By Sangeetha Shreekar
We all are guilty of hoarding, and we do accumulate clutter in the process over a period. Let us get to organisation of the clutter around us to make life work better, physically, and psychologically.
Clutter and procrastination run hand in hand, we would always have the decluttering on our to-do list which we never get to! It then manifests into stress effecting our mental health. It also signifies lack of control leading to anger. Time to tackle them with our easy steps and tips. Let get decluttering.
1. Make a checklist
Let us not overwhelm ourselves by wanting to declutter everything in one go. Start small. You could also go with time allocated for every list to ensure you are not stuck in a rut with one job. For example, Monday 20 mins for work desk decluttering, Tuesday 30 mins for the kitchen cabinets and so forth.
2. Do a ‘Marie Kondo’ on your hoarded items:
The most hyped method which works in decluttering. If an item is not bringing joy to you, get rid of it. No matter what value it holds, it is time to move on. The 5 steps of Marie Kondo could make decluttering way more easier.
3. Freebies? No thanks:
The most hoarded items in adult life are the freebies you gather from every mall visit or the events attended. You cannot say no but you would never come back home and use them either. The pile of the goodie bags just keep getting bigger. Make a conscious effort to say no to goodies unless you know you will use them.
4. Digital clutter
We all have succumbed to subscriptions under the influence of greed for loyalty points or immediate discount while online shopping. Set a time aside to block/unsubscribe all those promotional emails from brands and companies you never intend to revisit. Why limit to mails, declutter the people you follow and friends with on the social media. Hit that unfollow button.
5. Four-box method:
The effective way to box away and get rid of the clutter. Categorised boxes as Trash, Donate, Store and Keep will also enforce you to make decisions rather than procrastinating the decluttering task.
6. Throw a decluttering party:
We could all get help from the set of honest friends and families as we need the extra push at times. Make the decluttering event a fun one and invite the friends over, better audience to donate the items right away.
7. Declutter people:
Materialistic items are a necessary to declutter, so are people. In the process of letting go, it is important to make the list of essential people who get to be in your life. Time to make a list and shut the doors for those who doesn’t provide you a positive vibe and rather drain your energy.
8. Mindfulness:
The goal of mindfulness is to redirect your energy to present. Letting go of items from the past, be it materialistic or human beings can be daunting on the mental health. A simple breathing exercise as you knock off the spaces from your declutter list will help you calm and build positive energy.
In a summary, keeping the decluttering simple and in part will make it easier in building it as a habit. Staying consistent to declutter life will make you happier and less stressful. Decluttering habit will also give you more financial freedom with a conscious effort towards buying items in life as you transform into a minimalist. Own less, Live more.