I like to have a decluttered house because there is more room to breathe, the move, to live.

I find it distracting if there is too much stuff around.

Some things/projects/clothes just make me feel bad and drain my energy each time I see them.

I bang my shins and elbows more when I have clutter laying around.

I don’t like to invite people over when the house is too cluttered.

An empty space gives my mind a place to rest.

I can find things.

A decluttered home represents who I am now, not who I was or what I might need in the future.

Why do you want to declutter?

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If you just can’t get started or keep it up, think about joining the declutter group, which starts Monday. Declutter Group

OK, stretching the comfort zone here. I am putting up my first video (about 2.5 minutes) on a really bad hair day.

In the video I share a few tips on using the declutter calendar (you can find it in the sidebar) and ask you for your declutter calendar tips which you can post below.

"Do not keep anything in your home that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful." -William Morris

 

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Photo by Bill Jacobus

Jen Louden had Freedom from Self Improvement Week last week.And I was thinking, "What if my readers are hoping to improve themselves and become better people just so they can feel more acceptable to themselves and others?" And that thought made me feel sad. 

I think most of us put too much pressure on ourselves to become better so someday we can be perfect. Exhausting.

Decluttering to the point of asceticism does not mean you are a better person than when you are surrounded by clutter. A person that lives in a clutter free home is not better than the person that lives in a cluttered home. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses.

Instead, I’d love if you brought your curiousity and self-awareness to simple living and decluttering. Instead of thinking, "This house is a sty and I must be a horrible person to let this happen." think, "This house environment just isn’t working for me. What’s one small change I can make that might make a difference?"

Experiment. Try. See what works. And what doesn’t work for you and your family.

One of the people that took part in the Declutter Group (and yes, I have decided to put one on again for Sept/Oct), mentioned she is now ready to begin sewing again.

She stopped sewing and doing many of her creative projects because every time she went into her craft room the clutter and mess sapped her energy.

Many times we creative people think that in order to create there needs to be mess. But, often the opposite is true. We can’t create until there is some order to our environment.

Normanack’s Craft Room

Things don’t need to be perfect (and needing that might hamper your creativity as well), but space to create, breathe and be inspired is important.

And just like a theme or some constraint is helpful to create something, so is having less stuff to sort through in order to create.

If you are feeling creatively stifled, now might be a good time to tackle an area in your craft or work space.

I think the main reason my house doesn’t get cluttered as fast now is because I am constantly decluttering. I don’t mean huge decluttering sessions. Just bits of decluttering here and there.

Like yesterday. I had bought some balsmatic spritzer dressing. When I went to get it out for my salad I noticed it wasn’t in the spot labeled dressings. So after my salad, I checked the crowded dressing area. I knew we hadn’t had the ranch in awhile and looking at the date it could definitely be tossed. As could another one and 2 things were in the wrong spot.

All which took about 2 minutes.

I was excited to see on my Declutter Calendar that evening the task was going through the condiments in the fridge. I was already done since I looked through the dressings today and a couple weeks ago I tossed a couple condiments past their expiration date as I was getting dinner ready.

I used to not notice things like that. But, as I stay more and more present to what is happening I can make quicker fixes.

I try to put a book on the shelf, but the shelf is crammed full. I glance to see if there is a book that can be decluttered. It goes into the declutter box in my office closet and now the other book fits of the shelf.

Or another time I was moving the yogurt maker that was on the kitchen counter out of the way too often, so I took the yogurt maker to the laundry shelf until I was going to use it next.

Or if the magazines no longer fit into the magazine holder, I look to see if any are from last month. I put them aside to read in the evening and if I don’t have time I can usually look through the magazines and tear out the most interesting articles to read later. And into the recycling box the old magazines can go.

I still forget sometimes. I was stepping over my scrapbook bag for about a week before I remembered I was done with that project. It takes practice.

As you go throughout your day today, notice the frustrations or things that don’t fit and take 2 minutes to do something about it.