Decluttering

Unhiding My Hidden Clutter

For the past few years I haven’t done a lot of decluttering. It’s not like things have piled up, it’s just that I never got around to dealing with certain projects and areas.

Why were these areas of clutter ignored?

Partly because they were hidden. And partly because I didn’t hold myself accountable to take care of them.

 

Hidden Clutter

Years ago I created systems that helped me keep the everyday clutter under control. For the most part there isn’t a lot of mess laying around, at least not what a visitor would see. Most of my clutter is hidden inside drawers, closets, in containers under the beds, and in my storage room in the basement.

Although these areas are “hidden” they are not really out of sight or out of mind.

  • Upon opening the closet in the home office I see file boxes and stacks of papers that need to be decluttered.
  • When I open a drawer in my dresser I see clothes I haven’t worn for a long time.
  • Each time I go in the spare bedroom I remember all the photos hiding in the boxes under the bed, patiently waiting for me to declutter and organize.
  • When I need a paper from a folder in my file drawer, I’m reminded of how stuffed the drawer is and it’s overdue for a decluttering session.

I’ve attempted to tackle some of these projects in the past but I never seem to make much progress. Everyday life gets in the way. At least that’s been the excuse I keep telling myself.

After a lot of soul searching I’ve come up with one main reason why I am struggling to take action on the “hidden” clutter projects.  I don’t have a system or routine to hold myself accountable!

 

How I Held Myself Accountable In the Past

In the early 2000’s I found Flylady online. Her daily emails helped a lot. Through her, I was able to find a local Flybady group that met monthly. Although that larger group didn’t last too long, there were 5-7 of us that created our own monthly group. We encouraged, inspired, and help hold each other accountable with our decluttering projects. Unfortunately, we have only met a couple of times since the pandemic.

In 2008 I started this blog with several goals in mind.

  1. I wanted to share the lessons I had learned over the years on how to declutter.
  2. I also wanted to write books and create a profitable business with the blog.

The first goal I was fairly successful with. I focused on writing what I had learned by doing decluttering projects and sharing that info. I knew the only way I could share this info was by either actually doing the projects or at least researching enough to create systems that could help.

Blogging regularly helped keep me accountable. So did posting info on my Facebook pages and groups.

Unfortunately life circumstances got in the way of the second goal above. As a result, it got harder and harder for me to stay motivated to blog and write on a regular basis.

 

How to Hold Myself Accountable Now

Since blogging on a regular basis helped me in the past, I believe it’s a good tool that can help me with addressing my hidden clutter. I will have to live the stories by doing the work before I can write about them. It will probably take me awhile to get back into the routine of decluttering along with regular blogging.

Since blogs take a lot more time to write, I also plan to send out quick updates by an email newsletter (maybe weekly) on my progress with decluttering the hidden clutter. This way I can hold myself accountable to take decluttering actions on a regular basis.

If you would like to receive the newsletter, please sign up on the sidebar of this blog post.

I also plan to get back to posting on my Facebook page and Facebook groups. They’re an easy place to get a conversation going which will help me and also help you. Connection to others always helps with keeping ourselves accountable.

Cut Clutter With Scissors Facebook page

Controlling Paper Clutter Support Group (Facebook group)

Clutter -Use It or Lose It (Facebook group)

 

It’s A Journey, Not A Destination

I learned a long time ago that decluttering is a journey, not a destination. Somehow I lost that concept regarding my hidden clutter. I want to embrace that concept again to help take the pressure off having those high and perfectionist expectations.

A journey implies that we are traveling along a path. We get to choose what luggage we carry with us along this path. If we have less luggage to weigh us down, we can enjoy the journey and experience more adventures along the way.

When we are constantly weighted down with unnecessary stuff (both physical and mental) it’s hard to fully experience those adventurous opportunities when they come around.  We may not even see those opportunities when they are right in front of us.  Our vision and brains end up being blocked by so much stuff around us.  This is simply because we couldn’t let go of the old to make room for the new.

For years I have ended my blog posts and newsletters with the saying, “To a lighter load along the way”. It’s time for me to start following my own advise.

 

To a lighter load along the way.

Janice

 

 

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Taking Actions Gives You Energy

Taking actions gives you energy. Wow, that sounds backwards!

Whenever you want to start a decluttering project, do you find yourself doing the following:

  • You tell yourself that you are too tired and lack the energy to take any action to start decluttering?
  • You  don’t feel like you can do the job right (lack of confidence) so you don’t even start?
  • Are you spending a lot of time researching on how to declutter instead of taking actions?

If you’ve been waiting for enough energy, confidence, knowledge/skills, or inspiration before you start taking actions, then you probably have been waiting a long time. It’s time to let go of this backwards attitude that is weighing you down!

The truth is, the more actions you take, even itsy bitsy tiny ones, the more energy, confidence and knowledge you will gain. …

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Deadlines Help With Decluttering

 

 

Have you ever had a deadline help you with decluttering? I know I have. Think about this for a moment.

Remember when you were having the family over for a holiday dinner or birthday party? How did you prepare for it? If you’re like most people you planned the food/menu for the dinner or party. Hopefully you shopped for most of the stuff ahead of time leaving just a few perishable items to buy last minute.

But what about cleaning the house? I always find it amazing that when I’m preparing for company I notice all the clutter laying around. I know the stack of magazines has been there for awhile. But now it looks real messy. The DVD’s and video games are overflowing the shelf under the TV.  How long have they been a chaotic mess? And when did the empty cups and dishes start accumulating on the coffee table and end tables? I didn’t realize the cat and dog (or kids) had so many toys laying around.

You get the picture. We become blind to everyday clutter until we know company is coming over. Then we start looking at our house through their eyes. 

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Renovating Can be Messy

Evolving, renovating, updating, etc. can be a good thing in our homes, life, and even this website.

Which is exactly what I’m currently doing. In other words, since this website has not changed much over the past 11 years I’m going to renovate it.

If you’ve ever done a home renovation then you know how messy and unorganized it can be. But it’s so worth it when finished.

Over the next couple of months you’ll see many changes going on here. Some will be permanent and others, well, they will be let go to make way for better changes. We’ll be playing around with design and functionality. So please pardon our mess while we try to make this website and blog a fantastic resource to help you declutter your home and life. …

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Using Different Decluttering Methods

Have you used different decluttering methods over the years? I have.

I was like a surfer that would try wave after wave. Sometimes I had success. Sometimes I didn’t. But each time I tried a new decluttering method I learned a little more about what worked and what didn’t for me.

Some methods didn’t work at all me. While some worked fairly well, at least for awhile. Then for some reason they just didn’t work anymore. I don’t remember if I got bored or some lifestyle change happened.

It didn’t matter what the reason was, I still beat myself up for being a “failure”. Fortunately, new methods came along as my household grew (children and pets) right along with the clutter. …

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