Checking!!!

Chapter 9

The Change Within


As with any revelation that you will ever come across in your life time, the will to want to be in control of all you have and all that surrounds you is completely in your hands. You can choose to live a clean and meticulous life or have it the other way. After all they are the choices that we make, in our lives that determine who we become or what we make of our selves. It is important to stand by your decisions and own them completely. It is thinking with a certain sense of accountability, that allows us to realize that, what we do in your personal lives with regards to unhealthy habits, is just not exceptable. It is easy to say that, it is a common practice to have a pile of books in one corner of the room or perhaps a stack of unwashed clothes in the other. Why? Well, because every one is on the move, and there just isn’t enough time for getting into something so trivial, as folding your sheets or putting your unused books away in a box.

You have to understand, that if you want to get some thing done, you need to do it your self, or atleast know that, breaking the mental block is what you have to train your self to do. Yes, it is very normal for any one to walk into a messy situation and want to walk right out of it. Even if that “situation” happens to be your own home. You want to do it, but you just can not seam to convince your self that it is a priority at present. In such a circumstance, it is always helpful to push you’re self into a position you would not normal like to be in. For example, if your attic needs some serious decluttering and you just do not want to go near it, call over some friends for a game of cards in the attic, or perhaps a cup of tea. It may seam strange to you, but the pressure of some friends coming over may be what you are looking for to help you get on with it. Just make sure there not too close to you, in that case its not going to matter and you will probably end up making more of a mess of just gathering some more unwanted clutter.


Once you have learned to push your self, you will find that it really is not a big deal to reorganize any thing. However, it is always a better idea to know what you are capable of doing. I agree that when you see too much clutter in one place the thought of the time that needs to be spent on dealing with it is painful enough to put your self off. Regardless one must realize the advantage of spending that extra time in doing so. Remember only after having experienced the complete satisfaction of decluttering can you know the true beauty of actually going thorough the entire process.

You have to change your self, not only in the way you act but also, and more importantly in the way you think. This is simply because clutter is an unavoidable aspect of life, that can never really ever go away forever. You will, have to deal with it ever so often, and when you realize that in a way it is going to always be with you, it is easy to give in to the tempation of letting it grow. That, is something you just do not want to do, and it is thinking like that which causes an actual physical and physcological change in you which is not exactly a positive step. So you must be physically active and mentally strong , in order to deal with clutter, although this concept may seam a bit silly. Almost sounding like the Greeks looking to take on the Persian army in years gone past. However, the point you need to remember is that you will be the person who wants to change. This has to come from with in, the kind of interensic motivation required to take on an every growing army.

Once you start controlling your own decluttering problems, you can move out ward from there. Constantly improving your self and helping ours as well, not that you have gotten the hang of it. Not only will it be a great feeling to spread the joy of a fresh way of living, you will for once be praticing what you preach.


Chapter 10

The Dumping Zone


One of the things you must realize while dealing with clutter is when you are unable to get rid of it completely, you have to go for the next best thing, and that would mean organizing it. Well to be fair, any clutter that is organized or is manageable, can not really be called clutter to begin with. Any clutter that is in control is something you can be proud of, it will be the next best thing to having it out of your hair.

In order to achieve this goal you have to think very practically, making sure what you are up against and also, understanding how realistic the gaol is going to be once you actually get down to doing it. The concept of the dumping zone is one where you have to try and keep in mind, that you are trying to keep a lid on some thing that will constantly want to grow. What the dumping zone does is adds “hot spots” in the rooms individually that allows you to keep an eye on how much clutter has amounted. In this way you will have a fair idea as to how much decluttering needs to be done and how long it will take you in doing so.

