*** Time for this post? Reading…3 minutes. Viewing…8 minutes. Figuring it out…I don’t know. What do you think?
Decluttering weighs heavy on many minds—and a lot of us get stuck there. In spite of the good advice from organizing experts like Marie Kondo and Margareta Magnusson.
There’s a lot of decision-making involved in clutter clearing—first in determining what stays and what goes; then in working out how and where to store what remains. It can be overwhelming. It often is.
Laura Moore is a home organization coach and move manager who comes at her work from an emotional-behavioural perspective. She says clutter clearing is not about the stuff, it’s about you. And she has insightful ways of helping people get past what’s stopping them. She says she’s sometimes called a “clutter therapist” because her clients “feel better soon, even with a lot of work ahead of them when organizing, right-sizing (downsizing) or moving.”
Key thoughts…
If you’re having to force yourself to do the job, you are not ready. In that case, the first thing to do is figure out how you can do it to feel relatively good. Aim for ease and enjoyment.
Putter through your clutter. That’s much more effective than attacking it.
Be realistic in your expectations about how much you can do in an hour. Remember to include prep time and cleanup time when planning to declutter.
When you don’t know what to do…
Remember that you don’t know what to do…yet. And you can figure it out.
- Slow down.
- Think.
- Pay attention to your feelings.
- Figure it out.
More from Laura Moore…
Her YouTube channel has many short segments you might find helpful if you’re grappling with the decisions that decluttering requires. Here are a few samples…
- How Photos Can Turn Decluttering Sadness into Joy
- How to Enjoy Decluttering Personal Papers
- Shedding the Shame of Clutter
- Enjoy Decluttering: How To Trust Your Decisions
Next week, I’ll wrap up this clutter clearing series with my take on all of it. See you then!