This post is the introductory post of my series about decluttering and Tidying up your space.
Reading a decluttering how-to always makes me feel kind of light-headed. Why should we declutter anyway?
What and how to declutter exactly? And how on earth am I supposed to find the time to declutter, when even taking a shower AND putting some make-up on seem the biggest achievement of my week?
I don’t know about you, but when I plan my week, I’m like “urgent, important, urgent, important, work, kids, groceries, laundry, finances, medicals, kids’ homework… no, sorry, no time to declutter this week!”
But then weeks go by and stuff begins to form piles in various location around my house … and seems to contaminate other cupboards or worst: flat surfaces (my nightmare!): countertops, desks, nightstands… And I can hear this little voice in my head: « Un tout petit peu de tri de ferait pas grand mal là, non? A tiny decluttering session wouldn’t hurt here, don’t you think?” And it creates this strange tension in me again… So, you know what? We need a plan, sister! These 2 baby steps will help us tremendously to declutter.
Step #1: Define your why
« When there is no vision, the people perish»
Proverbs 29:18
Seriously, did you ever manage any big challenge without a clear vision of the result? I certainly did not. One thing is for sure, my WHY, my vision, will be as unique as yours. In my professional life, I have never seen anybody decluttering for fun. I’ve seen people decluttering because they can’t find any item without looking for it for 20 minutes straight. Sometimes I’ve also seen people decluttering because they were physically sick of too-stuffed life and space. Also, I’ve seen people decluttering because they felt anxious and depressed in their own home. Finally, I’ve seen people decluttering because they want brightness and order back in their lives. As for me, I personally declutter because I want to be able to tidy up my house every day in less than 30 minutes. But my biggest WHY is to feel at home, and bring beauty and calm back in my space. What about you? WHY will you find the time to declutter any space?
Step #2: Plan, plan, plan… and then plan again
Ok, now you know why you will make the time to declutter. Please do note that I didn’t write “have the time”, but “make the time”, which is slightly -and significantly- different. Most of us just “don’t have time” to do anything, aside from the everyday race of our family life. But sometimes, I wonder: don’t you deserve to experience all the joy and the peace and the achievement decluttering brings along? So let me give you my one and magic trick to launch yourself in the race: planning!!! Grab your favorite notebook and pen, and just make a list: write down your big WHY, and then 3 spaces or spots you want to declutter. Then, set up a deadline AND a reward! Sneak peek in my life: I can’t resist a small bag of Pretzel Crips, Dark Chocolate Crunch of course: )
Now that you’ve set your big WHY and your smart plan, I’m super confident you’ll build your way from the ground up!
Stay tuned on www.oh-contraire.com for your Decluttering how-tos: in the next posts, I’ll be covering:
And more to come:
- Setting up a decluttering system in your house: helping your family to stay clutter-free once and for all
- The 5 biggest decluttering mistakes: are you making these ones?
- The unsuspected benefits of decluttering
- Defeating clutter: 3 quick wins, and one example, with pictures
Happy organizing!
Elise