Decluttering is worth it

When my daughter was on her way, my wife and I started spring cleaning, in the process we went through each room and sorted and made decisions about what to keep, throw away or recycle. 

As a result, we are feeling the joy of accomplishment today along with the serenity of returning zen to our surroundings before a  busy visit.

While enjoying my results this morning, I thought I'd share with you some tips that will allow you to declutter your own life in no time at all.

If you’re like most of us, at some point you’re likely to come to the conclusion that your life is too cluttered. You have too much to do and aren't able to handle your schedule optimally. You probably own too much stuff and just keep adding more every day.

Most people would probably be better off with at least a little decluttering. But how do you go about it? When you’re under a pile of clutter, commitments, personal files, and a load of digital information, how do you even get started with decluttering?

Follow these 4 simple tips for decluttering your life:
1. Simply get started. Pick a room, a closet, or a shelf and get started. Pick up each item once and ask yourself, “Do I use this regularly? Do I love this item?” If the answer to both questions is “no” then the item needs to be sold, donated, or given away. Have a box for each of those categories to put your discarded items in.

• Put away the items that you’re keeping in their proper place.
• If you have a lot of stuff, it might seem overwhelming. Try setting a timer and just work for 10 minutes. Limit your decluttering to one small area for those 10 minutes. That way, you’ll really be able to see some progress.
• Try not to get carried away by spending too much time. Working on decluttering for 10 minutes a day for a month is a lot better than overloading yourself and quitting after 2 days.

2. Go a little further each day.  It took us two weeks from start to finish, but it was worth it. Once you've gotten started with your decluttering, keep moving forward. Finish one area and then move on to the next. Your enemy is perfection. It doesn't have to be perfect. Simply do a good job in a reasonable amount of time. Any work you’re putting into this will result in progress. 

• Make it easy on yourself.
• Get some help. Some of us really are pack rats and can’t seem to let go of anything. If that sounds like you, get a reasonable friend to help. The ideal friend will have a clutter-free home that you envy.
• Take the time to enjoy the new clutter-free spaces you've created in order to help keep the momentum going.

3. Declutter your calendar and digital life. Your living environment is only one aspect of your life. Simplifying how you spend your time and handle your digital life is important, too.

• Decluttering your calendar is about learning to say “no” to commitments that aren’t important to you. Make a list of commitments and put them in order from most important to least important. Keep the top few and remove the rest from your life.
• Start decluttering your digital life. Prioritize the blogs, newsletters, social networks, emails, and so on. Only keep the things that really matter.

4. It’s important to include others in your home. If the other people in your home aren't on the same page, decluttering is much more challenging.

• Focus on telling them about the benefits they’ll receive if the home is much less cluttered. Share the benefits of decluttering their space.
• If there’s too much resistance, keep your focus on decluttering and maintaining your own space.
• Getting rid of things can be contagious. You’ll likely find that everyone else in your household will jump on the bandwagon when they see how great your personal space looks.

Decluttering your life is more beneficial than you probably realize. It’s not only easier to find things, but you’ll have adequate space to put everything away in its proper place. Clutter weighs on your mind 24/7, whether you realize it or not. Avoid letting it stress you out or
take over your life.