Would I buy this now?

Over the last few weeks I have been spending all my free time decluttering.  It's been really enjoyable mainly because I have been able to get on with it and not get distracted by all the other things that I like to do. 

I have come across one really important question during my decluttering.  A question which has made all the difference to my decluttering decisions.

Would I buy this now?

This has the lightening ability to cut through all the rubbish that is going on in your head when you can't decide whether you want to keep something or not.

If the answer is 'yes', then you could keep the item you are deliberating over.

If the answer is 'no' then you have two options:

You dispose of the item - after all you wouldn't buy it now if you didn't already have it

Or -

You keep it for now but try to fully understand your motives for hanging on to it. This is really useful in understanding your clutter personality. If you answer 'no' then you cannot hang on to any excuses as to why you are keeping something: you know you don't 'really' want it. Your reasons for keeping it are then revealed.  Its very interesting.

A Helpful Start

If my clients don't know where to begin with their decluttering I always ask them the same question:

What would help you most if it was decluttered?

This is what I asked myself and the answer was:

My Desk

As I have been decluttering for a while things are quite streamlined in the paperwork department.  This was the last thing I takled when I first started because it was the most scary.  This applies to most people.

If you are in a real pickle with your paperwork and finances then its a fantastic place to start.  I don't have a massive backlog now.  I do leave things for a couple of weeks and this seems to work well for me.  This is how I keep things under control:

• sort the post the minute I get it and throw anything that I do not want into the recycling immediately
• open everything and deal with anything urgent (as you get more organised urgent things will be minimal)
• put everything that just needs filling into a filling tray.  
• put everything else that needs dealing with into an in-tray. This includes receipts, school letters, flyers.  Anything.
• I personally put all sorts of other things that crop up  in there to be dealt with at some point

I keep adding to my filling tray and my intray for two weeks - sometimes more.  I'm not recommending this (its probably better to deal with it weekly or for some people even daily) but it works for me.

This morning I looked at the pile and thought - its time - any longer and things may get out of hand.  The next part of the process involves going through every item in the pile and dealing with it.  Ask yourself for each item:

What needs to be done with this?   I always have a notepad with me to write down any actions that needs to be taken.

I create three basic piles:

• To do - anything that takes less that three minutes to do then I do it there and then otherwise I plan in when I'm going to action what needs to be done
• Filling - I file every piece straight away once I've gone through everything
• Things that belong elsewhere - I usually have a small pile of things that needs to go somewhere else other than the desk - at the end of the session I take things back to where they belong.

My method does look unsightly however.  Two weeks is a long time to pile stuff up before dealing with it.  This is only a problem if it bothers you or it you need the work space that the pile takes up.

If you have an enormous backlog - put it into a large box and treat it as a 'project.'  You can tackle this a little at a time.  Start your new system today - your backlog project is not part of this.  If you try and do them together then getting clear will be tricky.  You need a clean sweep.  This is very refreshing for a cluttered person.

Psychologically if you 'box' the old stuff you are creating a new space for yourself to move forward.

Technically this is about organisation and not just clutter. Some cluttered people are disorganised and some are not.  Often it goes hand in hand.

So Much for Refocusing

Here I am again after a long break.  Interesting.

What I have discovered since starting this blog is that I have too many things going on that I end up neglecting things that are very valuable to me.  It means that no matter that I have great motivation, I also have great motivation for a dozen other projects.  The result of this is that I spread myself too thinly.

I have decided that for one month I will be focusing only on decluttering.

So, if this applies to you think about doing the same.  If you are committed to decluttering, are you prepared to focus only on that for a whole month?  This does not mean neglecting your family, friends or work commitments.   Its just about using all your spare time to 'get the job done.'

You won't have to give anything up long term and it can be comforting to know that you can go back to everything else that you enjoyed doing after the month is up.

Motivation to Clear the Clutter

I've been very lax with my decluttering mission which has got me to thinking about motivation.  Without it there is no decluttering.

My motivation for decluttering was to get into the mindset of my clients and focus again on what it is to go through everything and get rid of items that are no longer good for my life. By doing this I aimed to work through any problems or sticking points that may hinder people from getting rid of their junk and then find ways of working through them.

I hit a sticky point and the problem has been that I am already so decluttered that what's left is boring for me to do.  So, I had strong motivation but also a strong detractor.

There is only one area where I have a lot of stuff  that needs to go - my arts and crafts.  So I will be focusing on this.

Motivation
This is the key.  Why do you want to declutter?  Answering this question provides the basis of your motivation.  There are so many possible reasons for wanting to get rid of your clutter.

• you need more space
• it drives you nuts
• you can't find anything
• other people moan at you
• you can't get on with things
• you've heard it might be a good idea
• you want to redecorate
• your mother in law is coming
• you are moving home
• you want to get organised
• your environment does not fee like 'you'

What is your reason?

Once you have identified why you want to declutter you need to find out if this reason is enough.

The Benefits of Decluttering
 Imagine how it will be when its done.  What will it look like?  What will be different?  How will it feel?

• you will feel clear
• you will feel organised
• you will be able to have people to stay
• you will be more productive
• you will be able to find things
• your children will have more room to play
• you will have more fun

How will it be for you when you have decluttered?

