Taking Charge Of Clutter

Taking Charge Of Clutter
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It does sound odd. Taking charge of clutter. We don't want it, so why would we take charge of it?

Recently, I did an interview about clutter, in particular uncluttering your life in order to declutter your heart. The interviewer was surprised to see that my book, The New Single, was about how clutter really can stand in the way of so many things. From moving forward with your goals, to talking time away from family or friends to getting in the way of how we think day to day. At first, I thought I was just a bit obsessive with cleaning. It turns out, that decluttering and cleaning are very different. So, I wanted to put forth a quick outline of what I have included in my book to help you with this part of your life. It doesn't have to be a tedious process, but it does have to be planned out.

I used someone who is truly a declutter expert, in particular Andrew Mellon of Unstuff Your Life, organizes people from top to bottom. He got me on the road to thinking about it years ago, and here is his advice from my last book. He said "clutter is a series of deferred decisions." It totally makes sense, doesn't it?

1. Set goals for yourself that are specific, realistic and reasonable and that also require consistent efforts. Do not be vague.

2. Be sure to take "before" pictures - these are crucial for those moments when you think you're not making enough progress fast enough.

3. Set a timer for the space you are organizing and stick to it.

4. Something In, Something Out is all about achieving equilibrium. That means you have enough of everything that serves you and nothing that doesn't.

5. Like with life means all objects live together not most or some.

6. Never underestimate how helpful friends can be when it comes to getting and staying organized.

7. Once you have organized, ask yourself these questions before you bring anything home.
-Do I really need this? Why?
-Do I already have one like it?
-Is it better than the one I already have or do I just like it more?
-Where will it live?
-What will I do with it?
-When will I use it?

8. Curating your home and your life to accurately reflect what is important to you is essential to staying organized.

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