Several of the virtual organizing clients I’ve recently worked with were experiencing overwhelm due to their physical clutter. They wanted less stuff and clearer spaces, yet felt stuck with getting started and letting go. With support, desire for change, and sound strategies, they began moving forward. It was exciting to see their positive transformations. How was it possible? 

While each client and situation is unique, some strategies consistently help. Are you or someone you know is feeling clutter-stuck? If so, I encourage you to test these five strategies, which establish parameters for support, time, place, supplies, and decisions.

5 Strategies to Destroy the Clutter Barrier When You Are Overwhelmed 

1. Support

Especially if you have tried to let go of clutter on your own and haven’t made progress, it might be time to enlist help. What type of support do you need? Reach out to a nonjudgmental friend, family member, or professional organizer (like me) to help provide accountability, insight, a listening ear, and cheerleading. Having someone support you as you make decisions is invaluable. Finding the right support could be the missing parameter that will help you get unstuck.

2. Time

Clutter can feel overwhelming when we think too big. Typically when you are stuck, go small for your decluttering sessions. For the time parameter, instead of thinking, “I’m going to work all day until I declutter my entire closet,” only work for a short period. Experiment with organizing for 60 or 90 minutes, and then stop. Return another time to do more. Shorter sessions will be more manageable, be less likely to cause burn out, and keep you receptive to organizing again. Besides, a mini time block is easier to integrate into your schedule.

“For the time parameter, instead of thinking, ‘I’m going to work all day until I declutter my entire closet,’ only work for a short period.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®

3. Place

The parameter for going small also applies to the selection of your decluttering project. Let’s say you want to remove the clutter from your bathroom. You set your time parameter for one hour. Reduce the project scope to lessen your overwhelm. Instead of decluttering the entire bathroom in one session, think small. Work on decluttering one cabinet, one shelf, or one box. Keep the goal tiny. Set mini-goals in short time intervals. Repeat until you’ve completed the entire space.

4. Supplies

To help with your decluttering project, prepare the supply parameters. What will you need before you begin? Gather the basics such as trash, donate, and recycling bins or bags, masking tape, markers, and/or a label maker. A small pad and pen or your smartphone are useful to jot down ideas, replenish items, or note discoveries. If you are working virtually and using a video platform, it’s beneficial to have an adjustable stand to hold your mobile phone or tablet, so you can work hands-free, and your support person can see what you are working on.

5. Decisions

The final parameter relates to decision-making. Before you begin decluttering, establish some global project boundaries that will help expedite your choices. You want to set up parameters so that you don’t have to question every decision. Let’s say you’re decluttering your clothes, and you have a lot of everything. Before you begin, you might decide that you will only keep five pairs of black pants, two pairs of jeans, and no skirts (because you never wear them.) Or, you might decide that any stained shirts or torn clothes will go. All decisions will be based on the boundaries you establish at the onset. You can always alter or add to the parameters as you work. Decluttering involves many choices, and it can cause decision-fatigue. By building in a few letting-go rules upfront, you can minimize that stress.

When you are overwhelmed by clutter and are stuck, what helps you move forward? Do any of these strategies resonate with you? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

You’re in good company if you’re thinking, “How is it already the middle of January?” Thoughts of glitter, parties, and intentions are on our minds. Yet here we are, halfway through the first month of a new year. You might be wondering how to make the best of your fresh start, especially with the time flying by.  If you’re still cleaning up from the holidays and getting those last decorations put away, great! In fact, getting back to square one is an integral part of preparing for a new beginning. Clearing allows us to remove obstacles and focus positive energy towards our next projects and paths.

While the first few weeks of this year have been a whirlwind, there were several external and internal things I did which helped me improve and create energy during this time of year. I’m curious if any of these ideas resonate with you? 

Edit Clothes

Typically, I edit and organize my clothes twice a year. I do the spring/summer and the fall/winter reviews. Even though I had done the fall/winter sort months ago, I noticed that I still had many clothes I wasn’t wearing. So if they weren’t being worn, what were they doing taking up valuable physical and mental space? And while that may seem like an obvious question, answering it wasn’t as simple. So I went further to figure out why I wasn’t wearing them. Was it they just didn't fit? Had they been replaced by something similar that I liked better? Was it just that when it was time to get dressed they never got picked? If I’m not wearing it, why am I maintaining it?

Do you know about the 80/20 rule? We only wear 20% of the clothes that we own. That’s because we have our favorites. So using the “favorites” criteria, I looked again and released more items from my drawers and closet. I’ll continue to pay attention as the winter progresses. Getting dressed will be obstacle-free with fewer decisions and more breathing room for my clothes.

