What
is clutter?
 Clutter is the stuff you no longer use
or love. It’s stuff that reminds you of a
difficult time in your life. It’s stuff
you liked ten years ago but your tastes have changed. It’s
broken TVs, piles of unopened junk mail and old newspapers, hundreds of plastic yoghurt
pots that might come in useful one day, pots of dried up paint or nail varnish, unused
shelves, old light fittings, pieces of hardboard. All
these things are potential clutter.
How do you deal
with clutter?
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed so you walk away and
have a coffee instead. Here are some tips to
help.
Start today
Procrastination is the major
obstacle to decluttering. So start now.
Choose a small
area to begin with
Say you decide to sort out
your linen cupboard. Set a timer for 30
minutes. Put on some upbeat music and
you’re ready to go. Then completely empty
the cupboard and give it a quick clean. As you
pick up each item ask yourself do I ever use this? Is
it tatty? Count how many towels and sheets you
have. Do you really need them all?
When the
timer goes
Well done. You’ve made a great start. If
you feel energised then keep going. But always
work on one area at a time, or one pile of papers or a drawer or wardrobe, and finish it before you start somewhere else. Decide to do a set amount a day such as 30 minutes.
4. Letting go of old stuff
Once you
have decided to let things go, it’s crucial to get them out of the house as soon as
possible. Unwanted items can be given to
charity, friends or family or they can be recycled. Or
you might be able to sell them at a car boot sale or second hand clothes shop or advertise
in your local newspaper.
- How does it feel?
As you put
things in the bin or charity shop bag, you may feel a
huge sense of relief. Or you may feel you are
wasting money by throwing things away. You may
also feel guilty that you are letting go of unwanted presents. I know many people feel it is wrong to ever discard
a photo, even if it is blurred.
 People are often scared that the minute they part with
something they will need it and consequently hold on to copious junk. I call this the “ghost feeling”, it takes
a while to get used to a newly decluttered home.
All these
feelings are a completely normal part of the decluttering process.They often stem from
what you were taught in your family. Many of my
clients come from families where hoarding is a common problem.
How do you cope with these feelings?
i.
Sentimental
items As we get older we accumulate a
lifetime of memories. Be sentimental but
selective. Choose a beautiful box in which to
keep cherished items. Put photos into albums,
but only keep the best ones and let the others go.
ii.
Broken
things Give yourself a deadline for broken items
to be fixed, and if you don’t meet it, discard
them.
iii.
Presents
– if someone gives you an unwanted gift and there is no polite way to refuse,
accept gracefully and respect the other person’s feelings. But remember it is your
home and if you do not like something, it will
irritate or drag your spirits down every time you look at it. So dump the guilt and let it go.
iv.
Paper Be ruthless with paper. Put junk mail straight in the recycling box and make
a rule about how long you will keep newspapers. Remember
no-one has time to read everything.
v.
Fear The “what if” thoughts are some
of the hardest to deal with. I call these
clutter thoughts. I recently bought a new
lightweight vacuum cleaner. Then the thought
crept into my head, what if this new one breaks down. Perhaps
I will keep the old one. But I overcame my
wobble and gave away the old one. A useful tip
is as you buy something new, let something go. “One in, one out”
If you really feel panicky
about letting go of something, then store it somewhere for six months - in the loft or shed if you have one. Put the date on it and put the future date in your
diary. If you haven’t used it in six
months then give it away.
Storage
Once you have decluttered and
decided what to keep, it’s time to look at storage. To
maintain a clutter-free home it is essential that
everything has a home, so it’s easy to
find. Store like with like, such as all vases
together. We use 20 per cent of our possessions
80 per cent of the time, so put this 20 per cent in the most accessible places. Treat yourself to storage items such as a filing
cabinet, a shoe rack or a pretty box in which to keep sentimental items. Buy big plastic storage boxes that stack to save
space.
The benefits
  There are so many benefits to decluttering
and letting go of old stuff. You get a more relaxing home where you can find things when
you want them. You enjoy the lighter feeling
you get when you look around. Next time you
indulge in a little retail therapy you’ll have a much clearer idea of what you own
and what you actually need.
Sue Kay works with individual
clients in the London area. A free newsletter
with hints and tips is available from www.nomoreclutter.co.uk.
For more information
contact Sue Kay on 020 8444 5149 or email:
sue@nomoreclutter.co.uk
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