Clutter Buster! Schedule Your Calendar To Declutter Daily

95% of the time the most common reason people give for allowing clutter to build up and living a disorganized and cluttered life is ‘lack of time.’

Of course there are other reasons your whole house is filled with too much clutter and this can vary from person to person. Here are some common reasons why clutter accumulates:

Lack of Time

Busy schedules and daily responsibilities can make it difficult for people to find the time to declutter and organize their living spaces.

Procrastination

Procrastination is a common issue when it comes to decluttering. People may delay the task, thinking they will get to it later, but this often leads to clutter piling up. After all, we really don’t want to do the things we don’t want to do.

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Emotional Attachment

People often develop emotional attachments to their possessions. Some folks find it hard to let go of items because they have sentimental value, even if they no longer serve a practical purpose.

Analysis Paralysis

Deciding what to keep and what to discard can be mentally taxing. Some individuals struggle with analysis paralysis, especially when faced with a large amount of clutter. Analysis paralysis is when you consider your options repeatedly, find yourself more confused and eventually walk away from decision making.

Perceived Lack of Space

People may believe they have limited storage space, thinking they have no place to organize their things. This thought leads some folks to keep items out and scattered about. 

There are some very functional storage solutions available today to help in this situation.

Fear of Wasting Money

Some individuals may hold onto items they no longer need because they feel guilty about the money spent on them, even if holding onto these items is not practical.

People’s tastes change. Cut your loss now and consider selling or donating these items.

Clutter Blindness

Clutter can become a habit, and people may not even notice it accumulating over time. They may have grown accustomed to living in a cluttered environment. This is known as clutter blindness.

Overconsumption

Consumer culture and advertising often encourage people to acquire more possessions, leading to overconsumption and, subsequently, clutter. We live in a throw away society today.

Ask yourself before you buy xyz if this is just going to end up in the landfill too? Is the item functional or beautiful? Do you really need it?

Mental Health Factors

Conditions like depression, anxiety, or hoarding disorder can contribute to clutter buildup. These individuals may find it particularly challenging to part with possessions. Professional help is available.

Lack of Organization Skills

Some people may not have developed effective organizational skills, making it difficult for them to maintain an orderly living space. We can’t all know everything! With a little effort you can figure this out.

Life Transitions

Major life events, such as moving, divorce, the death of a loved one, or downsizing, can disrupt one’s living situation and result in clutter. Go easy on yourself in these situations. Take it slow and steady and the job will get done.

Physical Health Issues

Health problems or physical limitations can make it challenging for individuals to physically declutter their homes. Let people help you!

There is no perfect time to declutter an entire home. This would be a very big project especially if you have lived and raised your family in your home. Doing a little bit according to your schedule will have a big impact.

On a very busy day do not plan to declutter. You decide when and how much work you will do and for what length of time.

Schedule Decluttering

Making your own declutter calendar gives you unlimited options. Your starting point is up to you. Decide your day’s mission, schedule this on your personal calendar or you can make a special declutter calendar. You are setting yourself up for a win by designing your own timeline, 

Understanding these reasons can help individuals and professionals who assist with decluttering provide more tailored solutions and support to address the underlying issues contributing to clutter accumulation.

The solutions to poor time management involve addressing underlying time management and priorities issues. 

Today I will focus on time management tips and offer ways to improve your management of your time.

Honest evaluation of time 

How are you currently allocating your time. You may think you have an honest appraisal of your time. Most of us do not. 

Time Tracking

An accurate time audit tells the truth. By keeping a record of actual time spent on each task or other thing you are doing in your waking hours will provide valuable information. This info will help you see how much time you spend on various tasks, including entertainment. 

There are apps and tools available that can simplify this process. Toggl and Clockify are popular free time tracking apps.

Prioritization

You need to identify your priorities. If decluttering your whole house is your goal decide where you want to start. Do not get bogged down on where to start. It doesn’t matter. Starting matters. Decide how much time you wish to dedicate to your goal on any single day, and what your daily task is for that day. 

Do you want to start with the kitchen counters, the junk drawer, the linen closet or the living room? It does not matter, although I must say the junk drawer is a good quick and easy win. You will find that your achievements offer you momentum and extra motivation to continue. 

When you are deciding your schedule for your decluttering process make a list of tasks or activities that are essential first then those that are less important. This can provide clarity on where your time is truly going.

