Today I dealt with some R-E-A-L clutter in my house…
…and dealing with it did not feel overwhelming this time (the way I did it)!
Here are 3 things I can tell you that made a big-yet-easy difference. (One day I’ll have time to share all 10!)
TIPS FOR FIXING CLUTTER
#3: Eradicate homelessness!😉
I find clutter accumulates (or random items get left out) when there’s actually no “home” for them.
This morning, for example, I looked at my slippers in front of the closet and realized “You are homeless. So far, this spot on the floor has been your home since we moved in because…well, that’s just how it happened. Let’s find you a home.”
Sure, it took me 2-3 minutes of extra time to find and clear my slippers a good spot in our closet (which needs to be redone), but now I’m not tripping over them every time I walk by. (Awesome.🤣)
TIPS FOR FIXING CLUTTER
#2: Put your inner perfectionist into the corner for a timeout at least 3 times a day!😆
We LIVE in our homes, and sometimes X isn’t always a good time to clean up Y.
We need to live life, and while a “clean canvas” is scientifically proven to lower your stress, you don’t need to be a slave to it every moment you’re home.
For example, while I have my own kitchen organization method thousands of you (and myself!) have used with glorious success…
…I also have learned to simultaneously accept that my kitchen rarely looks perfect on the surface because I see all the life happening in and around it!
Maybe that’ll change when we don’t have young kids, but I see my kitchen as something akin to a carpenter’s workshop. It’s just not going to be a showpiece on the average any day! The functionality is there, and the beauty is both in the design and the smooth processes!🙌
TIPS FOR FIXING CLUTTER
#1: Speaking of timeouts…the second “P” belongs there too!
I’m talking about Procrastination.
Can you put that one into “timeout” for 5-10 minutes of your day?
(I did…and durned if I didn’t feel empowered afterwards! 😄💪)
Lest you think I have it all together and “Jess doesn’t have a strong Procrastinator Character living inside her brain,” let me shatter your illusions.
I empathize 100% with what it’s like to put things off!
But at a certain point (like today) I realized
“It’s taking me more painful hours of life to keep looking at the clutter than the 3 minutes to take care of it!”🤣
It’s best to do this in small chunks of time, like giving yourself 3 items, or giving yourself 5 minutes with a timer (even a “reward” for yourself at the end if you need extra motivation, as even I do some days!).
3 items or 5 minutes. Easy. Anyone can do that!
Examples for me today were
- A pile of papers I need to find X for.
- An item that was sitting literally right below where it belongs.
- Two pieces of wood with stain “tests” on them that I had brought onto my office desk but should have been in the room where I wanted to check the stain in that light. (Why they were on my desk I can’t remember…probably just set them down while doing something, mind elsewhere…)
I let things like these (and manymany more) accumulate over the past hectic week, and I finally got fed up enough that I told myself “Quick! Let’s see how quickly I can get these annoying things put where they belong! Will it take me 2 minutes or 5?”
Next…
- If you missed this fun post I wrote in our last house, and you enjoy more encouragement about Real Life Clutter, it’s “If Your House Looks Perfect 24/7, Please See a Doctor!”
- Sometimes it helps to do THIS exercise when you feel overwhelmed with stuff! 😉 (“Seeing Things By Firelight!”)
- If you’re looking for one of our specific guides, plans, or 1:1 consults, that’s on THIS page! (Along with the Kitchen Organization method I mentioned above.)
- If you’re looking for more specific design, organization or layout help by room, you’ll find it HERE!
