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Decluttering - Easy as Pie! Isn't it? - 27th October 2015
Depending on your own personal situation, you may answer either a resounding "yes!" or a heartfelt "no!" to this question.
In theory, decluttering is incredibly easy. Think about what you must do in order to declultter. In its most basic form, decluttering is essentially a two step process.
Step 1 - Identify things you no longer want or need.
Step 2 - Remove those items from your space in a responsible and appropriate manner.
Really it couldn't be simpler, could it? Easy as pie!
What could possibly go wrong?
Quite a lot, actually!
Those two steps viewed in a practical sense are certainly not difficult to carry out. It might help if you have a car, but apart from that, the process is a simple one.
Let's look at each of the two steps and uncover the potential pitfalls
I can't over emphasise that awareness is key to success. If you feel a bit uncertain about your possible success then I suggest you acquaint yourself with where you might get stopped in your tracks. That way you will see it coming - and you can approach things a little differently.
Step 1 - Identify things you no longer want or need
How do you decide on what to choose? I suggest homing in on things that are simply in your way. Large things. Things that you're constantly moving from one place to another. Things that consume your time but give nothing back in return. Broken things. Things that never have 'come in handy' despite your aspirations to the contrary.
Work on the basis that any 'thing' has to earn its place in your home. Ask, what does it do for you? Is it attractive? Is it useful? Does it make you feel good in some way? When you answer yes to any of those questions, those are things you keep.
You may encounter some form of resistance to using this method. You may be faced with something that is neither useful, nor attractive, nor even heart warming - but still you can't let it go. You will feel frustration. At this point you have two choices. One, is to leave whatever it is and move on to something else, which may well be easier. Or you ask yourself about the resistance and begin a dialogue with the part of you that wants to hang on.
Step 2 - Remove those items from your space in a responsible and appropriate manner
You will now have a collection of items that can go - well done!!
What might go wrong here is that in trying to decide what to do with these items you lose momentum and nothing happens. The result being that you have gathered a pile of stuff that now languishes in your garage/car/by the front door. Delete as applicable!
Speed is the key here. Taking things to a charity shop or your local council refuse site for recycling can generally be done the same day. Whereas, selling things can take much longer.
I love to hear from readers, please send me your comments or questions! I'm also always happy to have a chat - you can contact me on 01327 705294.
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