If clutter has gotten away from you and taken over all the surfaces of your house, and you just don’t have the strength to tackle it head on, try this:
- Set your timer for 7 minutes.
- Grab a trash bag or laundry basket.
- Go through your house and simply toss everything that is sitting out into the bag or basket. Don’t think about it. Just take your arm and rake it all in.
- At the end of the 7 minutes, go through the bag or basket.
- Throw away the trash.
- Now here is the most important part! Ask yourself if you can go ahead and get rid of whatever else is in the bag. You may be ready to get rid of it. If so, put it in a bag you will take to Goodwill next time you are out.
- With the items you have decided to keep, put them away. If everything is so cluttered, you don’t have a place for the items, just put them in the room where they go.
If you will put this habit into place every day, your clutter will eventually be gone for good. As your possessions get pared down, you will have more places to put the items you have decided to keep. Once the flat surfaces of your home have been cleared off, start opening drawers and seeing what you can get rid of there. (Hidden clutter is still clutter.)
Once the clutter starts leaving your home, your health may improve, you may be able to think better, and get along better with the people in your home. You may then feel ready to say goodbye to some emotional clutter. You will have cleared space for something new and beautiful in your life.