Declutter + Clean

Getting Started with Clutter Clearing

October 11, 2024

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GETTING STARTED WITH CLUTTER CLEARING
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a woman in a large pile of clothes and linens appears to be dorwning in clutter unsure about how to get started clutter-clearing

Getting started with clutter clearing often feels like the hardest part as your brain gets overwhelmed with questions like:

  • Where do I start?
  • Do I even have time to do this?
  • What if I just make a bigger mess?
  • Will I ever make any progress?

Once our minds start spinning in anxiety with questions that can only be answered with “I don’t know,” it’s very difficult to make any progress. In this post, I will offer you some clear-cut guidelines to bypass the anxious questions and tell your brain the exact steps it needs to get started and make real progress clearing clutter with any amount of time available–yes, even 5 minutes. Hint: You don’t have to be able to eat off the floor of a space by the end to make it a lot better!

a woman makes a decision about two shirts she is holding, which allows her to move forward, the key to getting started clutter-clearing and in any project
A decision is your most important place of power.

Step 1: Decide Where You Will Get Started Clutter Clearing

You will begin by making a decision of what space you would like to clutter-clear. Give yourself up to one minute to make this decision. Where you start is not as important as the decision of where to start. A decision is our most important place of power and they key to getting started with clutter clearing or any project. Whether you choose a single drawer or your purse or an entire room, just decide and move on.

Helpful hints for high impact clutter clearing:

  • Start small to create a faster, visible result. That is, clutter clearing your backpack or a single drawer will help you see progress more quickly than if you take on your entire closet.
  • Pick a space that you use regularly. A cleared-off kitchen counter that you use or pass by many times a day will reinforce and reward a new clutter-clearing habit more powerfully than clearing out a dusty attic or storage shed that you do not regularly access.
a bedside table illustrates a high-impact place for getting started clutter-clearing because it is small and used regularly
Clutter-clearing a nightstand is a great place to start because you see it daily and it is relatively small.

Step 2: Decide How Much Time You Will Spend Clutter-Clearing

Next, you will make another quick decision. Just as the decision of where to start is somewhat arbitrary, the amount of time that you decide to clutter-clear is secondary to making the decision about how much time you will spend clutter-clearing. I recommend anywhere between 5 and 20 minutes for clutter-clearing “session.” You can always do more! This short interval gives your brain a clear endpoint and an answer to the resistance and excuses that it will undoubtedly offer you for why it is not a good time. It is also a reminder to you that clutter-clearing does not have to be an all-or-nothing, Herculean, balls-to-the-wall effort. A little progress is still progress. Once you have decided how much time you will spend, set a timer for that amount of time and you are ready to begin the actual work of clutter-clearing.

a timer helps you keep track of start and end points when clutter-clearing
Use a timer to create clear start and end points for clutter-clearing sessions.

Step 3: Use the Layer Method to Clutter-Clear without Making a Bigger Mess

Now you’ve decided what to do and how long you will spend doing it, it’s time to actually get started clutter-clearing! In this step, I explain the layer method which helps you avoid overwhelm by:

  • telling you exactly what to do or look for as you go
  • using only the time and energy you have allotted to the project without creating more work for later

In the book How to Keep House While Drowning, author KC Davis explains that there are only five types of things in any room: Trash, Dishes, Laundry, Things that Do Not Belong, and Things that Belong and that each of these categories represents a layer of the space, which you clear entirely and in this order before moving ahead to the next one.

When you clear a space a layer at a time, you know exactly what to do and how to do it. As you clear only the layer you are working in, you also avoid the trap of creating a bigger mess, so it is easier to start and stop your clutter-clearing project with your timer or as your schedule and energy allow. The mental complexity of processing the layers increases the further along you are, allowing your brain a warm-up period before making more difficult decisions.

cluttered side table or night stand with paper dishes vase picture frame office supplies
The layer method for clutter-clearing tells your brain what to do to get started.

Step 4: Celebrate Yourself!

Lastly, celebrate yourself–every time! You made progress and that’s a win! Give yourself a bear hug and a high five, take yourself for a walk or a deep breath outside, dance to your favorite song. Progress is progress and you have taken the first and hardest step!

woman high fiving her husky dog outside
You did it!

How did it go? Tell me in the comments below where you decided to get started clutter-clearing and if you used the layer method to do it.

Looking for more simple strategy and compassionate support? ClutterGenius is all about supporting you in creating intentional spaces with do-able, light-hearted methods that tap into your genius and light up your life. Book a clarity call to get 20 minutes of free, personalized support from me and if one of my programs is a good fit, I’ll make a recommendation.

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I'm Mary, your clutter coach.

I do a lot of bad-assery every day--as a parent and caregiver, an athlete, and an entrepreneur and coach. I need a home that supports me to be focused, healthy, and in-flow for the people and things that matter most to me. I want this for you, too.

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Intentional spaces created with do-able, light-hearted methods that tap into your genius and light up your life.

© MARY T-ALLEN Coaching LLC 2024  |  Design by Tonic  |  Photos by RACHEL LOUT PORTRAITS

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