Taking actions gives you energy. Wow, that sounds backwards!

Whenever you want to start a decluttering project, do you find yourself doing the following:

• You tell yourself that you are too tired and lack the energy to take any action to start decluttering?
• You  don’t feel like you can do the job right (lack of confidence) so you don’t even start?
• Are you spending a lot of time researching on how to declutter instead of taking actions?

If you’ve been waiting for enough energy, confidence, knowledge/skills, or inspiration before you start taking actions, then you probably have been waiting a long time. It’s time to let go of this backwards attitude that is weighing you down!

The truth is, the more actions you take, even itsy bitsy tiny ones, the more energy, confidence and knowledge you will gain.

Excuses, Excuses, Excuses

If you’re like me, it’s easy to believe the above excuses are true in any current moment. There are plenty of other excuses we use to stop ourselves from taking action.

If you truly want to accomplish something like decluttering the only way you will do it is to start taking actions right now. Not later when you’ve had a good night’s sleep, (if that is something that ever happens). Not later when you have the confidence or knowledge to do it. You learn by doing!

I’m inspired by what other’s do and and I know you are too. But if we don’t take actions to actually declutter some of our things, all that time researching and looking for knowledge and inspiration won’t do us any good.

 

Planning, Planning, Planning

Many times when we start to declutter or simplify our home and lives, we look around and work on a plan for what actions we should take.  We get out our notebook (paper or digital) and start writing down what we think should be done in each room.

Those piles of papers on the counter or table are glaring at us. How do we deal with them? We need a plan.

What about all the books, games, toys, etc. laying on the couches, chairs, and floor in the family room. Now we have to figure out a plan on what to keep and how to store those items.

Then there’s the pile of clothes on the floor next to the bed. Maybe we should plan to buy a nice basket that will fit the decor to put the dirty clothes in. Maybe we need to plan to buy nicer hangers so we can hang up the clothes that don’t need to be washed after one wearing.

As we look around and plan out the actions we should take, that overwhelm feeling is brought on by the sheer volume of actions that are needed. We become paralyzed. All this planning seems useless!

Then we throw our hands up in the air and give up. What’s the use? We don’t have the energy to tackle the mess. We don’t have the confidence that we are even capable of accomplishing our goal of decluttering it. All the knowledge and inspiration we got from other’s words and photos doesn’t help us because we are not like them.

 

“Just Do It”, Or Not

Back in 1988 the shoe company Nike came out with the slogan “Just Do It.”  That slogan became so popular that it was easy to apply to most things that required you to take actions.

However, the underlying message was that if you couldn’t “Just Do It”, there was something wrong with you.

That became a high standard that some of us struggled to reach.

When my children were young, I had a good friend that had children similar to the ages of mine. Her house was almost always clean whenever I would go over there.

• The dishes are washed and put away.
• The only toys out are the ones the kids were currently playing with.
• No clutter laying around on furniture or the floor. Even magazines are stacked neatly on the coffee table.

I was frustrated and felt like a failure because my house never looked that clean and uncluttered. One day I asked her how she did it. Her answer was, “I don’t know, I just do it”.

Well, that didn’t help me much!

I had all kinds of excuses. The kids needed my attention. It was hard for me to stay focused on one thing at a time. I was taking actions but I was all over the board with them. Nothing ever seemed to get completely done.  Sometimes the rooms would be cleaned up but by the next day the clutter was back.

Yes, I knew then that I was different. I couldn’t figure out how to “just do it”.

It took years to figure out I was no less capable than anyone else when it comes to tackling my clutter. I just needed some tricks and tools to help me stay focused enough to let go of the clutter and keep the house organized and clean.

How to Take Actions

I had already started reading books on organizing before my friend told me she “just does it.”  After that I really stepped up my research by going to the library and even buying as many books on the subject as I could find. Back in the late 1980″s and early 1990″s there weren’t a lot of books out there. And the existence of the internet was years away.

But I kept looking and learning and experimenting (trail and error) until I found a few tools and techniques that worked for me.

One of the best tools I found was the handy kitchen timer.  I found if I set the timer for 5, 10, or even 15 minutes, I could stay focused for that long. It became a game to “beat the timer” and clean up one area. That game helped me take action, which in turn help me get some of the results I was looking for.  It also helped me learn not to be such a perfectionist. There was no way I was going to complete most of the clean up jobs in such a short time frame. And I learned that was okay.

The goal was to just start taking actions, make a little progress, move forward.  It was hard at first to accept I was not a failure if I couldn’t complete a job from start to finish in one setting.  That was my perfectionist talking, and she was wrong!

 

The Mind Plays Tricks on Us

When we look at a mess we want to clean up, that little voice in our heads starts talking back at us.  “There is no way you will get the mess cleaned up in 5, 10, or 30+ minutes. So why even start!”

We have a tendency to over estimate how long it will take to accomplish even a simple job.  The dinner dishes was always a huge struggle for me.  I would look at the sink full of dishes and just shake my head. In my mind it felt like it would take forever to get them done. I was tired. I knew I had more energy in the morning (I’m a morning person) so I would shrug my shoulders and leave it.

When I started using a timer to take action, I would tell myself that I had enough energy to do 5 minutes. Whatever dishes got done during those 5 minutes was good enough for that night.

Well, once I started doing that, I was amazed at how much I was able to get cleaned up in 5 minutes. My mind had been playing a trick on me saying it would take forever, but reality proved to be different.

The timer help me get the kids to pick up their toys. In their little minds it felt like a huge job. But somehow they managed to get most, if not all the toys picked up in that short of time.  When they were older they complained their homework would take all afternoon and evening, I would set a timer for 15, 20, or 30 minutes. They found out that most of the time they could complete the homework during that time frame.

 

Why a Timer Works For Me

I am one of those people who can’t seem to develop and keep routines, especially in some areas like cleaning, organizing, and decluttering. Even after years of practicing, I still struggle. I have not idea why. But I’ve learn to accept that this is just who I am. And that’s okay.

But that doesn’t mean I can or will accept living in a cluttered and unorganized home. I just need to figure out what tools and techniques work best for me.

As I said before, the timer has been one of the most consistent tools that has worked. I think it’s because it allows me to stay focused on one task/project for a finite amount of time. There is a start and there is a finish for me. That doesn’t mean I complete the task at hand. It only means that I took action on it. Sometimes I do complete the task. Sometimes I’m motivated enough to set the timer for another 5 or 10 minutes to continue working on that task.

I’m using the timer to write this blog post. Thirty minutes at a time helps me focus my brain on what I want to write.

I use the timer to file papers, or declutter a drawer or closet.

The timer is my personal coach that keeps encouraging me to “just get started”.

 

Don’t Beat Yourself Up

It took a long time but I learned not to beat myself up because I wasn’t the kind of person who could “Just Do It.”  I am who I am. It’s what I have to work with. Once I started finding tools and techniques that work for me, I started having success with decluttering and organizing. It took a lot of trail and error, and still does. However, I’ve learned that taking actions, no matter how small, will lead to more actions. It’s not always easy to remember but, I’m not a failure if I can’t do things the way others “just do it”.

There is nothing wrong with you so don’t beat yourself up for it. We are all unique and need to learn how to declutter and organize our own way. And that sometimes means doing a lot of trial and error actions before you find what works for you and what doesn’t. Plus it’s important to realize that sometimes a tool or technique that works now may not always work in the future for you. Our lives change over the years and so may the actions needed to keep our homes and lives decluttered, organized and simplified. It’s the end result that matters. How you get to that point and keep it there will be unique to you.

You can “Just Do It”, only when you are doing it your way.

 

To a lighter load along the way.

Janice Scissors