Delight in Decluttering

Now that February is here, we can really see that it is staying lighter longer. Another way to add lightness to your life is to declutter. Winter is a great time to do this. It's a productive way to spend the time indoors when the temperature outside is freezing and the results will make you feel terrific.

Clutter is one of the major causes of disorganization. Not only that, it drains your energy, consumes your time, and costs you money.

So, how do you get started? First, look around and find the area that is bothering you the most. Think small. Many decluttering projects get derailed because people overwhelm themselves and give up. If you want to clear out a closet, simply start with one shelf. Then, schedule consecutive sessions until the closet is done.

You will need a number of boxes or bags to sort the items as you declutter. Label these:

 

• Keep
• Trash
• Recycle - You may need to create subcategories for this including:
  • Gifts
  • Donations
  • Sell
  • Recycling
• Relocate - For things you need to relocate to another room.
• Return - For items you need to give back to their owners.
• Dilemmas - For those items you are truly unsure about.

 

Begin Sorting

Start by eliminating items that are clearly clutter. Examples would be expired medications, electronics that no longer work, old sale flyers, and things that need to be returned to their owners. If you are not sure whether you need to keep something, ask yourself:

 

• Do I use it?
• Do I love it?
• Do I have the space to store it?
• Does it lift my energy when I see it?

Consider one item at a time and immediately put it in the box or bag once you've made the decision. Try to work systematically, either from left to right, top to bottom, clockwise, etc. Don't leave the room to relocate something to another room. You will get distracted along the way. Simply put that item in the "Relocate" box.

When you have sorted through everything in your designated area, clean up! A major decluttering mistake that people make is not including clean-up time in the process. Then they have a mess to deal with later. Often, later never comes.

Put the "Keep" items back. Take the trash and recycling out immediately. Put the "Donate" and "Return to owners" items in your car or by the door so that you can take these on your way out. Take the "Relocate" items back to their proper locations.

Now evaluate your "Dilemmas". Often seeing how much you have will spur you to purge. If not, pack these items up and put a date 6 months away on the box. Calendar that date to revisit the box. If you can't remember what is in the box on that date, get rid of the contents.

I encourage you to start decluttering now. Work bit-by-bit. When spring arrives and the weather warms, you'll be ready to head outside with a lighter heart.