I have been creating a declutter calendar since 2007 to break down decluttering into smaller steps.
But, the last thing I want is people beating themselves up when they fall off doing it. I’d love for you to decide how you plan on using it this year.
You can have a declutter day once or twice a week where you use a few days from the declutter calendar to help you focus on what you plan on doing. Even if you declutter just once a week with one square of the calendar – that is still 52 more areas of your home you have decluttered by the end of the year. How much more would your home be decluttered by December?
If decluttering is a major goal this year, you’ll probably want to create a daily or Monday-Saturday habit of decluttering. You can do 5-15 minutes a day. You can declutter a lot in 5 minutes. Try it! 5 minutes isn’t an overwhelming amount of time, even if you declutter daily. The object is to do it little and often. Creating a habit, even if you don’t fully declutter the area each day. Each time you get to that area, you can declutter it more.
The thing to remember is not to break the chain. Put a gold star on your calendar for each day you declutter. If you miss a day, do whatever you can to not miss a second day. 2 days quickly becomes a week and next thing you know, you have lost all your momentum. That makes it much harder to get back at it.
What if you have a super stressful day with not enough time? First of all, decluttering usually makes you feel better as you bring order into your life. Secondly, I like to declutter or put away 5 items in an area. What is the minimum you want to declutter that you can do even on an imperfect day?
Perhaps you only use the declutter calendar when you get stuck. Some people know exactly what areas they want to declutter. They don’t want to follow my plan. I created the calendar because in my Declutter Groups one of the biggest question was always, “Where do I start?” So you can open the calendar, find today’s date and know exactly where to start.
Or on days where you are feeling overwhelmed and don’t know what to do, you can take a look at the declutter calendar for today’s date. I know there are times when you get home from work and you turn in circles not knowing what to do. You can use the declutter calendar on days you don’t want to have to figure out where to declutter that day.
I also get questions in the Facebook Group about what happens if something comes up in the calendar, but you don’t have that spot or don’t need to declutter it. For example, I don’t have a cabinet over my refrigerator or a kitchen island. You are welcome to take a break from decluttering for the day. It also gives you a chance to do some deep cleaning in the room we have been working on. And finally you can go back to declutter on any day you may have missed.
But, you never have to go back and catch up on days you missed. They will come up on next year’s calendar at some point and sometimes later on in this year’s calendar.
Do NOT use the declutter calendar as a way of scolding yourself if you miss a day. If you’ve been someone that hasn’t stuck to calendars, projects, challenges and programs, you’ll want to find a way to use the calendar in a way that doesn’t erode your self-trust. You gain self-trust by doing what you have said you would do. And you lose self trust when you don’t follow through.
Most people have promised too many things, taken on too many challenges and goals, and then get mad when they can’t complete them all. Then they blame themselves for not being able to keep up with anything. You only want to make promises to yourself you can keep even on your worst weeks.
So think of your current goals, projects, challenges, and habit changes. Which 1-3 do you consider essential right now. Build your self-trust by doing those. Is decluttering one of those? If not, relax on the calendar. Drop it down to a nice to get done if you have time. Every declutter is a bonus. Or you can think of a super small goal like 10 minutes a week. Maybe dip into the declutter calendar when you feel like doing a little decluttering.
If it is essential right now, do everything in your power not to break the chain. It’s never “no big deal” when you don’t do what you say you will. It’s easier to say it doesn’t matter when it’s only you promising to you. But, your self-trust matters.
Actions that are your top priority, have to be set into a routine. Make it’s easier to do, even on days you don’t feel like it. Decide which of your actions and goals are non-negotiable right now. Commit to them.
Don’t try to change a bunch of things at once or you may dent your self-trust when not everything gets done. Don’t ruin your self-trust by things that are “nice to dos.”
For me, I like to work on one habit/challenge at a time. I don’t let myself get out of it. I don’t say I can do it later. I lock in on that one action and do it no matter what. If I have to miss a day, I don’t miss two. And it’s not because I have loads of willpower and self-discipline. I know eroding self-trust makes it harder to make progress on any goals.
What is/are your non-negotiables right now? How do you plan on using the declutter calendar this year?
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