I would like to inspire you... inspire you to clean up and clear out.
We are seeing an increasing trend of consumerism, greed and hoarding within society; and it’s not just our neighbor who may be the clutter bug. Most of us have a tendency to fill up our homes with stuff and just as the frog in the boiling pot of water suffered a slow death, we, too may be experiencing it from the slow, silent killer of clutter.
Clutter is poisonous. It steals our peace, our joy, our relationships, and our energy. Not only affecting us, our children and grandchildren are caught up in this epidemic and are overcome with toys and gadgets (the toy industry only started when the television came into our homes.) Toy companies realized they had an open-ended opportunity to advertise toys to the kids who were watching the show “The Mickey Mouse Club.” Before that, imagination and boredom created the best toys and memories!
Since last week, I hope you’ve determined in your heart you are going to join the decluttering challenge and start the process (get your kids involved too). There are so many rewards ahead for you as you persevere through the process. I will testify that I had dreaded going through two totes of smaller clothes (not ever thinking I would get rid of them because I may fit them again). But, you know what? It was far easier than I thought to look through them all and give them to a local charity. I felt free with no sense of regret!
Here are a few practical ways to declutter your way to success: to start with, pick one room to concentrate on. A suggestion is to choose the room you see when entering your home. The first impression makes a big impression. One benefit to decluttering the entrance first is that you will be able to conquer it quickly and it will provide momentum for the next room. It will also reward you with a fresh perspective as you walk into a cleaned up and cleared out room.
Prepare four stations before you start. Get a box/bag for garbage, one for keeping, one for give aways, and one for selling. Divide your possessions into one of those four stations. Take pictures of your overstuffed room. Once you’ve decided on a room, set your timer for 20 minutes. You read that right! Only 20 minutes! You can accomplish so much within a short period of time. Do not wait for the weekend or holidays to begin to conquer your mountain. Just do it 20 minutes a day. If you get on a roll, you may continue longer but the tendency is to get overwhelmed and quit, so make sure to guard the amount of time you are actually spending at the job.
As you keep making progress, you will begin to feel better about yourself and see your mental health pick up as well as your physical energy. If you’re feeling discouraged, look back at those “before” pictures and see how far you’ve come.
Finally, as you finish the job, take a picture of your finished product then celebrate your success!
To keep the momentum flowing, watch YouTube tutorials of how to clean and declutter. Set a goal for this week. I’m cheering you on! Stay tuned for more decluttering tips next week...
“Let all things be done decently and in order.” 1 Corinthians 14:40
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
