Spring Has Sprung - Clutter Clearing Has Begun.

Welcome everyone to my first blog and the beginning of Spring here in Australia. The birds are chirping, the feeling of warm sunshine is on its way and the anticipation of becoming more social is on its way, as we are all come out of hibernation from winter, ok well maybe that is only me, yep as soon as it drops below 15 I bunker down as if there is weather forecast saying we can't leave the house due to safety issues.

Now we are all excited about getting social but then we realise we need to do that over due clean out we have been putting off as it has been too cold to move and get motivated and lets face it we would rather procrastinate and stay on the couch watching Netflix, Stan or Foxtel thinking we have all the time in the world.

Alot of people say to me I just can't get started, there is so much to do, where do I begin? Starting is the first step and breaking it down into small manageable chunks. But before we go there I want to ask you what do you consider to be clutter? Everyone has opinions and some people are in denial, Do we have to live as minimalists? There is so many varying opinions from people in the industry that do this for a living helping others, to people who think they have it all under control and can do it themselves but actually cant even throw a single sock out in case one day they find the other one.

Lets talk about clutter. Clutter comes in many shapes and forms, there is the physical form, yes we all know what this looks like, books, DVD, magazines, clothes, shoes, paperwork and the list goes on. Then there is technology clutter - emails, digital files, photos, bank statements or anything saved on your hard drive, desk top, laptop, phone and Ipad. Some of us have multiple devices linked, yes that is multiple stuff stored on every device!

Then there is mental clutter, this is the stuff that is in our heads, I need to make that Dr appointment, I need to do my Tax, I need to send those thank you notes, I need to clean out my closest, I need to do the washing and ironing, I need to - I need, to I need to, the constant dialogue in our heads, taking up more space then we possibly realise. Procrastination, delay, I will do it tomorrow, these are all things we do and say to ourselves increasing the mental clutter so that we can barely think straight.

So how do we move forward, make a list of all the things you need and want to do, thats right get it out of your head onto paper so you can see what is taking up so much room, stress and worry in your head and in your life. Thats right just because it is in your head and sometimes not always front and centre, it doesn't mean it disappears, it stays trapped in your subconscious mind till the trigger reminder sets it off. I here you saying what on earth is she talking about, well lets say you need to do that massive pile of ironing. So you put it in a spare room that has the door shut, out of mind out of site, right? Wrong, as soon as you see it it sets the mind into overload, I have to still do that and then it becomes front and centre again added to the endless mind churning. So by writing a list you get a visible sight of the things that are worrying you.

Now armed with this list, you can begin to do these things one by one and make sure you tick them off, scratch them out, whatever gives you that joy and sense of purpose getting a task done. You may remember as you go other things you need to do, so you can add them and keep moving through the list.

Now we all work hard and lead busy lives and we have family commitments and want some down time after working hard. However if you commit to 15 minutes a day minimum to doing a task that you need to do, you will feel a sense of achievement and joy at being able to free up more time in your life. Lets face it how many adds are there on TV, seriously, you can literally go and make yourself a cuppa, go to the bathroom and put some washing on and your show is still not back on. Use this time to do something, go and clean out a drawer, clean out another one, before you know it, you have cleaned out a whole side table or set of drawers. WOW how did that happen.

So last but not least how do we define what to keep and what to let go. Everything you own or have should make you feel great and you love it, thats right. How does your favourite shirt or dress make you feel when you wear it, amazing right? Well when you look at the things around you, you want them to make you feel great and bring you joy and happiness. Happy Clutter Clearing Everyone.