De-clutter your life
The beginning of a new year is an ideal time to have a good clear out.
Do you have: clothes you don't wear, spare rooms full of boxes, cupboards full of things you don’t use and clutter left over from Christmas? If so, take some time to de-clutter and clear out your space for the coming year. As well as taking up physical space clutter can also have in impact on how you feel emotionally – making you feel overwhelmed, frustrated, disorganised and even depressed.
Here are a few easy steps to help you deal with it:
- Step 1 – Get Ready. Create a list. Go through each room in your home and make a list of all the areas, drawers and cupboards that need clearing. Sort these into ‘Small’, ‘Medium’ and ‘Large’ depending on the size and effort needed to clear them. Pin it up where you can see it.
- Step 2 – Get Set. Get four boxes or large carrier bags and label them – ‘Rubbish’, ‘Charity’, ‘Sell’ and ‘Undecided’.
- Step 3 – Get Clearing… Go through each room – take just 15-30 minutes and tackle the small areas first, then the medium and large areas when you have more time.
- Work on one area each day and tick them off your list. Put things away where they belong or place them in one of the four boxes.
- Place the Undecided box in a cupboard, attic or basement and come back to it in six months. If you haven’t needed anything in it in that time – throw it away.
How to deal with the key item areas:
- Clothing – when did you last wear it, does it fit, do you absolutely love it? Anything you haven’t worn for two years – put in a bag and take to your local charity shop. Only buy things that make you look good as you are now – not when you lose those few pounds.
- Paperwork - “handle it only once” or, being a bit more realistic, twice. When it comes through the door - Is it for action/junk or filing?
- Action – deal with it immediately or put it an ‘action’ folder/tray and deal with it in the next 2-3 days.
- Reading – some things may be for reading only. Put them in an email folder but discard after a few days if you haven’t read it.
- Filing – tackle this on a weekly basis.
- Junk – straight into the bin. Reduce the junk mail you receive – ALWAYS tick the box on any form to opt out. Sign up with the mailing preference service to opt out of unsolicited mail http://www.mpsonline.org.uk/mpsr/. Apply the same principle to Email – ‘Action’/’Read/File’ or ‘Junk’.
- Magazines – how often do you actually read them all? Tear out and keep any articles that are of particular interest and read them as soon as you can. Cancel subscriptions for those that you no longer read or value. Things you no longer use – gadgets, sports equipment, unwanted gifts, impulse buys - things you bought but don’t like or don’t use. Either sell them, pass them on or give them away.
Decluttering questions to ask:
- Do you love it?
- Do you use it?
- Does it make you feel good?
Learn to say no, so you don’t clutter up your life with things that are no longer important to you. Set aside a few minutes each day or block out time each week to keep areas tidy and clutter free. To avoid clutter building up, when you buy something think first – do you really need it? Do you have something similar?
Operate a one in – one out policy. Each time you buy something new, get rid of something. That way you’re not increasing your clutter. Notice how good you feel after you’ve cleared out an area – whether large or small. You should feel a sense of achievement, satisfaction, relief and/or a burst of energy.
Step 4 – Reward Yourself. Create small rewards for your effort as you go through the process, i.e. buy yourself a new item of clothing for clearing your wardrobe out,
Conclusion
See what you can do to create your own clutter-free existence and see what it brings in for you. If you want to spend a day clutter-busting, why not join me for an Integrity Day.
About the author:
Clare Evans is a personal and business coach and Author of Time Management For Dummies. Her articles and contributions are regularly featured in national newspapers and magazines. She works with individuals, business owners, and busy working professionals though 1:1 coaching, tele seminars and face to face workshops. She worked for over 20 years for a large, global, financial services company. She worked in project management, people development, leadership, team-building and mentoring roles for several years and bring these skills into her coaching business. You can get additional information when you register for her free monthly newsletter or download the free Time Audit at :http://www.clareevans.co.uk.
Clare's contact details: Work: +(44) 01273 588297
Mobile: +(44) 07887 954512
Email: info@clareevans.co.uk
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