The 4 most common mistakes

that people make when

they try to de-clutter on their own

1. The Type of DeClutterer You are

You are a 'weeder'......

....... if you look at the box, drawer, cupboard or room of clutter and weed out only what you know can go.

You may have a limited number of choices that you give yourself, such as keep, throw or charity / shred.

You pick out only things that can go, or have an action associated with.

When you can't see anything more to weed out of the clutter, you give up and stop trying to declutter.

What's wrong with being a weeder?

You are looking at your clutter and making decisions based on the context of the items in relation to where it is now, rather than making decisions based on need, use and attachment. Before long you will stop 'seeing' the clutter and only things that you know can go will 'jump out at you' when you try to declutter.

You are a 'piler'......

....... if you sort your clutter into piles according to the type of clutter it is, such as paperwork, clothes, photographs etc.

You probably have an unlimited number of piles that you sort your clutter into and, when you come across something that doesn't go on one of the existing piles, you create a new one.

You go through as much as you can, sorting it into piles, until you run out of energy, time or motviation. When that happens, you pile the piles on top of each other so they take up less room, or move the piles around the room or into another room. You might also experience a 'pile avalanche' when the piles topple over and they once again need sorting out into their separate piles.

What's wrong with being a weeder?

You never really clear any clutter but instead endlessly pile and move your clutter. Yes, you can make the piles look nicer and take up less space, but all you're really doing is moving the clutter around the room or home. Not much goes out of your font door and you don't, over all, make more space in your home.

2. You are only focusing on one end of your Clutter Conveyor Belt

Imagine your home as a conveyor belt.

A build up of clutter causes our conveyor belts to grind to a hault due to the sheer volume and weight of the things on the conveyor belt.

Decluttering your home is all about getting things OFF your conveyor belt so that there's less on your conveyor belt and it can start turning again.

Organising your home is all about deciding where things are going to live, defining homes and making sure we put things where they belong and things are used and appreciated while they're on the conveyor belt.

What about the things that come ONTO the conveyor belt?

If we only focus on things coming OFF the conveyor belt, it's meaningless if things are still coming ONTO the conveyor belt at the same rate as they were before because, sooner or later, the clutter will build up on the conveyor belt again.

To achieve a long term, permanent solution to our clutter challenge - and I'm assuming you don't want to have to clear a backlog of clutter ever again - then we need to deal with ALL areas of the conveyor belt.

3. You are allowing someone else to decide for you

When friends and family help us to declutter, it's done with the best of intention, yet often ends up with tension.

Why?

Because you are allowing someone else to decide what should come off and stay on your conveyor belt.

If you want a long term permanent folution o your clutter challenge then you will not only need to learn to control what comes onto your conveyor belt, but you will also need to learn how to make the decisions about what comes off and what stays on your conveyor belt so that you can keep the clutter under control in the long term.

4. You are only after a short term, temporary quick-fix

It's only natural that we want to see a significant difference in our homes quickly when we do some decluttering - especially if we've not got much time.

However, many people fall into the trap of wanting a short term quick fix. I've had many a client who has got help to clear their clutter as quickly as possible, paying signficant amounts of money to someone who will come in and make judgements and decisions on their belongings for them so that by the end of the day they can see and feel a real difference in their homes (even if they do regret the decisions that other person made in the long term).

Beware - a short term quick fix doesn't last.

If you want to get back control of your clutter and your home so that you can save time, have more space and do more enjoyable things with your time for more than a few weeks, then you're going to have to work towards achieving a long term permanent fix which requires learning how to do it yourself and making it a new habit.

I work with people who want the latter.

Clare covers, in detail, the issue of how to make decisions and all of the above issues as part of her 12 Week Success Club.

Week 2 of the 12 Week Success Club is dedicated to the issue of 'The 7 Simple Steps to Successful De-Cluttering'

The DIY Kit includes the Clutter Clearing Category Cards that will help you give yourself more choices than 'keep' or 'throw away'.

The Declutter Support Days that come as standard for all 3 levels of membership enable you to get Clare's help, support and advice with the decision making as you do the actual decluttering.

Your 1-2-1 telephone coaching calls with Clare will enable you to ask her about specific issues or items you have difficulty with the decisions about.

Clare's weekly surgeries, which as a member you are able to book so that you can have 1-2-1 time with her and ask her on a weekly basis for help with

Click on the video below or the 'Clare's Success Club' button below to find out more.