Today did not start off great. I woke up tired and cranky (it was very much my own fault). I struggled through the first hour or two and all of a sudden I was in the zone. I’ve been struggling for a while with the clutter and organization in my house and it’s finally gotten to the “enough is enough” stage. This is the downside of working from home, I have to sit and stare at these kinds of problems. After finishing a big project with a tight deadline, I went on a rampage.
I started to break down the areas of my house that are bothering me the most. My office was ground zero. It becomes the dumping ground for everything and it greatly impacts my productivity. I have so much on my plate every single day and re-organizing is the last thing I want to be spending my time doing. Things should have their place, they should get put back in that place after being used and that is that.
I started by making a checklist of everything that I thought needed to be done at the time and started gutting various areas in my office. Everything came out of the closet. My side of the desk was completely cleared off. I cleared out my cabinet. Emptied one of the bookcases. I wasn’t messing around. It looked like a tornado but the wave of peace that washed over me when I saw those empty spaces told me I was on to something. I went through all of the items now laying on my floor and asked myself some questions:
- When did I use it last?
- When do I see myself using it again?
- Am I keeping it just because?
- Have I ever used it?
- If I’m not sure when I might use it again, can I replace it quickly for a reasonable amount of money?
- If I was in someone else’s house and was looking for this item, where would I think to go?
Some of these questions may sound odd, but hear me out. Let’s actually start with the last question… I found nail polish in my office. I found my daughter’s toys. I found snacks. None of these things should have been in my office. So, that led me to this question. If it didn’t belong in my office, I put it in the room that made sense. I didn’t worry about cleaning that room though. One step at a time. No multi-tasking. That’s how I’ve ended up discouraged in the past. I tear apart five rooms and then I’m too exhausted to actually put them back together.
Ok, back on track. The rest of the questions really help me understand whether I keep the item or get rid of it. If I can replace it quickly and for a reasonable sum and I don’t know if I’ll ever need it again, it’s gone. If I haven’t used it in years, gone. You get the point. I rebuilt the areas of my office that I had torn apart and even though I still have the urge to get going, I feel so much more free. It’s like a huge weight has been lifted. If you don’t believe it when people say physical clutter = mental clutter, you need to go through this exercise.
I created a checklist to finish my office and then made a list of all of the rooms in my house and prioritized them. At the moment, I know which room I’ll be minimalizing next and so on. I may not be as much of a minimalist as I’d ultimately like to be, but judging by how much stuff left my house in a garbage bag today, I’d say I’m on the right track.
I really encourage you to watch The Minimalists documentary on Netflix and listen to their podcast. Even though I was so inspired and aligned with the message, I wasn’t sure how ready I really was to take the leap. I kept listening to the podcasts and reading blog posts and the mindset finally started to sink in. If you’re interested in the movement, I highly suggest starting by educating yourself. Don’t just go throwing away all of your stuff. 🙂 Baby steps!
Have a lovely day friends!
XO Elizabeth
GlowLoveThrive 