Clear Files

While I have a lot of digital files, I still collect a fair amount of paper. The papers are stored in filing cabinets, binders or boxes, depending on what they are. By the end of the year, there is a group of financial papers that get cleared out to make room for the current year. Typically I’ll do the big paper purge the last week in December or early January. Most of the papers relate to taxes. I shred and recycle as much as possible and move the keepers to a storage area away from my prime office space. Last week I cleared my files. By the end of the year, my drawers get quite full. It becomes challenging to access what I need easily. It felt incredible to remove the old and regain my space. Now every time I open the file drawers, I have an “ahhhh” feeling. There’s no struggle, just room to file and retrieve what I need. This simple act of clearing the paper signaled my fresh start “ready for anything” attitude. 

Calm Mind

Many of you know that I meditate daily. I begin and end my day with this practice. While the point isn’t to clear my mind of all thoughts, it does help calm my mind to be more present and available to others and myself. Every day I have a mixture of positive, neutral, and negative emotions and experiences. My mindfulness and meditation practice provides me with a supportive base. It helps me appreciate the full experience of living.  I love learning about mindfulness through reading, practicing, experiencing, attending workshops, and talking with teachers and practitioners. Last week, I had the pleasure of learning from one of my favorite guides, Amy Reyer Ph.D., who led a Contemplative Meditation workshop, which was the third class in her Art of Well-Being series. Meditation practices can be done in many ways and don’t all involve sitting still on a cushion with your eyes closed while focusing on your breath. I like to experiment with different meditations. Each time I practice, that fresh start is activated. I’m able to press the reset button to pause, focus, learn, tune in, and go forward in a calmer, more open way.

To create optimal conditions for a better beginning, clear your internal and external obstacles. Edit and release what is no longer of value. Edit and release the things that are holding you down. Create space for the belongings and thoughts that support you. Clear to boost to your fresh start.

What are you ready to clear? What obstacles are you about to remove? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Join the conversation!

When we let go, what happens? We remove resistance. We free ourselves from angst and stress. We allow our minds and days to flow more smoothly. We give ourselves a break from holding on so tightly. We exhale.

I don’t know about you, but lately for me, I’ve had a multitude of opportunities to practice my letting go skills, or as I like to say, “letting go muscles.”

My letting go practice has tested me with tech, cooking, entertaining, family, business, attitude, and stuff. Each situation presented differently and with varying challenges. Yet they all had one thing in common. They provided me with a choice. I could either dig in and resist, or let go enough to move forward.

What’s interesting is that when we can’t let go, we definitely stay stuck. That “stuck” can manifest itself in physical and emotional ways.

In some cases, letting go meant shifting my attitude. By doing so, I could see that a belief I thought was true wasn’t. Letting go allowed me to open my mind to a different way of thinking and appreciating.

In other instances, I had to ask questions about why I was keeping something that was just taking up real estate and wasn’t being used. Just like many of my organizing clients, I struggled with letting go of some belongings such as books, clothes, and DVDs. I coached myself through the process, and ultimately was able to let go of some “stuff.” And you know what? I don’t miss any of the things that exited. In fact, I feel a little bit lighter.

In the process of my practice runs, I came across a short YouTube video by Knowable about letting go. The timely message resonated with me and I hope it does for you too. Here’s the link:  A psychologist walked around a room . . .

Have you had practice runs with letting go? What has your experience been? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Come join the conversation!

Difficulty letting go is one of the recurring themes that I frequently encounter in organizing work with clients. In fact, this is often one of the first steps in the organizing process. You can’t organize if you haven’t gone through the editing phase.

Many clients find it extremely challenging to let go of their physical stuff, places, ideas, unhealthy relationships, items from their to-do lists, or unproductive habits. Of course the challenge with letting go isn’t reserved only for clients. I see this also with family, friends, colleagues, and myself.

The tension between holding on and letting go is part of being human.

I find it interesting, too, that even nature is finding it hard to let go this year. Winter just hasn’t seemed ready to transition. Just this week, what should have been a beautiful spring day was anything but that. I was surprised to wake up to plants covered with snow and cool temperatures to match. Spring wants to arrive, but winter isn’t ready to let go and make room for growth.

Isn’t that what our challenge with letting go is all about? We hold on tightly to what we think we might need or want, even if its value or usefulness has long passed. We hold on because it’s familiar or comfortable, and we hold on because we’re fearful of letting go.

So what makes it so hard to let go? For me, it depends on what. I can easily donate clothes I no longer wear or don’t feel good in. However, books that I’ve read and might want to refer to again, I have a much harder time giving away. I keep papers that need to be saved or archived for tax purposes, but junk mail, magazines, or notes that I’ve attended to, I recycle without hesitation.

I suspect that you are much like me. There are things you can easily let go of and others that prove more challenging. I also recognize that sometimes it’s OK to hold on. We might not be ready yet to let go. However, when we are ready to clear those things and thoughts that are holding us back, it is liberating and energizing.

What is hard for you to let go of? What’s easy? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Come join the conversation.