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Does Your Closet Serve You Well?

3/26/2020

1 Comment

 
​Do you feel like this?
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This was me about six years ago.  I kept telling myself, “I’ll clean my closet when I have time”. I was busy, tired, and overwhelmed. Managing our six kids, a business, and life.  I knew that I had to STOP and take care of my closet. This had become a place where I tossed stuff until I had time to put it away.  But, it didn’t happen. Not for a long time. I realized that I needed to take the time to declutter and organize.  

I spent one whole day decluttering my closet.  I sorted through my clothes and eliminated everything that I didn’t like, fit, or wear.  Then, I took the things out of my closet that didn’t belong there. And finally, I looked at the way I had it organized and I rearranged the areas that needed it.

I felt AMAZING and RELIEVED after I was done.  So many things that were in my closet went out the door; either to the trash, donation, or back to who it belonged to.  The “less is more” phrase is so true! Less stuff = more freedom. Freedom from the things that don’t serve me. Freedom from the feelings of guilt I had because I “didn’t have time”.  Freedom from the frustration I had when I couldn’t find something that I knew that I had.

Does your closet serve you well, or do you need to take a day and deep dive into your closet?  I would encourage you to set aside a day to tackle your closet. Supplies that I suggest before you begin:
  • Your favorite drink and snack
  • Trash bags
  • Bins, boxes, or bags to go to donation
  • Bin for things that need to be returned to someone else
  • Music or podcast to keep you motivated.  My favorite podcast is Organize 365.  Lisa is a great motivator :)
Know that this will take time, emotional energy, and perseverance.  I want to encourage you to organize your closet while you have the time.  You will feel AMAZING when you are done!
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I’d love to see your before and after photos!

For more inspiration, The Ultimate Closet Design and Organizing Guide.
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Let’s Do it Together!
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5 Questions to Take the Guesswork Out of Decluttering

7/9/2019

1 Comment

 
De-cluttering can be overwhelming time-consuming. While it’s true de-cluttering can take a lot of time, the results can be life-changing!  Before organizing your space, I like to talk about getting to Ground Zero.  This is the place where all the unnecessary, unwanted, and junk is gone and you are left with the things you love and need.  When you get here you will then be able to begin to organize your spaces. De-cluttering first is key!
You know you need to de-clutter your kitchen, office, spare room, or garage.  You keep looking at the space and walking by it, vowing to get started “tomorrow”.  Tomorrow comes and goes, as do weeks and months. Why haven’t you started? Why do you keep walking by, feeling overwhelmed, guilty, and frustrated?   It may be because you don’t know HOW to start to de-clutter that space. It’s easier to put it off, ignore it, and tell yourself that you will get to it later.  
Here are 5 questions I ask my clients.  Answering these questions will help you to gain clarity and decide if you need to keep the items or not.   Let’s get to it!
  1.  Is this useful to me?  Is this something that we need in our home?  Does it serve a purpose, or is this something that I have used, but an not using anymore?  When you stop to think about it, we go through phases of life, and each phase has things that we have collected at that time, for a reason.  If you moved passed the season for the item, feel free to pass it on to someone else who may be ready to use it.
  2. Do I have something else similar to this that I can use?  I love to use the example of wooden spoons in a kitchen.  How many do you really need?  Sometimes we collect similar items that can be used for the same purpose. For example pressure cooker, crockpot or slow cooker, instant pot, rice cooker.  These four small appliances take up storage space. When is the last time you have you all of them? A solution could be: keep the instant pot because it can be used as a pressure cooker, slow cooker, and rice cooker.  This is one example of streamlining appliances or tools that we have.  
  3. Am I only keeping it because I spent money on it?  This can be a tough one.  Money is something that causes us to hold tightly onto things.  We can’t bear to let something go if we have spent a lot of money on it.  We ignore the fact that we don't use it, it doesn’t fit, it’s broken, we frankly don’t even like it.  But we are bound to keep the item because we spent money on it. I’m giving you permissions, actually, encouraging you to let go of these things!  If it’s not serving you and you won’t use it, why are you using valuable space in your home to store this item? Especially if you can’t even get a refund!  I encourage my clients to let go of the guilt, rehome the item, and chalk it up to a bad purchase decision. You know we have all made them! Toss the item, toss the guilt!
  4. Am I only keeping this item out of obligation?  The gift, the treasure, the things that someone thought you just had to have!  Sentimental gifts are hard. Keeping something because you want to because you have warm feelings about the memory associated with the item.  I am all about saving things! Keeping something that you don’t want or need, because it was a gift is not necessary. Would that person really care if you kept it?  Can you send it on its way to bless someone else? Please lose the guilt of holding onto something out of obligation. This can fall under emotional manipulation. Don’t go there, make your choices, and keep it if you love it.
  5. Am I saving this “Just In Case”?  This is one of my favorite questions to ask. I like to start with a) when is the last time you used it?  (good grief it its been years!) b) do you think Just In Case will be coming for a visit? c) do you know of someone else who has the same item that you could borrow if Just In Case comes to visit?   I also like to add, if you are an FB user and need something for a one time use, ask your friends, someone is bound to have it! 
If you are ready to de-clutter, I would love for you to join the July Weight Loss Challenge!  During this month, we are de-cluttering our homes, and tracking the weight of what we are de-cluttering.  I did this last year and our home lost 822# of STUFF!  Join us in the Organizing Your Chaos FB Group and download the free #JulyWeightLossChallenge Tracker to help you as you declutter your home!  I would love to know how much weight your home will lose :)

Let's Do It Together!

1 Comment

    Monique Horb

    I coach busy, tired, and overwhelmed women who struggle with "winning at work and losing at home".  We work together to transform your life from chaotic to calm.  De-cluttering your home, paper piles, and over-flowing schedule will you the confidence, time an energy to do what God created for you to do. 

    I am a Christian, wife, and mom to six :)  I've struggled with feelings of hopelessness, depression, and overwhelm. I know first-hand that life can be really hard.  I also know that when you have someone walking along side of you, changing things in your life is so much easier.  We all need someone to walk beside us.  Let's Do It Together!

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