The first full week in August is Simplify Your Life Week…a great time to think about what is cluttering up your life so you can enjoy less chaos and more peace. Clutter is not just something in your physical environment. Clutter takes many forms and often it is camouflaged to the point that you may not even recognize it as clutter. If you think you have a clutter-free life, think again.
You may get a chuckle out of what I share below (author unknown). Then keep reading to learn about the many forms that clutter may be taking up residence in your life.
Thy Name is Clutter
It arose one morning from the bowels of my desk, a formless mass that spread and covered itself over anything I was looking for. “Who are you?” I asked.
“I am Clutter,” the mass answered, “and I am here to confound your life. I am the things you refuse to throw out though you haven’t used them in six years, the miscellaneous papers, phone numbers, business cards, and chatckas you accumulate and don’t put away. I am the inevitable manifestation of your sloppiness. I am Clutter.”
I grabbed Clutter and moved it from one end of the desk to the other. Clutter chortled, “That’s my favorite pastime…moving from one end of the desk to the other!” I asked, “What do you want?”
“To frustrate you. I will resist all attempts to remove me, reduce me, or otherwise eliminate me. It’s my purpose to hide whatever important piece of paper you need, whichever phone number you must call.”
“I’m throwing you out,” I stormed. Clutter shook his untidy mass sadly, as in pity.
“Not without looking through me to see if there’s anything you really need,” Clutter answered. “The odds are slim, but you won’t take that chance. And while you’re sorting through me, I’ll re-form into another pile.”
“But you’ll be smaller, more manageable.”
“Not really. You’ll decide to keep 90% of me, as you always do. And soon, new papers and documents will gather, making me more obstructive than ever.”
“You won’t ruin my life, Clutter! I’ll start a filing system! Put bits of you where you belong!” Clutter gazed at me contemptuously.
“The last time you tried that, you created my cousins, Chaos and Disorder. It’ll never work.”
Clutter had me and I knew it. Attempts in the past to file things alphabetically had only created 26 piles of mess instead of one. I was desperate, so I decided to bluff. “I’ll take a time management course,” I threatened.
Clutter quite rightly ignored my remark. I wasn’t dealing with an idiot, after all. “Then I’ll buy a computer and store you on my hard drive!”
“And within a month your computer filing system will be in total disarray, plus you’ll have another pile of papers waiting to be entered onto disks. Face it, you can’t win.
Exasperated, I ran to the closet. “I’m getting some air.”
Clutter had been to the closet before me. Shoes were scattered, shirts were unhung, clumps of pants and underwear lay strewn next to towels and a lawn chair. Socks congealed in small piles, looking like the waste product of some nylon-eating monster. Cliff notes from A Tale of Two Cities lay atop the heater.
“Clutter,” I yelled. “You have crippled my productivity for the last time. No longer will I be late, no more will I miss appointments, never again shall I be overwhelmed by your size and withdraw into reading old magazines! I am going out to the store to buy a paper shredder.”
I looked around for a long moment. “Now where did I leave my keys?”
Clutter burped.
Several Places Clutter Likes to Hide
Your schedule/activities: Do you have too many things on your to do list? Have you said yes to activities that do notenhance your life? Remember that every time you say yes to someone or something, you are saying no to someone or something else. Since you cannot possibly do it all, focus on what’s most important and delegate or say no to the rest.
“Clutter is anything you OWN, POSSESS, or DO
that does not enhance your life on a regular basis.”
–Kathy Paauw
Your “I’ll do it later” list: What have you been putting off that’s important to you? Some things are worth taking action on immediately, and some things are worth scheduling for later so they are not done at the last minute when you’re under pressure…or not done at all. Procrastination creates its own form of clutter in your life.
Your thoughts: If you are on mind overload, perhaps it’s time to clear your head. I offer a tool to assist you with this. I call it a RAM Dump. Click here for instructions on how to do a RAM Dump and what to do with everything once you’ve “dumped” your thoughts and to-dos onto paper.
Your email inbox: Do you have an inbox containing hundreds or even thousands of email messages? If so, this is not a very effective way to manage your electronic information. Clutter in your inbox will deplete your energy, and you’ll waste time looking for information and remembering important follow-up. Clear it out by doing a RAM Dump of your email inbox (see above). Unsubscribe from lists that litter your inbox with things you’ll never read. Then set up a system to help you manage future email messages as they come in. My favorite system for this is FollowUpThen.
Your storage: What are you storing in your garage or attic or in off-sight storage? Are these things that you love and use? Do they enhance your life on a regular basis? If they disappeared would you miss them? Do you even remember what’s in there? Keeping too much stuff requires you to live in a bigger home than you need or to pay rent for offsite storage. There’s also the added stress of caring for all these things as you age. And someday your loved ones will have to deal with the mess you leave behind when you are gone.
Your past: Do you have books on subjects that are out-of-date or that you’re no longer interested in? Do you have your grandmother’s heirlooms decorating your home … perhaps things you don’t even like? Do you have photos around of an Ex whom you’d rather forget? Clear this clutter from your environment and notice how your energy improves.
Note to baby boomers (born 1946-1964): Your children are probably not interested in things you inherited from your grandparents. These things may be meaningful to you, but they are most likely not something your children have any interest in. If you are saving things to pass down to your kids, have a conversation with them to determine if they even want it. Most millennials (born 1981-1996) have no interest in things like Grandma’s fine china.
Your current relationships: Are there people in your life who drain your energy an do not enhance your life? What is it costing you to maintain these relationships? Perhaps some of those energy drainers are close family members. If you choose not to sever a relationship, identify ways that you can create boundaries and take care of yourself when you are around them. To drill deeper on this, read my blog Reclaim Your Power: How to Deal with Toxic People.
Declutter Your Life!
Be ruthless when it comes to de-cluttering your life. If it’s in your environment, on your schedule, or occupying your thoughts – and it’s not enhancing your life regularly — it will affect you adversely until you get rid of it!
If you’d like to discuss ways to declutter your schedule, space and mind, let’s schedule a no-cost, no-pressure Discovery Call today.
A big part of what clutters up many people’s lives includes paper. Next week, I’ll provide you with tips to get rid of those piles of paper.
Additional Resources
- Blog: Declutter Your Life
- Blog: Tame Your Paper Tiger with a Filing System that Works
- Blog: Clean Your Closet Week
- Blog: Today is National Organize Your Home Office Day
- Blog: Reclaim Your Power: How to Deal with Toxic People
- Guest Blog: How to Become a Minimalist and Love It
- Free webinar: Find Anything in 5 Seconds or Less
- Free webinar: Buried in Paper
- Great FINDING tool: The Paper Tiger
- Remember important email needing follow-up: FollowUpThen
Amazing post. I think I am on a first name basis with Clutter.
I am going to do a de-clutter sooner than planned!
Maureen, I think most people are on a first-name basis with Clutter…especially if you expand the definition beyond your physical environment. When I ask myself the question, “How is this ____ (item, relationship, activity, thought) enhancing my life?” it helps me get really clear about whether or not it deserves to stay or go. I look forward to hearing how your declutter work goes!