Address Clutter in Your Space!

© 2010 by Jackie Paulson

People who have difficulty purging stuff often manufacture reasons why it is not a good idea to
get rid of things. To get an organized lifestyle techniques are done quickly and without emotion.
The purpose is to reduce rather than control clutter and these extreme clutter control
techniques challenge the person with clutter to examine the emotional response to reducing
the stuff in their life.
Do you need to get your “stuff” organized but you do not know where to start?
Are you held back by fear of throwing out something you might need or want?
Do you keep items that are perfectly good because you cannot live with the guilt of throwing
them away?

Declutter - This style might be just the solution you are looking for. These suggestions are not
meant to be a systematic way of clutter control. These techniques are for people who are held
back by confusion or emotion and then do nothing rather than try to analyze what is really
going on. These techniques may also aid those who are time challenged and think they do not
have time to engage is a systematic purge in order to bring about more order to their
environment.

The purpose for using a any style to get organized technique is to lighten your load, so you can
feel what it is like to be unburdened and also examine what it feels like to actually discard
items. Many people stall, hesitate, and procrastinate the purge process because they are afraid
that they may get rid of something they need or want later. These extreme declutter
techniques can help you to realize that you can live without most of what you have cluttering
up your physical space without any serious consequences at all.

The goal of the extreme declutter is to see how it feels to reduce the amount of “stuff” in your
life.

These techniques are meant for reduction and not control. It is highly likely that using these
techniques will stimulate an emotional response and it is the examination of that emotional
response that will help you understand your clutter habit and the emotions that perpetuate it.
There are only two rules:

 You are not allowed to examine any item or ponder its future use or purpose.
 Use only one technique per week.

Pick up a pile of magazines and put them in the recycle bin, or donate to locate Salvation Army.

Get one garbage bag and quickly go from room to room in your house and pick up anything that
is homeless and place it in the garbage bag. Tie up the bag and put it at the curb for garbage
pickup.

Pick a pile of paper clutter and take the bottom half of it put it in a paper bag. Label with the
date and seal it with tape or staples. Put the bag right back in the place where the papers were.
In one month if you have not opened this bag simply get rid of it (make sure you take it to the
shredders if it has identifying information on it.)

As you proceed with your style declutter techniques take notice of your emotions.

If you are feeling fear try to answer these questions:

 Is there a legitimate reason for my fear?

 Am I in danger?
 Have I placed someone else in danger by my actions?
 Have I made my life better or worse with my Rambo declutter
technique?

If you are feeling guilt try to answer these questions:

 Has something bad happened?

 Did I do anything to cause it to happen?
 Did my actions cause harm to another person?

In the days following the eviction of your clutter try to become more emotionally aware of how
are you feeling not having those magazines, or papers, or other stuff around to clutter your life.

 do you feel better or worse?

 do you miss your stuff?
 does it call to you from the trash bag?
 do you have any regrets?
It is not the reduction but rather the emotional response to the reduction that is the most
important part of these techniques.

It is quite possible that you will throw something out that was needed. But that is the whole
point! The idea is to develop some perspective around the importance of the stuff you have
discarded. It is already not serving any purpose and only blocking your growth and potential in
your living space. How important can it be? If the stuff was important it would be adding value
to your life or if it was an important piece of business you would have taken care of it already. If
you really loved it you would be looking after it properly instead of letting it just clutters up your
space.

 Perhaps you discarded a bill that needed to be paid? I can

absolutely guarantee that another will be sent asking for
payment. Make sure you pay it when it arrives.
 Perhaps someone else's stuff got sent to the garbage as it was
not in its proper place? You have the right to get rid of other
people's stuff anyway. If they do not want to care for it and
make sure it is returned to its proper place then they do not
really value it!
 Perhaps you discarded a magazine that had a recipe you
wanted to try? Go to the internet and you can find twenty
versions of that same recipe there.

A lot of times the excuses for keeping stuff around us are manufactured reasons that we use to
protect ourselves from the possibility that we will be doing something terribly wrong if we
actually get rid of something.

Declutter techniques can help you to develop some perspective on the real consequences of
letting go. I can also give you another guarantee. Those consequences are never as bad as you
what you have imagined in your mind.
If you have questions or need a mentor contact: jackieplsn@yahoo.com Jackie paulson