The Clearing: Group Two

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.

If you were de-cluttering last week, try to keep it up. If you feel you are losing momentum, that's okay so long as you do the tiniest amount each day. This doesn't involve throwing things away every day - simply that you should try to stay on top of the situation on your terms. If you haven't started yet, try to join in now. There's no need to rush around in a frenzy and get rid of all those clutter zones in one go (unless of course, you know there's a bill in one of the piles!). Try this:

Take a notepad and pen, and go out for a walk. When you come back, approach your home as if you are a visitor and first think about how you feel as you come to the door. Try to clear your mind of the emotions and thoughts you have as the person who lives there, and be a stranger for a few minutes. Then, still as a 'stranger', open the door and walk around the rooms, looking at everything from a practical point of view. Spot the clutter and jot down some notes about where it is, how urgently it needs to be tackled, etc.

Once you have the list down on paper, leave it overnight and then walk around again as you normally do (i.e. as the person who lives there). Look at the clutter again, and decide how you *feel* about it. Work out in your mind whether most of it will stay or go and make a note. The idea is to get all the worry about the clutter out of your head and down on paper. Your brain will then see the problem laid out logically and start to come up with a solution.

Start with the most urgent clutter zone and pick a little off the top. Work through it, then go and make yourself a drink, wander round the garden, anything that doesn't involve too much interaction, or else you may get sidetracked. If you feel motivated to do some more, then go back and take a little more off the top. If you don't want to do any more, try again the next day, and so on. If you manage to remove one clutter zone, that's brilliant! Be cautious about moving straight on to another, though, as you need to have enough clutter to get into the habit of removing it! It sounds peculiar, but you will reap the reward of forming the habit in the longer term.

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.

* Please come back to the list with tips and suggestions for those in Group 1! We need you!

Back to the Educationsense Home Page	This part of the Educationsense site was developed alongside my HE Clutter discussion list. We always welcome new subscribers!	Back to The Clearing
	"We have nothing to lose except our clutter!" Here is this week's Plan from the de-cluttering programme. If you are new to the de-cluttering programme, and would like to join in, please go here instead. If you would like to begin the second cycle, please contact me or join the discussion list. Everything will shortly be available online. General information about this weeks' plan can be found here. The theme for this week is: "Preparation". IMPORTANT MESSAGE: *In order to have a weekly Plan e-mailed to you, please set your preferences here.* Group Two is for people who generally have a tidy home, but are worried about a few disaster zones spreading. Please pick a group for yourself and stick with it for two months. Once you decide which group you belong to, don't attempt to follow advice for other groups at the same time, as you will have too much to do. If you are not sure which group you should join, start with the lower numbers as they include introductions to the concepts of later groups. You may sometimes think that you could have achieved more in one week, but don't assume this means that the programme isn't going at your pace. If you find you have achieved everything I mentioned for a particular week, find a way of adapting the same theme somewhere else in your home. We have to go slowly, because you have other things going on in your life and if you have a few days where you feel overwhelmed, you may well decide to ditch the de-clutter programme first. This is why we are going to take it slow. Also, the key to continued success is to get into the habit of doing it, not to have a de-cluttering frenzy several times a year! 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. If you were de-cluttering last week, try to keep it up. If you feel you are losing momentum, that's okay so long as you do the tiniest amount each day. This doesn't involve throwing things away every day - simply that you should try to stay on top of the situation on your terms. If you haven't started yet, try to join in now. There's no need to rush around in a frenzy and get rid of all those clutter zones in one go (unless of course, you know there's a bill in one of the piles!). Try this: Take a notepad and pen, and go out for a walk. When you come back, approach your home as if you are a visitor and first think about how you feel as you come to the door. Try to clear your mind of the emotions and thoughts you have as the person who lives there, and be a stranger for a few minutes. Then, still as a 'stranger', open the door and walk around the rooms, looking at everything from a practical point of view. Spot the clutter and jot down some notes about where it is, how urgently it needs to be tackled, etc. Once you have the list down on paper, leave it overnight and then walk around again as you normally do (i.e. as the person who lives there). Look at the clutter again, and decide how you feel about it. Work out in your mind whether most of it will stay or go and make a note. The idea is to get all the worry about the clutter out of your head and down on paper. Your brain will then see the problem laid out logically and start to come up with a solution. Start with the most urgent clutter zone and pick a little off the top. Work through it, then go and make yourself a drink, wander round the garden, anything that doesn't involve too much interaction, or else you may get sidetracked. If you feel motivated to do some more, then go back and take a little more off the top. If you don't want to do any more, try again the next day, and so on. If you manage to remove one clutter zone, that's brilliant! Be cautious about moving straight on to another, though, as you need to have enough clutter to get into the habit of removing it! It sounds peculiar, but you will reap the reward of forming the habit in the longer term. 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. * Please come back to the list with tips and suggestions for those in Group 1! We need you! 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.
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