Sue’s Success Story

At the beginning of April Sue completed her Clutter Clearing Journey.  This means she’s cleared all her clutter and created the habits she needs to stay clutter free forever.

Success Summary:

• 9 rooms and areas completely clutter cleared after 17 years:
  • Porch
  • Hallway
  • Understairs cupboard
  • Lounge / Living room
  • Dining room
  • 3 bedrooms
  • Attic
• E-mail inbox now below 100 read and unread e-mails 
• Number of e-mail addresses reduced from five to one
• 81% of all the clutter she categorised and sorted came OFF the Clutter Conveyor Belt
• Over 32 black sacks of unworn clothes (still with the labels on) and other items given to charity which has generated over £500 ($600) for charity (so far)
• 19 trees planted in her name with the Paperwork Reward Challenge because she has shredded over 95 black sacks of paperwork clutter             
• With the weekly Shopping Challenge Sue started saving over £75 / $90 a week by the end of Step 1 which covered the cost of her Private Journey Membership and enabled her to save money towards her Clutter Free Goal reward of having her garden landscaped
• As a direct result of doing her weekly Paperwork Clutter Clearing Sesisons, by the end of Step 2 Sue had cancelled 2 monthly payments and 2 annual payments on her bank account that she didn’t know were being taken and which saved a further £50 / $60 a month:
  • pet insurance for a pet who had passed away 3 years before
  • travel insurance she didn’t use and was covered by another insurance
  • magazine subscription for a magazine she hadn’t read in years
  • gym membership she hadn’t used in 4 years
• With the money she saved, Sue has been able to support a local charity with monthly donations totalling over £1,000 / $1,200 so far
• Had trademen in to fix things / do maintenance that she’s wanted and needed to do for years but had never been able to because of the clutter
• Had her first friend round for lunch since she moved into her home 20 years ago and they were able to eat at her dining room table
• Had estate agents in to value her property – just out of curiosity and because she could!

Sue was our Success Story in the Summer Term 2021 edition of the Clutter Clearing Chronicle when she reached the peak of Step 4.

As Sue explains:

I can’t believe I’ve completed my Journey in just 2 years! It’s hard to believe I started back at the beginning of the Pandemic with 9 completely cluttered rooms and areas in my home, feeling overwhelmed and now not only are they all completely clutter free, but they’re also STAYING clutter free. I’m still amazed when I do my daily visual check-ins and see what I’ve done.

Of course, it hasn’t been easy, not by any means and I couldn’t have done it that fast without my weekly private sessions with Clare. I know that if I had ‘Done the Doing’ on my own I wouldn’t have made the time or protected my boundaries from other people because I was such a people pleaser and got easily distracted. Not now. Now I have the confidence to prioritise and make time to do what matters to me.

I’ve felt like giving up many, many times, but looking back I can now see that’s one of the many reasons why I didn’t succeed in the past – I kept starting and giving up. It was my habit – a very strong habit! So, I was scared to even try again.

Of course, with the benefit of hindsight, I can see there are many other reasons.

• I only ever focused on the ‘stuff’ rather than learning ‘why’ I had my clutter in the first place. 
• I was impatient to clear it, so I did what Clare says people do and jumped in the deep end, then gave up when I didn’t see or feel a difference quickly enough. 
• I didn’t ask for help or support thanks to being a stubborn perfectionist.

Step 1 was hard because I was learning so much and of course we don’t like learning about our imperfect selves, do we?! I had so much resistance. 

Whenever I was doing well, I resisted taking my rest and recharge weeks in-between the Clutter Clearing terms because I didn’t like the ‘formality’, I was terrified I wouldn’t be able to get back into the routine again, and I worried that if I stopped I’d give up again.  My impatience got the better of me (again) and to begin with I just kept going, only to do what Clare predicted – burn out and become demotivated.

I now understand what Clare says about the importance of following the Clutter Clearing terms and taking your rest and recharge weeks in-between so you can build your confidence that you HAVE broken your giving up habit and you HAVE started to create new habits that will keep you Clutter Free. 

I now know I can take a couple of weeks off from doing my visual check-ins, e-mail check-ins and Paperwork Clutter Clearing Sessions and my home won’t get completely out of control, and I know what a difference a routine makes because it feels so good to do my check-ins again when I get back into my routine. 2 years ago I hated the thought of a routine – now I love it because it saves so much time! 

I’m so glad I started my Journey and I’m so proud of myself for having completed it and cleared ALL my clutter. I finally have choices, I finally feel as though I’m starting to live my best life, and because I’ve taken my time and got clearer and clearer about what my best life is while I’ve been on my Journey, now I’m here it’s not scary. 

It’s 100 times better than I ever imagined it would be.

Has it been worth all the time, energy, effort, bad day and tough weeks? 

ABSOLUTELY!

Find out more about the Clutter Clearing 7 Step Journey here: https://www.clutterclearing.net/7-step-journey/