Goal Setting

Setting clear and achievable goals for decluttering or any other task you want to accomplish is essential. If your goal is to get rid of physical clutter and make a tidy home, schedule time to do so. This can provide motivation and a sense of purpose for better time management.

Time Blocking

Set up daily reminders on your phone or device each day with alerts for decluttering or other important activities. By doing this you will be incorporating new habits into your life that are relatively painless.

Some people really get into this decluttering process and get kind of bummed out when they run out of things to declutter.

I feel miserable if I go an entire day without producing any tangible results. My best tool to be productive after I have laid out my goals is to schedule each part of my plan with a timeline. 

I work backwards starting from my projected day of completion to the present day. I schedule each step to be completed by a specific date.

Digital Detox

Keep track of how much screen time you are logging in for non work related browsing. Excessive screen time is a significant issue for many. A lot of people report having missed important commitments due to their screen taking them hostage. My computers track my screen time with a simple click of a button. 

If you don’t want to download a timing app you can use your phone’s timer pretty easily.

If you are having trouble and too much computer time applies to you try gradually reducing the time spent on entertainment content and allocate that time to more productive activities. It is all about setting new habits.

Set Limits

If you want to find more time to do the things you want to do, you need to establish limits on your entertainment consumption. You could set a daily or weekly limit on streaming video content and stick to it. 

I never do anything entertainment related until a dedicated time of day and I have a time limit set for this. For years this has been a habit of mine, I don’t even think about it. My life includes a good balance and I usually find enough time to do the things most important to me.

Time Management Tools

If you want to clean out your kitchen cabinets, and have a limited time schedule to do so, pick one cabinet per decluttering session. If you can’t manage a whole cabinet, clean out one shelf.

Focus on the one task and do not let distractions like phone calls and loud pings divert you. I silence everything when I need to focus. 

Eliminate Distractions

Distractions while working on tasks is a big reason we don’t always reach our goals. I just read if you take a break it takes you 23 minutes to refocus on the task at hand. Do this 3 times and you have spent 1 hour and 9 minutes getting back on track. 

If you spent an hour and 9 minutes a day decluttering you would see a big difference in very little time.

Accountability Partner

An accountability partner is my next best tool to use. I suggest you find someone that will allow you to be accountable to, in order to stick with each scheduled time line you have made to reach your particular goals.

You could call or text your accountability partner on any given day and describe the small area you plan to declutter, then send a quick note with the good news the job is done! This is what an accountability is.

The Benefits

The benefits of decluttering and time management have huge paybacks. Having the time to do the things you truly want to do, like decluttering or reading books, lead to a more organized and less stressful life. This in turn leads to chunks of joy and overall better well being.

Seek Professional Help

Some folks may need some outside help to achieve managing their time. Please do not consider this to be shameful. This only means you do not know how to manage your time. Help is available and with practice you will be managing your time more effectively.

Support

A professional can help you sort through these issues. An easy first step may be to join a social media group like Declutter Buzz, the safe and private decluttering group I facilitate. 

A therapist or counselor can provide guidance and support and help to teach you time management and other helpful skills. The American Psychological Association has a professional locater to help you find the help you need.

Habits

Changing habits and priorities can be difficult, but with the right support and strategies, you can learn to better manage your time and address the issue you are dealing with. 

If you are frustrated dealing with peers or family members that show little concept of time management, be gentle with these people. Most of us are usually doing the very best we know how to do at any given time. Empathy and support will go a long way.

Again, because it bears repeating – it does not matter where you start, simply starting is what matters most and today is a great time to do so.

One last thing, when you have honed your time management skills, and your home is now how you have always imagined it to be, you have given yourself the gift of a fresh start. What could be better! Celebrate this win!

Marj Bates is a life long ridiculously organized declutter-er and artist. Less is more are words Marj lives by in everything she does except collecting dogs. “Dogs are like potato chips! Can’t have just one.” says Marj. Marj wonders if growing up with a fanatically clean Jewish mom means her decluttering and organizational skills are in her blood.

For more Declutter Buzz & Freebies check out our safe and private Decluttering community on our Facebook page. We are a safe and private space of like minded folks tackling this all encompassing clutter thing once and for all. No shame allowed! We will have a few laughs too!

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