| Clutter is a particularly low form of energy, | | | | |
| which means that you don't have to spend much | | | | * What have you simply got too many of? |
| time in amongst it before it drags you down. | | | | |
| This is part of the reason why you may not | | | | * What's so old it's not worth keeping? |
| feel much enthusiasm for getting started on | | | | |
| your decluttering. Plus... at the outset it | | | | * What are you ready to let go of? |
| can seem like such a mammoth task that you | | | | |
| feel daunted by the prospect of getting | | | | * What's genuinely important to keep? |
| started. To extend the mammoth metaphor a | | | | |
| little further, it's like the stone age | | | | * Have you realistically got space to store |
| challenge: how do you eat a mammoth? ...One | | | | all the things you want to keep? |
| bite at time! | | | | |
| | | | As you review the piles and answer the |
| I've undertaken plenty of decluttering in my | | | | questions, sort the contents into new |
| time and am fortunate enough to get a buzz | | | | piles... |
| from it and to positively relish the | | | | |
| liberation factor. But I do recognize that it | | | | * Items to keep and store tidily |
| can be hard work and involve painful | | | | |
| decisions. So the technique that I present | | | | * Items to throw away (actually you don't |
| here is designed to make your decluttering as | | | | need a pile for this one, you just need a |
| simple, painless and effective as I know how. | | | | trash can!) |
| | | | |
| All this technique involves is identifying | | | | * Items to sell |
| the area you want to declutter and sorting | | | | |
| everything in that area into piles. For | | | | * Items to recycle. And so on.... |
| example, if it's your wardrobe you want to | | | | |
| deal with, find all the T-shirts and put them | | | | Now you've got a new selection of piles, and |
| into one pile. Then locate all the scarves or | | | | at this point it's important to take the |
| ties and pile them up together. Then all the | | | | intended action with them. By that I mean |
| jackets. And so on... | | | | store the storage items away tidily, get the |
| | | | garbage items into a trash can outside of |
| You can use the technique with just about any | | | | your home or take them straight to the |
| category of clutter - toiletries and | | | | garbage dump, get the for sale items on sale, |
| cosmetics respond particularly well. And it | | | | take the recycle items to your local |
| works for papers, magazines, gadgets, | | | | recycling center. |
| crockery, you name it... | | | | |
| | | | It's often tempting to postpone this last |
| When you've sorted out your piles of items, | | | | step of getting the clutter out of your home. |
| you have a much clearer overview of your | | | | But if you don't do it, the clutter's still |
| clutter and the chance to ask yourself some | | | | there in your space. So go on, finish the |
| questions about it... | | | | process and you'll feel fabulous! |