? (If you WANT them, make
yourself wait a week and walk away. Go back in a week,
if you even remember that the pants were on your radar
screen the week before. Then go through these questions
again.)
2. If
I NEED them, where will I put them? (Do you have room?)
3. If
I do buy them, what will I be getting rid of?
If you
really want to make progress, instead of getting rid
of one item to make room for the new, get rid of two
or three or four! Obviously the higher the number,
the faster you will see decluttering results.
I do
this a little backwards from the above scenario. I
clean my closets out twice a year…spring and
fall. When I see what gaps I have to fill, I then
go shopping to fill those gaps.
This
one in/one out rule applies to anything that you bring
into your life, not just clothes. It can work for
committee positions, furniture, toys (especially toys),
books, volunteer positions, unnecessary obligations,
computer equipment, people, extracurricular activities,
or office supplies; you name it.
When
you finally get out from under the clutter, you will
probably wonder how you ever managed with so much
superfluous stuff. You will be much more careful of
who and what you take on in your life.
STOP…LOOK…and
LISTEN. Is clutter taking over your life?
Here’s
to simplifying your life!
Patty Kreamer, CPO®, owner of Kreamer
Connect, Inc., is a Certified Professional Organizer®, speaker,
and author of “…But I Might Need It Someday!”
and “The Power of Simplicity” available at
www.ByeByeClutter.com.
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