Laura from Clutter Clarity is back on this blog – because she talks so much sense and life wisdom.
“How will I ever find time to do everything on my list?”
She says that if you feel that sense of “I don’t know how I’ll get enough time to deal with all that I have to” – she immediately phones someone else to get their help.
She describes the panic as a constriction in your heart – and says that at that point you stop worrying about getting everything done on your list – and switch to getting the highest priorities done.
There are 5 options in this state:
- Do
- Delegate
- Drop
- Diminish (make a big project smaller) or
- Defer
Sorting clutter
What is it? She’s clear that clutter can be linked with a messy home, but says she knows people who are very organised but suddenly have a lot of clutter because they’re clearing their parents’ homes after a bereavement.
“Clutter is what no longer adds value to your present life”
Keep something if you say:
- I love it now
- I’ve used it in the past year
- I have space for it in my present home (or in next home if about to move)
- It fits my current lifestyle (age, health, hobbies, aesthetic)
How clutter happens
Life is dynamic, so your interests and aesthetic naturally change and develop – and what was once useful and beautiful becomes clutter. For example, something useful to a 40 year old may be less used to a 60 year old and completely irrelevant to an 80 year old. She therefore pooh-poohs the Organiser Slogan of “Get sorted once and for ever” – her attitude is that decluttering is a natural part of life so worth learning how to make decisions on your stuff.
Next Gen
She has a friend who teaches a workshop called “Your kids don’t want your stuff: get over it”. Pragmatically, she points out that the next generation have different ways.
Find a reasonably comfortable way to deal with clutter
This is a more kind-to-yourself way than attacking a hated chore with resentment and to the point of exhaustion.
e.g. she had a client who wasn’t washing dishes as she loathed doing it. This helper didn’t judge, moved to “how can we make this work”. She found out that the client loved opera music, and hated washing dishes in the evening. Solution: each morning, the client puts on opera music in the background and gets through the dishes.
Comma And 