Do you ever get overwhelmed just looking at all that clutter around your home? Do you ever feel like it is a never-ending process to declutter your home? Me too momma!
What I’ve found is that the only way to get rid of the clutter is to make it fun. And that’s where this fun game I learned from FlyLady comes in so handy!
Is your spare bedroom bursting at the seems? Do your kids toys spill over into every room in the house? And what about all that cute artwork they bring home? It’s madness!
Well, I got ya momma – today we are going to talk about a super simple process I use to *try* to keep a handle on all that clutter around the house.
If you are anything like me, getting organized has been on your resolutions list more times than you care to admit! What I have come to realize is that I don’t necessarily have an organization problem, I have a too-much-stuff problem.
And it doesn’t matter how many times I have taken an embarrassing amount of black garbage bags to the donation center, I still have too much stuff in our home. It comes in every day, thanks to the mail man and the super cute artwork the kids do at school.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the artwork and hang it up with the most grandiose of gestures. Plus any messy artwork they do at school is one less thing I have to do here at home. I do enough slime, I think I deserve a pass on the puffy paint.
But I digress, back to your well-intentioned resolutions to get more organized. Whether it’s a new year, or you are spring cleaning, or just trying to get ready for someone to come visit. We always set ourselves up for disaster with a resolution such as “get organized.”
Declutter your home –
Like FlyLady always says: “You can’t organize clutter.” So, if you feel like you need to organize, more than likely what you probably should be doing is decluttering.
Here is where I don’t like those weekend makeover shows where they go through your entire house with a dumpster in your yard and just toss everything into the landfill. Yes, some of your clutter will end up in the landfill, it’s inevitable.
But unless you are truly living in filth, more than likely you are just like me and simply have too many perfectly usable items in your home – and therein lies our problem. #amIright?
It’s still perfectly usable that we want to save it and hopefully use it some day. After all, we spent perfectly good money on this perfectly good item. Unfortunately, you probably aren’t going to use it; so why not bless someone else who does need it. Pass it along. I like to do what FlyLady lovingly calls the 27 fling boogie.
The number itself is pretty inconsequential.
The process however is not.
The process of daily finding 27-ish items that need to leave our homes is what is going to keep the clutter at bay. Like I said, clutter is coming in daily. So therefore, we must remain diligent about removing it daily. If we spend one weekend taking 75 black garbage bags to the dump and then do nothing for a year…..yep….you guessed it, we will probably be right back to square one.
So instead, give yourself a break, take a deep breath, and let go of this idea that we need to sacrifice an entire weekend and throw out our backs trying to declutter your home all in one single go.
Rather, I like this slow and steady pace of creating the habit where I pick a room (or corner!) and spend 15 minutes picking up and putting things away.
And challenge myself to find 20-25 items that need to exit my home. Whether it is going to recycling, trash, or donation – doesn’t matter, just get it out.
You can’t organize clutter –
So if you are looking to get rid of the clutter in your home, your life, schedule, and mind – spend 15 minutes daily and build the habit of decluttering your life. Because, like FlyLady says: You can’t organize clutter.
As I pursue this idea of minimalism in my home and life, I am building the habit of continually purging not only our belongings but also taking a good look at our schedules. Do we really need to have the kids in multiple sports at a time? Or will one at a time suffice?
Instead of trying to “get more organized” I am working on building the daily habit of purging 20-30 items each day from our home. In the beginning it probably won’t be too hard. I know it wasn’t for me. Why are there so many wrappers in the couch? Gross!
However, once the surface clutter starts to disappear, it will start to get more difficult. So take the time to build good habits of being intentional in the beginning so that as the progress gets a little harder, you are ready and your “minimizing muscle” is well trained.
How to tackle your clutter without getting overwhelmed –
This daily routine of continually ensuring that the clutter leaves our home will also help us to stay away from that crazy overwhelmed feeling.
You know that feeling you get when you walk into the guest room (play room/garage/attic/insert your space here) and you stare at the insane mess and just end up turning around and shutting the door behind you.
The 27 fling boogie is the answer
So, instead, take a deep breath, grab a small grocery shopping bag, and start filling it.
Remember, you are only spending 15 minutes finding 27 items that need to be removed from this space. You can totally do that! Nothing to be overwhelmed about with this method to slowly declutter your home.
You got this momma! Just go for it! And then leave me a message about how it feels after just a few days of getting the junk and clutter out of your home – one small purge session at a time.
