The Clutter Cure - Crunchy Super Mom Show Episode #018

clutter cure decluttering

 The Clutter Cure

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We have huge problems with clutter. It can make us have chest closing anxiety at times. We feel out of control and will start to wonder if we can ever get our lives back in order. It is safe to say that clutter defeats us and keeps us from getting things accomplished.

CLICK HERE to get the Power Plan for this show so you can take action. 


Sarah’s recent experience: I’m not a huge purchaser either so it isn’t like I bring in a lot of stuff for my family. However, we had an overwhelming amount of clothes for our children until a friend pointed out that the reason my entire house was a mess (for the first time in many years) was the LAUNDRY. It was everywhere. Since reducing the clothing by gallons, I have had no trouble keeping my home in order.

It is unreal how something like children’s clothes can just overwhelm and keep you from a tidy home. Clutter can creep up and suddenly you have a house that really isn’t ever clean.

 

Mandy’s experience: What typically happens to me is that I will unconsciously collect clutter and then think that I need to just get more organized. I will organize well and that stays nice for a little while, but shortly it is back in disarray and I can’t understand why. And then it hits me, it is the clutter! I am moving around stuff and trying to “organize”, but what I need to do is actually get rid of the junk!

There is NO way to be truly organized if you have a cluttered space. This same cycle that I just described happens to me all too often. And that is why you absolutely must have routines in place for decluttering. Decluttering routines must regularly change with the season you are experiencing in life such as having a baby, moving, dealing with a non-napping toddler, etc.

 

Mandy’s current method for decluttering: I do short bursts of decluttering and organization that helps me keep my home decluttered in just a few minutes a day. Now I don’t have to panic and feel like I need this huge chunk of time to get my house in order.

 

Sarah has used the Marie Kondo method for decluttering with great results: Some of the key principles she spells out that resonated were:

  • Thank an item for the joy it brought you when you received it/brought it into your home or thank it for the joy the giver had when they gave it to you...then LET IT GO if it no longer serves you or brings you joy. This helped reduce keepsakes and other things.
  • Along those same lines- saving things that go along with memories is unnecessary. You’ll always have that joyful moment that goes along with the item, but do you really need the actual item?
  • Storing things you “might” use actually costs you money. Calculate the amount of space storage stuff takes up and divide it by the mortgage/rent. That’s how much a tub costs to store. When I did this a few years ago, one pink tub was costing me $22 to store. JUST to store.
  • Sometimes stuff is meant to be bought and tossed. If you felt joy and bought something and a day later the joy was gone- getting rid of it is NOT a bad thing. Maybe just buy less and really think about whether the item is useful, beautiful and joy-bringing before buying it. But, don’t think twice about passing on something that no longer fits that criteria. Society is all about reducing waste and consumerism--and I agree, Marie Kondo agrees, but that does not mean keep all the stuff you buy if it is useless to you! Send it on its way to bring joy to someone else.

Another important exercise is completing a vision for your home. Ask yourself, what sort of vision do you have of your home? Do you have specific reasons for wanting to declutter?

Remember, this is not the vision of someone else, but your own true vision for your home and family. What works for one person will not fit for the next person. You need to create this vision so you can stay motivated and follow through with your decluttering routine because clutter is such a huge distraction. You may not currently have the answers to questions such as these, but print out our Vision worksheet to help you develop a clear vision of what you would like your home to be.

 
“When we really delve into the reasons for why we can't let something go, there are only two: an attachment to the past or a fear for the future" - MK


Clutter makes us feel out of control and sucks away our time and we want to help you get started on your decluttering mission. In fact, this is so important to us, and we know it is for other moms out there too, that we dedicated an entire mission in the SuperMom Solution just to decluttering. And in that mission, we are going to walk you through the decluttering process step by step with our support.

We also want to offer you the support of a community that can help you transform your current state to a more Super Mom state, then you’ll want to check it out.

We hope that this podcast has provided you with the realization that decluttering is key to feeling like a SuperMom.  We would love to hear more your decluttering “wins”, struggles, and experiences. We would also love to answer any questions you might have. Ask us a question or leave us a comment in Apple Podcasts so other SuperMoms like you can find us!

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