The decluttering detractors
The detractors are the things that could pull down or even cancel your motivation.  When detractors surface they can stop the best intentioned goals.  If you know what they are then you can find solutions. What are your detractors and how can you combat them?


decluttering is boring
remind yourself why you are declutting everyday
listen to music or the radio whilst you are clearing clutter
do the bits that interest you most first
you are tired
do only small amounts

you hate doing things on your own
ask for help

you don't have much time
you don't need it - ten minutes a day is enough
see it you can plan in a little more time

its emotionally draining
promise yourself a reward afterwards
have counselling if you need it
do a little at a time
start with the less emotionally charged area

you are unwell
do only a little at a time
ask for help

there's too much
don't panic
ask for help
only focus on one tiny area at any one time

The point is that there will be reasons why you do want to declutter and reasons why you don't.  Getting really, really clear on these is what can help you to keep up your motivation.  Once you do know these reasons you can put things in place that will really help you.

My focus now will be on clearing my arts and crafts.


Why?
Because I have too much stuff and not enough space which makes doing my hobby very awkward.  I wan't to cut down and bring things indoors so that I don't have to work in the shed. I love my creative activities and I want to do more of them.  They enrich my life.

How will it be when its cleared?

• easy to get to things
• easier to know what I want to make
• more pleasant when I do do things
• I will be able to be creative more often
• I will be able to sell the things I don't need

Possible Detractors
There should not be many as I have high motivation for decluttering my arts and crafts.  If any crop up I will note them and find solutions.

Time is a possibility - I have to be realistic.  A lot can be done in ten minutes!

Day 4: Easy Day

Today I have cleared by handbag.  Luckily for me this is something I do about once every couple of weeks anyway so it was not too bad.  As I was doing it I realised that I didn't want to declutter anything too challenging.  Why?

Looking through our bits and pieces is about looking at our lives.  As I said a couple of days ago things are not just things they are representations of us and our lives.

I went to a funeral yesterday.  I'm tired and have started a cold.  I wasn't  in the mood for a big declutter.  An easy peasy clutter job like my handbag is about all I fancied.  I also realised that I wanted to skip a day.  I always encourage my clients to do at least ten minutes decluttering a day.  It keeps momentum going.  It works.  Even on a really bad day ten minutes is not much to ask.

Procrastination
One of the many reasons for not dealing with clutter is procrastination.  The ten minute technique helps to combat this.  It gently breaks the resistance we have towards a task.

Be kind to yourself........ but don't give in either!

Decluttering Challenge: Day 3

Where do all the socks go?

Last light I sorted through the odd sock drawer!  I managed to put together four pairs that had a match but the other 21 had no partner.  How can this  be?  Where do they all go?

I remember when my eldest was a teen she used to ask me where all her socks got to.  I used to tell her about the mystery of the odd socks that everyone seemed to be victim of.  She didn't believe me.  Now she has her own place she wonders too about the mystery of the odd socks.

I'm not going to throw them away until I've decluttered the whole house.  Just in case!  If at the end of the declutter, I can't find the matching pairs then I will either try and donate them to a playgoup/school to make sock puppets (will this infringe health and safety, I ask?) or I will throw them away.

It also makes me wonder how many things we misplace only we don't notice because they are not part of a pair.

For those of you who really want to tackle this annoyance there is a handy little gadget sold by lakeland: Sock Savers


The missing scissors

I have spent quite a lot of precious time acusing people of taking my scissors.  Over the last three days I have found 6 pairs of scissors in the places  I have decluttered.  Mmmmm interesting.  It was me after all.  Sorry everyone!

Decluttering Challenge: Day 2

Last night I didn't have much time so I only did ten mins of clutter clearing.  In that time I managed to do one underwear draw.  A couple of things struck me:

Wasting money
Clutter clearing can help you save money.  I found a couple of medicine items in my drawer that I had long forgotten I had.  They are the kind of things that I would have purchased again if I needed them.  Finding things you had forgotten you had means you spend less money.

When people are very cluttered they can spend hundreds of pounds a year purchasing things they already have hidden somewhere amongst their clutter.  Trying to find those things would take too much time or sometimes people forget that they even have them.

 Things Represent Something About Us
 The things around us represent something about us (apart from presents which represent something about the people who send them - more on that another day I expect).  Thngs are just symbols.  Sometimes the symbols are useful, sometimes they are just for our visual pleasure. Somtimes they hold us back.

For example a fully equiped kitchen, brimming with tools, gadgets and baking tins can mean a few things:

1. You do a lot of cooking
2. You would like to do a lot of cooking
   
3. You used to do a lot of cooking
   
4. You think you should be doing a lot of cooking
   
5. You think you might do a lot of cooking one day in the future
   
6. People around you think you should, or want you to do lots of cooking
   

In this case only number one is about living in the present.  Number 2 is about wanting something different (more about this another day). You could say that if you have a fully equipped kitchen for any of the other reasons then what you have is a kitchen full of clutter.


What could lots of clutter say about you?

• I'm really busy
• I'm not interested in my home as much as other things in my life
• I'm ill
• I can't be bothered
• I can't let go of the past
• There are so many of us in the house
• I don't like throwing anything away
• I like to keep things just in case
• My possessions make me feel secure
• I don't want to let go of the past
  

Plus ..... there are so many reasons for clutter.  What are yours?

Just living in the present
Really living in the present means being surrounded with only things that represent us now.  For me decluttering last night this was quite a difficult thing.  I found things that don't fit me now but did fit me a year ago.  I'm not planning on loosing lots of weight again any time soon but getting rid of the clothes means accepting myself the way that I am.  It means for me - jumping on the scales to see exactly how much weight I have put on in  a year. Gulp!

So ..... decluttering means facing up to things: about who we are, who we want to be.  And if we want to make changes - that's great.  If we don't - that's great too. Be honest.  Be realistic.