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Do you find yourself stalled trying to declutter your space because you keep thinking you might, maybe someday need this stuff? Everything seems to have a ‘potential’ use and you KNOW just when you let that go you will need it. So you keep it…and never use it.
The law of attraction comes into play when we let things go. The law states what we focus on expands. It’s like when you buy a new car, all of a sudden you see that car everywhere, because you are focused on it…looking for them. The same thing happens when you declutter, the stuff you ruminate about letting go of will all of a sudden be needed, because your're looking for an ‘I told you so’ about letting it go.
But I can tell you from 12 years of experience that when you do let that stuff go, even when you may need it in the future you find an alternative solutions and only miss it for a few minutes, a lot less time than you most likely would have spent searching for it in your cluttered space.
I use to be a preschool teacher, decades ago, and I could see potential in all kinds of stuff that could be used for crafts for the kids. All you crafters out there know what I am talking about…with a creative mind EVERYTHING has the potential be transformed into something else, so you keep everything. Eventually you have so much you can’t possibly use it all. At some point I had to really evaluate all the stuff I was keeping, some of it had been in my pile for years and I never used it. So I spent some time decluttering and letting the unused stuff go, being realistic that if I had not used it in years I was not going to.
To Help you evaluate things to let go here are 5 Questions I ask myself and my clients when they are struggling with letting things go that they think they might, maybe someday need:
- What is the worst thing that can happen if you don’t have that item?
- Will you actually be able to find it if you did need it?
- Could it be replaced by something else in the house?
- Could you borrow the same item from someone else if you needed it?
- Is it worth the cost to store it indefinitely?
We all think we need to be prepared for everything, the trade off is a cluttered overwhelmed space. I believe we can live a simpler life with less to maintain. Instead of focusing on what we let go of, how about focusing on what you get – a clear, calm simplified home.
If you are struggling with letting things go and decluttering you space it’s time to get help:
99% of my clients struggle with some type of paper clutter. No matter what they have called me for in the first place we always find piles of paper around. It is a real struggle for a lot of people.
Paper can come in all kinds of forms. It is not just piles of un-filed bills and mail but encompasses a wide variety of things.
Here are the most common types of paper clutter I see:
- Financial and bill statements
- Legal papers – contracts, mortgages, insurance papers, birth certificates etc
- Flyers and notices
- Coupons
- Magazines
- Old cards and letters
- Pictures and other memory items
- Work papers
- Notices and school announcements
- Newspapers
- Sticky notes and random papers with writing on them
- Reference materials - Handouts and info from events or courses attended
- Materials created for school or work
- Papers that you have to do something with – fill out a form, send back to someone, call someone, etc.
So why do you keep all this paper? The answer is normally one of three things:
1.You have not taken the time to actually go through them and decide what needs to go.
2. You are emotionally attached to it and can’t seem to let it go.
3. You have an intention to actually do something with it…but have not got around to it!
Paper clutter can lead to lots of frustration and financial strain. If you do not have a system to keep your financial papers in order, late fees, missed deadlines and bad credit can be a result. Too much paper clutter can be visually overwhelming and mentally exhausting.
For most people paper management starts with making a pile, then making another pile, oh then another. It’s time to find a better way!
A few simple paper management tips:
Focus on the now - Start with today’s piles and work your way backwards.
Trash it -OPEN the mail and throw out envelops and junk as soon as they come into the house. Throw out flyers and other irrelevant papers right away if you know you won’t need them (if you do not have a baby in your life then you don’t need the baby’s R Us flyer, right?)
Get Organized -Find a home for your paper! Develop a good paper organizing system that works for you. Keep it simple!
The toll paper chaos can have on your life is wide, and can lead to depression, anxiety and stress if not dealt with. Managing paper piles is key in our life to keep things simplified and under control.
If you are ready to tackle those pile, get them under control and want my help then my virtual Calm The Paper Chaos course is for you. During the 5 week course we will tackle the piles and get your paper clutter under control. Sorting, purging and organizing the chaos! Sign up NOW to take action! www.CalmThePaperChaos.com
Happy decluttering,
Kim
Why I love my job
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I have a coaching client that I have been working with over the past few months to help her get her financials and paperwork in order, she has been struggling her whole life to be 'good' at keeping up with paperwork and payments and just can't get it!
Last week she came to our session with a big win...we have created a financial tracking sheet that is helping her stay on top of her financials, she has been using them for a few months now and at this session she was proud of herself for how well it is working.
You see, sometimes it takes time to change your habits...there is no miracle solutions! Change one habit at a time, really get it solid then move to the next stage. We are now moving her to the next stage of her frustration and adding some more tracking.
