Hello, Everyone, and welcome to Day 2 of Your De-Clutter-Rama!
Since you got started with your 15 minutes of de-cluttering yesterday, go ahead and start making this a daily habit. If you haven’t done your 15 minutes today, guess what: it’s time to grab your timer, your trash bag or recycle bin, and go for it! Don’t worry – I’ll be here when you are all done.
In fact, I’ll get you started with a little music to get you in the mood:
Now that you’ve finished your 15 minute Clean Sweep for the day, it’s time to talk about the flip side of de-cluttering: You have to stop creating more clutter. There are a few simple things that you can do every day that will only take a few seconds or a minute or two in order to keep your household running smoothly.
First of all, mail is a HUGE issue for everyone. Even if you have unsubscribed from everything and told everyone to remove you from the junk mail lists, most people still get an inordinate amount of mail. The solution to the mail issue is to get rid of as much of it as you can as soon as possible. The first thing I do when I walk in the door is throw all of the junk mail in the recycle bin. I schedule bills that need to be paid through my on-line banking account and then recycle the paper bill. Right now I need to adjust my filing system for the very few things that I need to keep.
Next, have a place to put your keys every night. We finally hung a basket right by the front door to put all of our keys. This will save you a lot of time from looking for them in odd places or at the bottom of a purse. It is also helpful if you have more than one vehicle (and a riding lawnmower) so that everyone has access to all of the keys all of the time.
Finally, clean out your receipts from your pocket or your purse every day. Either recycle them or file them if you need them for tax purposes. At any rate, do not throw everything you have accumulated in your pocket or purse during the day in a giant pile on your dresser or somewhere else in the house. Creating piles is a guaranteed way to increase your clutter. Clutter attracts clutter, so make sure you are not adding to it every day.
These three things will go a long ways towards making your house a beautiful and comfortable home. As you work on your 15 minutes of de-cluttering each day, you can take pride in knowing that you are not setting yourself back or adding to your work load by doing a couple of little things that take a few seconds or a minute or two.
Don’t get overwhelmed if you feel like you are not doing enough or not making a big enough dent. Over time, your actions add up, and it is making a huge difference in your life already! Don’t give up. Small steps every day lead to huge changes and results in less time than you think. And even if it takes you an entire year to de-clutter, that is a year well-spent and you will reap the benefits for many years down the line.
How are you feeling now that you have a plan to reduce daily clutter and you have spent some time de-cluttering your home? Do things feel more spacious? Are you more energized? I’d love to hear how your life is changing and you are creating more positive energy for new and exciting things.
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