Happy Friday! Time for another organizing idea for your weekend :)
January is a great time to get organized. It's a fresh start. A new beginning. A time when people look back on what worked and what didn't work in the past year and then choose some things to work on that will help make the coming year better.
Lots of people list "get organized" or something similar on their list of new year's resolutions. I think it's so common because we're constantly bringing new things into our home which means it can get cluttered quickly (even for the most organized people!).
You know how people get frustrated that some household chores are never-ending? Things like laundry and dishes. I never feel like I've "finished" these tasks because as soon as I put away a load of laundry, there are dirty clothes in the hamper. Or as soon as I wash dishes, another meal rolls around and there are more dirty dishes in my sink. And don't even get me started on dusting and vacuuming and sweeping the floors and cleaning the bathroom.
As frustrating as this is at times, we all kind of accept it as a fact of life and find our own ways to deal with it so we stay sane. Hopefully anyway :)
I've recently started to think of decluttering as one of those never-ending tasks.
I don't say that to discourage you. For me it was actually kind of liberating to realize this. It was one of those eye-opening, mind-blowing, paradigm shifting experiences.
Previously, I kept thinking I would "finish" decluttering my house {I know I'm a bit of a dreamer sometimes!}. But I often got frustrated and overwhelmed because as soon as I finished purging in one room I saw clutter in another room. Or 2 or 3 or 10 rooms :)
Decluttering not really a project that I can cross of my to-do list. It's something I need to do regularly and consistently. Because clutter is always entering my house.
Do any of these items sound familiar?
- New toys for birthdays, holidays, rewards, treats, and special occasions.
- Little do-dads from loot bags or kids' meals.
- School work, art projects, and crafts.
- Newspapers, flyers, bills, notices, letters, and statements.
I could go on. And on. And on. And that's just been the last few weeks!
With this constant stream of "stuff" flowing into our home, I need an equally constant river going out of it!
I will never "finish" decluttering because I will never have a year or a season or a month or a week or even a day without things coming into my home. Mind-blowing but true.
So I've accepted that decluttering is a constant task. I've made the mental shift.
And changing how I think about decluttering has actually made me feel less overwhelmed. It's just part of my daily routine and everyday life. It's not something I will ever "complete". And I'm OK with that now.
Obviously some days or weeks will involve more decluttering than others. And I'm still working my way through all the spaces in my house, doing a thorough purge and setting up organizational systems. So I'll still cross projects off my to-do list. I love my lists! And crossing things off :)
But on a daily basis, I look around and just declutter whenever I see something that we don't need, use, or love. Or I try to anyway :) I'm just looking at everything differently than I used to. And it's very freeing.
I'll be telling you soon about a decluttering challenge I'm going to launch this year. And you can all be part of it! Stay tuned for details.
In the meantime, let's get on with this weekend's organizing tip! If you haven't guessed yet, your mission this weekend is to spend 10 minutes decluttering.
Choose an area that is bothering you the most and jump in. You'll be amazed at what you can do in 10 minutes. Just 10 minutes! That's not overwhelming. After that you can either stop and enjoy your decluttered space, or you can do another 10 minutes.
If you'd like ideas or inspiration, this month I've been sharing Peter Walsh's #31Days2GetOrganized challenges on Facebook. Each day this month he has been giving a 10-minute decluttering task. Sometimes he even has a short video (1-2 minutes) outlining the task and giving us motivation to do it.
For example, here's yesterday's task.
Big fan of that man :)
If you've already been following along with Peter's challenges, then just continue on this weekend.
If you haven't, then this weekend you can start! You can just jump in and start now. If you have more than 10 minutes, you can go back and complete some of the challenges that he's already given.
All his challenges are on his Facebook page. You can like his page to get the challenges directly every day or you can follow From Overwhelmed To Organized on Facebook and I'll share them there.
Update: Peter Walsh has a great YouTube channel and you'll find several years' of #31Days2GetOrganized videos there!
{Note: Be sure to add pages you like to interest lists so you don't miss any posts because Facebook only shows you a small percentage of the things those pages share. If you don't know what I'm talking about let me know and I'll share links to some more detailed explanations and tutorials.}
Are you ready to declutter this weekend? You'll love the results! And you'll feel less overwhelmed in your home. 10 minutes. You can do it!
How do you deal with the never-ending nature of clutter? What are you going to declutter this weekend?
Happy organizing and have a great weekend!
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