I love to see the progress that people make as they take control of their life!
My coach Darlene Smith always says - 'Change small, but change often' to keep moving forward and growing.
If you are feeling overwhelmed and frustrated with paper, financial tracking and all the piles that gather in your space then I can help. One step at a time, showing you the process I use with each of my clients!
Join my online course Calm The Paper Clutter
I have created this program to take you through the process of sorting, purging and organizing all the papers that clutter up your life – including financial, personal, legal, work, activity, kids stuff and we will also be touching on organizing all those extra ‘memory’ papers like pictures, cards, etc. In the course you get 3 video training sessions that you move through the process at your own pace, one habit at a time. Other resources include worksheets, homework assignments, facebook group support and other resources I have that I will be sharing with the program participants.
You can take the program anytime...you will not get any lower price for my time, Less than 1/2 the price of 1 hour coaching from me, you get at least 4 hours during this course!
Is your desk, counter top or kitchen table the dumping ground for lots of junk, paper and stuff? Do you or others comes in and throw things on the pile because you don’t know what else to do with it?
Lots of homes have these dumping grounds, it is a common problem. In our house that dumping ground is my husband’s desk. Not a working desk, he actually NEVER sits at the desk. It is really just a place to dump crap as he comes in. it drives me crazy as it is in the middle of our main floor and can be seen from pretty much all areas of the main floor.
Today, I came up with a solution to save my sanity and maybe my relationship hehe…after 26 years I think I finally figured out how we can both win.
Here are my tips and what I have done:
Get the right furniture- I finally realized I needed a space he could dump stuff but I did not have to look at it. So a small desk with a hidden compartment and not much flat surface is what I am using. Look for something that you can close up when you don’t want to look at junk.
Containerize – I now have 3 drawers that some of his other crap can go in if he needs the space. If you don’t have room for a new desk, then think about getting containers for people to use to hid the stuff. It may not be perfect but at least it will contain some of the chaos so it is not spreading over all the counters and desk top.
Relax and stop trying to control others…or make them change – change the environment not the person, it is really hard to ‘make’ someone care about being organized or care if things are clear. But most people will respect you for trying to accommodate them and you will feel less stressed when you let go of the control. Trying to create a system that works for both of you is the idea here, not perfection!
I know that blank spaces always fill up with junk, eliminate the blank space by giving it a purpose. Remove the desk if that is not working and use containers…if there is a place to put things most people will try to use it.
If you are struggling with paper chaos and are ready to take action, I have great news for you. I have a new online program that starts March 15th called Calm the Paper Chaos. Check it out here: www.CalmThePaperChaos.com and sign up today.
Happy Decluttering,
Kim
Have you become your family landfill? Do you have all these family treasures that have memories or are family heirlooms that nobody wants but they also don’t want you to get rid of them.
It is possible to preserve the memories without keeping everything and without being the family landfill. You do not have to keep all that stuff!
We had this issue when my grandmother passed away years ago. She had not only her house but also the cottage full of collectables, heirlooms and memories. Going through it all it was tough on us to decide what we wanted to keep and what to let go of…everything had memories. We had to make the decision to let the stuff we did not want go…so that my dads place did not become a landfill.
Here are my 5 tips on letting it go:
Take time for the memories – it’s okay to have the memories, cry if you have to, laugh if that is what comes up. Honour the memories, not the thing!
Take a photo or video of the object – photos and videos will help you preserve the memories but they take up so much less space.
Save one of a big collection – You do not have to keep all the teacups or frogs, pick one or two to keep the memory without keeping the whole collection.
Pay it forward – There are a lot of people out in the world that would honour and cherish the item if you let it go. Trust the universe to get it where it is needs to go. You do not honour your family treasures by storing them in a box, cluttering up your space and only looking at them once every 10 years or so. Let them go, and let others cherish them.
Release the guilt – Stuff is stuff. It is meant to make our life better. It is not meant to bury us and create chaos and anxiety and overwhelm. Please release the guilt about letting them go and allow yourself that it is just stuff.
People are NOT their things! I repeat…PEOPLE ARE NOT THEIR THINGS! We cannot keep everything that ever belongs to all our ancestors, we will be buried in the past with no room for the future. Make room for your future, honour the past respectfully but let the stuff go!
I am now giving you permission to let go of the extra stuff without the guilt!
If you want help letting it go, connect with me, I will coach your through it, in person or virtually wherever you are in the world. That is my mission in life – to help you release the overwhelm and calm your life!
http://kaossolutions.com/declutter
Kim
