OK, I admit it, this is going to be about one OF the Huge Secrets To Decluttering Success, but it’s a biggie. It’s a Macro-Level Secret. The Underlying, or Overarching Secret Thing to the tricky art of decluttering.
Decluttering is hard. That’s why my clients call me in to help. There are all sorts of reasons why they’re struggling with decluttering.
They’ve tried before and it never worked.
They’re overwhelmed with the sheer volume of stuff.
They don’t know where to start.
But my clients have a secret. That HUGE secret I mentioned. And they usually don’t even know it. Some do, and they tell me about it! They’ve instinctively acted on this secret, or have worked it out. Sometimes it’s just part of their nature, sometimes it’s something they’ve learnt over time.
What are the things that hold you back from decluttering?
Procrastination? Feelings of guilt? Your physical or emotional capacity? Maybe it’s a symptom of something else that’s going on in your life or a reflection of your nature or upbringing. Maybe you simply don’t know what to do, or why it keeps happening.
What If You Had Complete Control?
Sure Liz, you say, come wave that magic wand of yours! While you’re at it, can you get my kids to stop dumping stuff and get my partner to help me to clear up and stop my mother from bringing HER decluttering over to my house?!
I know what you’re thinking, you think I’m going to say, just train your kids to stop dumping and give them easy options for their stuff. Make a plan with your partner, set up systems that work for you both. Give your mother other options for her decluttered stuff. Or you might have read my other blogs where I suggest that you stop buying stuff that you don’t need. That you could convert all paper mail to email, set up efficient clothes washing systems…. etc. etc. etc.
These ARE all awesome ideas. But they’re Middle Level Decluttering Secrets. (Micro level is a whole ‘nother blog post) They work, but they take work. They take consistent action.
I’m talking about something so powerful that it could change your life. That HUGE secret is a reality shift. It will make you feel better about a lot of things, not just decluttering.
It might also make you stop and think about a lot of things, big and small.
Just Tell Me The Secret Already Liz!
OK, fine. So you remember my clients that I mentioned above? The ones who have worked out the HUGE secret?… They’ve tackled the top level of the secret. Oh, didn’t I mention that this HUGE secret has levels? Not only are there Macro, Middle and Micro secrets, but each secret has it’s own levels!
You could call them Top, Middle and Bottom or Big, Middling and Small levels. It depends on your perspective.
The secret is this… Everything Is A Choice.
Everything.
My clients made a Big Choice. They chose to get help to do something they wanted done, but couldn’t do themselves. Then came the Middling Choices: Which space to declutter. Then the Small Choices: Which thing to keep, which thing to let go.
For you it might be the other way around. The emotion you feel about letting a thing go might make it a Big Choice.
OK cool. So why is it a Life Changing Secret? Let me repeat, everything is a choice. Not just which coffee to have this morning. Your life and your day is made up of heaps of choices big and small.
Do you choose to be offended and angry at someone cutting off your car or do you choose to take it in your stride and turn up the music you were singing along to?
Do you choose to teach your toddler how to put away their own socks or do it yourself, again and again and again… Do you choose to pause for a second and put something away or drop it on the floor? Do you choose to stop recreational shopping and only buy what you need? Do you choose to give up storage space in order to keep that stuff you might use one day?
There’s no wrong answer. Only the answer that is right for you. It’s YOUR choice.
Do you see what I mean? It’s about your frame of mind, the way you think about what’s happening around you. Your choices put YOU in control.
There are so many choices that aren’t clutter related too.
Do you choose to yell at someone you love or take a breath and find a better way to communicate. Do you choose to take care of yourself. Do you choose to stop spending time with that toxic friend. Do you choose to stop scrolling social media and go for a walk in the fresh air instead. Or do some decluttering. Just a little bit. It’s YOUR choice.
Your choices can lead to better things. Happier relationships, a tidier home, easier decluttering, a happier you. The biggest choice of all? To start. It might mean choosing to ask for help. What ever it is that you choose to do right now, will impact your future in some way.
Will it be a positive impact? Will it help you get what you REALLY want?
What do you choose to do to get what you want right now?
Liz, The Tidy Lady.
P.S. I’m committed to sharing my decluttering, organising skills and tools with the world, in the hope that it can help others. If this blog resonates with you, please consider forwarding it to anyone who may benefit from it. If this was forwarded to you, subscribe below.
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