Clutter, clutter everywhere?

Written By Amber Houmes

This has been a common theme amongst my clients lately.  They literally feel like they are buried under a pile of clutter that is holding them back.  

Clutter really is a sneaky thing. It's like we turn our backs and our closets are full, the mail is overflowing and the once organized sock drawer is now a messy pile of who knows what.  The problem is that the chaos of clutter doesn’t just hit our physical spaces, it affects our mental and spiritual space too.  

Home is a favorite area of mine to coach on, as I believe “ My home is my oasis”.     For me an oasis does not involve clutter. Over the years, I have found a system of getting rid of things that no longer serve me and wanted to share my promises around not having clutter (I am also a budgetnista so I keep an eye on my pennies).  

  1. If I put on an outfit and I don’t feel like an 8, 9 or 10 out of 10 the item (or outfit) goes.  I’m on the hunt for if something doesn’t fit right, if there is a hole or stain or maybe the style was off.  Depending on the findings the item either goes directly to the homeless, it gets donated or it gets sold.

  2. Once a quarter I go through my home (closets, pantries, drawers and accessoriesI and sell or donate items that no longer bring me joy or have a use in my home

  3. I make a list of items that I need when going shopping(food or clothing) and stick to the list.  

  4. I don’t buy anything new until I use up what I currently have

  5. Two times per year I go through my pantry, fridge and freezer and use up the food that has or is about to expire. This is the time of year where I get extra creative with my meal creations.

  6. My items need to be organized and findable within 5 minutes

I certainly don’t suggest that you tackle all of these at once, but I do suggest that you find 1 small action that you can do daily/weekly to get you to your de-cluttered dream.  For example, I have one client that is going to reduce her clothing by 20% by 10/15, she’ll have gone through everything and put them into donation, selling or toss piles.  Small actions can make a huge impact.

Amber Houmes