The idea of a dumping area is one that may seam to be contradictory, if you go by the name; giving you the license to gather clutter in different parts of your rooms, almost justifying it’s being there. Like I mentioned before, decluttering is always effective when you realize that it is a continueus process and has to be maintained in order to keep it in control. It does not matter if you only spend a few minutes a day in the decluttering of your rooms, as long as you do it every day. We all know what a joy it is to know that the clutter of our homes is well in control, the feeling gives you a serious sense of achievement. It not every day that you wake up to a clean room, the entire experience can be really revitalizing. After all it’s the small things in life that count and decluttering is just another one of those things that you have to go through to get to the other side.

There have to be more ways to go about the same task, and creating a dumping area for clutter is just another way of doing that. Its some thing of a controlled epidemic or you could say that in doing so you will have a method in your madness. Its more of a conscious effort to keep your clutter in control and keep it on your mind. By allotting certain areas of your home for clutter you are mentally preparing yourself for dealling with it and subconsciously are already preparing yourself towards taking care of it. So just as long as you are consciously working towards solving your cluttering problem, you are making progress in the long run.




Chapter 11

Building Habits



Now it’s not really fair to say that the process of decluttering in itself is a life saver, or helps you reach a elevated feeling of self. When it comes down to do it, decluttering can become very tiresome and boring. Some times it takes up way too much time and you just can not finish what you started out to do. Now in such a case, as is true with all good habits, you really must work on building it. You have to consciously take out time in the day or evening and make sure you are developing habits for a good clean clutter free life.

The first step in building such ahbits is realizing that you are worrying about the wrong thing, for example if you have to remove the junk mail you receive every day, from the dinning table a few seconds before you sit down to eat, or you have to throw the dirty laundry off your bed before diving into it. The point I am trying to make here is that, you need to nip the evil in the bud, so to speak. You have to stop such clutter from multiplying, and soon you will realize that is how it gets impossible to clean, as you are not forming good decluttering habits, by not taking preventative measures when they need to be implemented right away. All you have to do is discard the junk mail as soon as it comes in your home. The best way to do that , would be to place a waste paper basket or a shredding machine next to the front door. No sooner has the mail entered your home,and its on its way out. Or just keep a laundry basket close to wear you usually change, in this way you already know what you are looking to do, and that is make decluttering part of your life style. This is a process that will allow you to get loads done before you even know you are doing it. This is part of the trick, you don’t want to know that your are actually decluttering which you do these simple actions, but you only realize that once you stop. So making decluttering a habit is the best way to take care of this problem.


The reason why so many people want to declutter is they want to be able to find more time to live! The world today is moving at a seemingly alarming pace, where every one just want s a quick fix solution to every thing form car trouble to popping toast. Well you have to understand that the decluttering process is a prerequizit to a new and revitalized out look on life. It is worth the effort, as the results will speak for them selves. Just compare the progress between cleaning once a week with a little bit every day, and you will soon realize that the difference is asstounding. Making decluttering a permanet part of your daily tasks . It’s the simple things that make all the difference in the end. Like make a habit of keeping the essentials, for example don’t use more cothes than you already need. Make sure you put them away when not being used or off season, because if you do not, do not be surprised to find that you always have more laundry to clean or some where in the corner of the room. The amount of cothes available to you will always super seed your expectations, since you always had a fresh change in line. By simply reducing the number of pairs of pants for instance can reduce the hassle of picking up that extra pair from the floor, helping in automatically reduce the clutter in the bed room.



Chapter 12

Consistency


Easier said that done some would say, and that’s not too far from the truth. As I touched on earlier, keeping the momentum flowing can be one of the most difficult things to do with regards to decluttering. It’s always more approachable when you do it every now and then, saying some thing like “it’s not like I have to do this every day”. Well unfortunately that’s exactly what needs to be done. Having said that, it is not the most impossible task in the world either. The fact is that there are many ways to practically work towards decluttering your home with out too much effort. The need is there of course, to be extremely careful while letting potential clutter into your house or surroundings.

