The introduction to on of my newest books got my attention. It said:
“You want to build on a solid foundation, but you can’t see the floor beneath you.
You want to lose weight, but your kitchen is overwhelmed with appliances you never use.
You want to build a career, but your office literally makes you feel ill.
You want to change?This is where it starts: your home. Where you live, breath, rest, love, and create. Forget the self-help books.
Get rid of the clutter. Get organized.
If you do, I promise that every aspect of your life will change in ways that you never imagined possible.”
This is from the introduction to It’s All Too Much (available for $2.99 right now for a limited time) by Peter Walsh. It’s a book I really need at this point in my life. I can’t believe how much the clutter has stacked-up. Sadly, in some of the rooms you can barely see the floor beneath us.
The most difficult thing is to admit it. Never in a million years would I have thought that my house would look like this. But then I never imagined I would go through the things I’ve gone through. Never would I have imagined that I could get so far behind in daily life.
Our house is jam packed with art supplies, books (both for leisure and for school), educational supplies for our homeschool, and the stuff to operate several home based businesses.
The 15-minute timer trick helps keep clutter down, but I will never make progress on clearing more room for us if I spend just 15 minutes a day in each room. (See Using Hyper-Focus to Your Advantage). And it’s so overwhelming. So for the next 90-days I’m going to do the trash bag tango, as outlined in Peter Walsh’s chapter called Conquer Your Home.
Here is what the trash bag tango is:
Grab two trash bags.
Every day spend 10 minutes going from room to room in the home.
Place trash in one bag, and things that need to simply move out your door in another. These could be things that belong to someone else, or things that could go to charity.If you plan on having a garage sell use a third bag for those items. I hate having garage sells so I’m not doing that. I may find a few things to sell on eBay. That’s my style of garage sell.
He said that if I do this everyday for a week I’ll notice a huge difference. After one month everyone else will notice a huge difference, and after 90-days I will have conquered the clutter in my home.
So I’m off. I’m off to do the Trash Bag Tango. Looks like I’m going to have to find some good tango music.
Related Articles:
- The Pirates Scared the Bears Away
- IKEA What? - Win EntreCard Credits
- There is a Bear in My Office - Tales of the Trash Bag Tango
|
 Email This Post
 Print This Post
|
You go girl! We work on keeping the clutter down all the time…at least I do, as my husband is a hoarder. We’re moving this spring, and that’ll be my chance to get rid of some of the big stuff that has been getting in the way! Moving is like shedding a cocoon, I don’t like it, but it sure helps me keep up with the junk!
Karen,
Thanks for the encouragement. I told my husband a while ago that we needed to move so we could shed a few pounds. Not that you have to move to do that. You don’t. But it does help to draw attention to the things you don’t really want or need anymore. Probably because it causes one to choose between the pain of moving vs. the desire for having. When the pain of moving is great than the desire out it goes.
I do have a funny story about our last move I’ll have to share in the next couple of days. It is amazing what one will move with them.
Leisa
Several years ago, I learned that if you hadn’t opened a box in 3 or more years… just throw the box away. Don’t look inside… just get rid of it.
For desk clutter, especially at work, handle things in the inbox one time… either throw it away, or take action on it. I NEVER mastered that, as evidenced by my e-mail accounts full of messages.
When it comes to clothes… only keep what doesn’t fit if it’s smaller than where you are now, and you expect that by the time you get that small again… it will be back in style.
Hope this helps,
Shari
Thanks so much for the tips Shari. I’ve heard the three year rule. My fear is that all the sudden the IRS will need that receipt for a business expense. And that receipt would be in that one box. So usually I can’t resist the urge to peak inside and make sure there isn’t something I may need.
Thankfully the clothes are not a problem. I do regularly get rid of clothing I no longer wear. Hey - I am doing something right. No actually, I am sure I am doing more than one thing right.
I can safely say it it papers that is my biggest challenge. I do have a wonderful solution to that and I’ll share it later. At least one that works well for me. It’s just going to take some time to get it done.
Leisa