Expert Articles

Now that you know you are not alone- what do you do? What is the first step learning how to declutter?

How to Declutter- Change Habits One at a Time

One example of making an internal change that affects the external environment is changing a habit.  Let’s start with something very simple here.  If you’ve recently moved to a new home, you will need a new place to put your keys and hang your coat every time you come home.  And here’s the skinny on habit changing.  You can change a habit in a couple of days using the power of visualization.  Athletes have used this technique for centuries and are masters at developing habits for success.  Simply close your eyes take a few deep breaths and visualize yourself coming in the front door, hanging up your coat, setting your keys and/or glasses in the same place.  Repeat this visualization another 2 times for a total of three times in less than 5 minutes.  The next day, you might return to your old habit, but stop yourself, remember your visualization and go hang your coat up and set your keys in the new place.  Repeat this the next day and within a few days, you’ll have developed a new habit for finding your keys, every time! Stop the clutter first and knowing how to declutter will be easier!

How does this all relate to transitions and organizing?  Well, just about every client I’ve worked with over the years has been through some sort of transition.  Transitions have ranged from learning new technology, making room for twins in a growing family, expanding a business, home or office renovations, divorce, to moving someone into assisted-living. Professional Organizers help people get organized so they can get on with their life.  Those who do this, get to the other side of their piles faster and easier than if they did it on their own.

Recognize You’re In a Transition

When you are going through a transition, recognize that this too shall pass and that it’s temporary.  Acknowledging this piece is critical as it gives you peace of mind that you are doing the best you can during the transition.  Learn how to declutter because the faster you get your environment organized, the better.  Embrace the new skills or what you learned through the transition.  Helping others who may be going through a similar experience will make their life easier and assure them that they too are not alone.

Create Healthy Spaces

On a regular basis, at least 2 – 3 times a week, make sure that your environment is clean, put things away and that it’s pleasing and inspiring to you.  This is not about perfection and comparing your home to picture-perfect rooms in a magazine.  This is about regular maintenance and keeping your environment orderly to support your vision for your life.  This is an important step in knowing how to declutter. The everyday work! Keeping your physical space clutter free also frees up your time and has a ripple affect into other areas of your life and those around you.  Clearing out the clutter is part of the transition from one time in your life and into another.

What have you learned about how to declutter before, during, and after life transitions? Tell us about it in the comments.

Is your environment peaceful, organized and easy to find things?  Do you dream of your home and office being more organized and less chaotic?  Have you recently been through a transition in your life?  Rest assured that where ever you are in the organizing process or if organizing doesn’t come easy for you, you are not alone and there is help available to you to learn how to declutter.

There are two common themes that are externally related to physical clutter in offices and homes and impact your quality of life.

I’ll Deal with It Later Clutter

Often times, people ignore their clutter because they are so busy running from one appointment to another, taking care of the kids and everyone else, and at the end of the day they drop everything at the front door, are exhausted and say “I’ll deal with it later.”  They just want to put their feet up and watch an hour or so of TV to shut everything else off.   Then they wake up the next morning and do it all over again.  Before you know, the pile at the front door is a mountain of stuff, spilling over into the office, kitchen and bedrooms. You start getting panickyknowing how to declutter these huge piles becomes overwhelming.

Clutter is stuck energy and unhealthy!  It collects dust, weighs heavy on your mind and affects other family members.

Transition Clutter

The second common theme related to clutter is when someone is going through a transition.  A transition could be:

• having a new baby
• moving into a new home or to a new city
• office or home renovations
• divorce or illness
• new job or transitioning from college or university into the workplace
• Volunteering
• Retirement and down-sizing
• expanding a business or new projects and responsibilities
• learning a new skill or technology, software and apps, to name a few

During the transition, whatever it is, it can be stressful, exhausting and time-consuming.

How to Declutter: Goals Guide You

If you know you are going to go through a transition, you can prepare for it, but sometimes transitions sneak up on us and things seem to spin out of control.  Also, a lot of times when you are in a transition, there is often times unfamiliar territory that you are going through and all kinds of new decisions that you’ve never had to make before.  It’s not always easy going through the unknown and decision making can be slower because of the emotional attachment.  You may feel frozen by the daunting task of heavy-weighted decisions and caught up in the emotional side of things.  When you have a goal and vision to work towards during the transition, decisions will be easier to make because you know what you want.

You’re Not Alone

Typically, people call me after the transition has happened and they don’t know how to declutter.  They typically have piles and chaos in their physical environment.  It’s too overwhelming for them to deal with and they need help or guidance with decision making on what to keep and what to let go of.  That’s where a professional organizer can help you jumpstart the organizing process and point you in the right direction to creating your dream environment that is going to nurture your soul and give you peace of mind that you can find what you need.  This process is life-changing for people when their space is organized.

In Sheri Keys McConnell latest book “Smart Women Embrace Transitions” she says “we need to change the environment when there is clutter, when we are not taking care of responsibilities or when there is chaos in our lives that prevents us from doing the internal work.”   She continues “we often subconsciously create the chaos so we don’t have to do the internal work.”   I agree with this.  Often times we can blame others instead of taking ownership for the changes we need to make internally and externally.

Learn more about how to declutter  in How to Declutter After Life Transitions- Part 2 coming soon.

Have you ever found yourself with transitional clutter? How did you handle it? Tell us about it in the comments below.