Remember to only do what you feel you are able - don't try to pressure yourself to achieve objectives in any way. In the end, you will only be fighting yourself, as we will be re-visiting these topics in later cycles and you will find that you can do a little more each time. If you are finding things tough, just try to do one thing. As long as you do more than nothing, you can achieve your goals.

So, are you ready for Week One of the De-Cluttering Plan? (The required response is: "Yes, Wendy!" laughs)

Preparation

This week we are going to find out who in the household wants to help out, what needs doing, and how you feel about the whole idea of de-cluttering
your house and/or your life. Remember, when you are prioritising items/ideas, there is a different between 'urgent' and 'important'. Think about what this means to you.

You don't have to do any de-cluttering this week, unless you feel motivated to.

• Take a notepad and pen, and visit every room in your house when it is *empty* and note down the areas you are concerned about. Perhaps there are ornaments constantly being moved aside so that books can be accessed, maybe the washing is all over the floor, etc. Anything at all you feel is untidy, make a note of it. Put down as much detail as you can. Don't worry about the mess that will only last for twenty-four hours, for example: there is no need to write about the washing up in the sink unless it takes you a couple of days to sort it out.


• Re-visit the rooms when they are occupied (or as soon afterwards as possible, according to what is decent!), and look to see what changes. Do any of the people you live with have a habit of using a particular item, and then not put it away afterwards? Look to see what can be improved upon - can furniture be re-arranged to give you more room? Would a simple shelf help? Ask yourself lots of questions as if you were a visitor asking how
  you manage.


• Come up with a long term plan, which will include tasks you would consider more than a 'chore'. Also write a short term plan, detailing the things you could get rid of in, say, half a day, plus the things you think you should be doing on a regular basis.

I will be covering the following rooms as we work through the plan (all given here in no particular order): hall/landing, gardens, your bedroom,
children's bedroom(s), other bedroom(s), bathroom(s)/toilet, kitchen/utility room, dining room, living room, attic. Assign all your rooms to the categories that fit the best. If you have less rooms, for example you have two bedrooms, re-visit one of the rooms we will have already covered in the current sweep - don't move on to another room unless you really, really want to. What do I mean by the 'current sweep'? We will be cycling through the the rooms in the plan one at a time and then starting over (i.e. a new sweep). Gradually, you will sort out your home *and* get into the habit of keeping the clutter out! This is why I think my plan is a good one.

I suggest you pick a specific day of the week to:

• Look at what you achieved during the previous week (refer back to your journals - they are there you remind you how far you have come!) and pat yourself on the back! Even if you only filed one piece of paper - if that was one piece more than you did last year, you have improved the situation!


• Review what is left to be done, and check that no new clutter has appeared!

Even if you don't do anything for the rest of the week, knowing that you have a De-Clutter Day (or even just an hour!), at the same time every week, will help you to get into the habit of thinking about your clutter on a regular basis.

As always, I welcome your feedback because it helps me to come up with new ideas and solutions for you.

Good luck everyone, and DO try this at home!

Wendy.