Quit trying to get motivated to clear out clutter: 3 steps to just do it

The walls creep inward after the holidays in the cold of winter. Normal household clutter and newly gifted items and sale shopping purchases crowd our space. It is depressing and demoralizing to come home and look at the stuff. Quit trying to get motivated to purge and just do it:

1. Set the timer for fifteen minutes. You will either be done, close to completion, or "into it" when the timer goes off. You will make more progress than you think you will. Just do it.

2. Work in your personal prime time. Weeding out is about making lots of decisions. Make decisions at your best time of day. In the morning if you are a morning person...Just do it.

3. Time yourself at the tasks that create household clutter and back up on you. Don't let dishes linger in the sink when it only takes 6 minutes to empty the dishwasher. Don't let clean wrinkled clothing pile up in the laundry basket when it only takes 30 minutes to sort it and put it away...When you time yourself, you gain and keep perspective and you will tackle these things rather than waste time stalling. Just do it.

What is the secret to staying motivated to weed out clutter? The secret is developing lots of tiny habits to process the stuff that comes into your life so that it will also flow out of your life when it is time for it to leave. Don't get motivated, just do it. You will create space to enjoy, peace at home, and the potential to live your best life. Just do it.

A small well-organized yet "maxed out" child's closet

Gradual Change Creates Clutter

I was thinking about my previous post where I say life change creates clutter. Part of the clutter problem is that gradual life changes create clutter. Our children often don't outgrow toys or clothing or anything else overnight, and neither do adults.

Something that wasn't clutter one month or six months or two years ago may now have become clutter. I discover this as I begin to go through my closets and my basement. Oops! I am finding items that weren't clutter when they were first deposited in these areas, but now I wonder...

Should we beat ourselves up when we find this gradually outgrown clutter? I don't think so. Instead, be vigilant! Regularly review these less visited locations and make the tough decisions that may have gotten less tough as stuff has aged from marginal clutter to clearly clutter. Life is a process.