Consistency is the key to having a clutter free life and home. The more you are committed to the cause of living with out having to be under stress of clutter, the closer you are to achieving the state of a decluttered home and life. It really helps keeping yourself physically as well as mentally active, with regards to what all you have in your home, as your possesions and belongings. If your have ever lost track of where you put that important letter or document, you really need to start refocusing your attention towards the commitment to decluttering your home, for your own peace of mind.

It should not take you more than fifteen minutes to declutter your home on a daily basis. You have to rememberthat, only by shortening the amount of work, down to a sizable portion can you realistically know how long you will take in doing it. The sense of timing is vital in knowing how consistently you will be able to declutter your home, with out taking up to much time. One way of keeping things into account is by seeing how long you take, perhaps timing yourself would not be a bad idea. You might not be able to stop once you start, but if you know you have to do it every day, its probably a better idea to tackle a zone at a time. It can be difficult to declutter when you realize that its not like you can just throw away your clutter, especially if there is a deep sentimental attachment or personal significance associated with it. This is the way it is, what you can do is organize the things that you will probably want to keep. Use markers and bags, and use your storage spaces wisely. The point of all of it is to make sure you do not throw something away, only to realize its importance later on. After all its all your stuff, and most of it is still there because you just can not get yourself to do it, and that’s throw it away. By marking the bags and putting them away, you will be able to know that they are still there, but in an organized why, more over that is infact, what decluttering essentially is, it’s the organization of your belongings. The trick to keeping it consistant is to go from zone to zone, declutter a chosen spot and do not leave it until it is fully decluttered. One of the things you can try is to clean in a clockwise direction, its almost like a magic wand, only there is no magic, and you are actually doing all the work. Where ever you go, you leave oraginzed belongings and systematic possessions in your wake. It is a push in the right direction, and the sight of a clean trail, only motivates you into wanting to finish the rest of the room.





Chapter 13

Useful Clutter?


What is that? Is that even possible? Does such a thing exist, know as useful clutter? Well, the way I see it, any clutter than can be made use off is useful clutter. Its simple enough. If you do not need it or love it, give it away, it can be far more useful to someone else if you do that. I know it is a difficult thing to imagine, but belive me, I never imagined that “out of sight, out of mind” was actually true. You really do not believe it until you try it yourself, it’s a surprising notion, that makes you realize how easy it becomes to just let go some times.

It goes a long way in decluttering to take the leap of fate with things you look at and instantly do not know what to do with. Put them in a give a way or donation bag at let go off them. If they were that important to you they wouldn’t have been under the be or behind four boxes covered in dust in the attic. This is really the type of thinking you need to have in order to move on in life, I mean lets face it, you already cherish the most important things in your life, like you family, home, sewing machine,guitar or pet cat. Do you really need some thing that you think you might use some day in the unpredictable future? You would be much more better off giving it away, at least you do not have to account for it any more. It could help someone who really is in need of it.

You have to keep your focus in mind, remember that you want to get yourself as far away from clutter as possible. The last thing you need is a reason to want to hold on to it, some people are against the idea on selling off your clutter in a garage sale. Well that really depends on the type of person you are. Some people just can imagine living with out certain things that even they consider clutter. They end up saving them till the day tell no longer remember they had it, which is fine because they are also the meticulous type of individuals who can not be caught out with out a plastic bag for their possesions marked with a label on it. No if you are one of those, you can hardly call your belongings clutter. On the other hand if you are more of a practically minded person, and believe that its better to generate a little money on the side, selling off things that are no longer required. This is of course another way of looking at decluttering, I suppose it could be said that unless you delay the garage sale, it’s a decent move. However, make sure you go through with the sale as soon as you can. Remember, the more you delay the more the clutter will start piling up, and that is some thing no one can afford.

Regardless of what you do, you have to make sure you are either selling it or giving it away. You do not want to see the same clutter in your home by the end of the day. You have to get rid of your clutter, incase you are unable to organize it, this is the only way to make sure it does not pile up in your home.