On Thursday March 17th, Carolyn gave a very informative presentation entitled “ Decluttering at the Speed of Life” 

Carolyn began her presentation by giving her definition of clutter;

What is clutter- a confusing, disorderly state, and anything you can’t keep under control. She advised time can be cluttered, as well as your mind. If you happen to have a space that gets out of control and is closing in on you, or maybe interfere with your life, that can be clutter. 

When it comes to clutter, just knowing that you’re not alone, does help with the struggle. Dealing with the clutter won’t be easy, and you do have to be ready and in the right mindset. Carolyn advised that we don’t know what causes us to hold onto certain items. A lot of us tend to focus on the future rather then focus on the current, which may be one reason clutter develops.

The Container Concept;  

Carolyn went on to say that the purpose of a container, is to keep things under control.  Each room in our houses is a container, and consider your entire house as a container as well. However our houses, rooms, closets, drawers and cabinets all have limits as containers. Carolyn said it never has occurred to her before that there could be limits on space in your house. Once you learn to accept these limits, it can be very freeing. 

So, how do we de clutter? You begin by focusing on one room at a time, doing what you can, when you can, or “ decluttering at the Speed of Life “ 

Decluttering is simply getting rid of stuff you don’t need in your house anymore. You will be functioning better with less, and realize less is good. 

Also go by the visibility rule, and determine what does a guest see when they come into your home? Start by decluttering the most visible room first, and then work onto the next room.  Carolyn advised the two most important things you need are a black trash bag ( to throw things away) and a donate box, for the things you will donate. 

Also when it comes to decluttering, don’t think about being perfect, just give yourself permission to declutter. Clutter can give you anxiety, and may interfere with your relationships and make you not want to have people over.

1) first step, pick up trash and remove 

2) do the easy stuff now, once you remove the trash 

3) de-clutter, these items go into a donate box

4) ask the question,  if I needed this item, where would I look for it? And if you don’t have space for the item, just make it fit!

Carolyn advised that the best thing about de-cluttering is that it will make it easier to clean!

Make sure and join us at 7pm on Thursday March 24th, when Steve will present the topic “ Stress vs Anxiety “