De-cluttering

Today I will write about my favourite thing: De-cluttering.

I've read a lot of books on de-cluttering and I feel that many of them are way too indepth. They talk of getting a specific number of baskets or boxes and then systematically working through the clutter.

But my advice to you is as follows.

I think it is best to start with a fresh bare space, and build it back up from there. So if you want to de-clutter your desk, take everything off it and out of it, put it all on the floor, and choose what you want to keep. Put the things you don't want into a big trash bag to be sorted out later. Don't look at them again.

Once you have chosen what you really need/want or love from the pile, find homes for things. Stack the drawers neatly with your notebooks and files, and use an oganising tray to keep all those fiddly pens, erasers and pencils and stickers tidy while they are out of sight.

Make sure you tackle each area individually. Set yourself a goal to tackle the mess one place at a time; the desk, the kitchen bench, the bathroom cupboards, or your wardrobe. And do each job properly before you start the next. If you stop and start all over the place you'll never feel a real sense of achievement and then you'll give up halfway through. Finish de-cluttering each post before you start the next.

And then with your spare junk, sort it out. Work out what is good enough to give away, what can be recycled, and then what needs to be chucked. I've read some advice that tells you to sort these things while you're cleaning up the space but I feel it is much better to do this step afterwards. Once your space is clear and clean and de-cluttered you will have much less of a feeling of attachment to these rejected things and it will be easier for you to sort them out. If you try to sort them while you're still cleaning, chances are you'll try to incorporate them into the space again. That's a no no!


I find it really easy to de-clutter, as I enjoy clearing junk out, but I have sentimental attachments to lots of little bits and pieces. I find special drawers and nooks and crannies for these special things, but sometimes I find myself holding onto items just for the sake of it. I have a green ornamental pot, for example that I still cannot part with because it says it was made in Italy and I found it at a charity shop. It is cute, but doesn't go with any of my stuff. I feel sick just thinking that it is still here, and I know that the day that I relinquish my attachment to it I will feel as though wings have been given to me. I should plan for the day to come soon!
-if you have anything like this that you are attached to, particularly if it is of a large size, try to plan for the day when you will rid yourself of the burden. Remember, a good way to tell if you should keep something or not is the way it makes you feel; if you look at an object decorating your television and it makes you feel a pain in your heart, it is a burden on you. Set it free!!

Happy de-cluttering!