5 Questions to Kickstart Your Decluttering Journey Today

Dr. Christine Li [00:00:00]:
Welcome back to the Make Time for Success podcast. This is episode number 287. If you have ever struggled with clutter or decluttering, I think this episode is going to be right up your alley. I have thought long and hard about the conundrum of clutter, why we call things clutter, but then we allow these items to hang around for months, even years, after we've labeled them clutter. And one of the things that I have thought is that clutter has a way of getting us to be rooted in the past. We are thinking about the memories. We're thinking about those events that happened 10, even 20 years ago. We are thinking about the money that we spent on those items.

Dr. Christine Li [00:00:56]:
And all that thinking about the past is weighty. It is kind of like walking through mud in a way, because it's the past. The past might have been beautiful, and I hope it certainly was for you. I'm sure it was at least much of it. But we need to really take care of our future. And I think that is why really taking a hard look at what is causing the clutter to stay is worthwhile. Because I believe that clutter needs to get out of your way so that you can live your very best, brightest, and biggest life going forward. I ask five different questions to help you consider your future with your clutter in today's episode.

Dr. Christine Li [00:01:49]:
So let's go listen to these prompts together now.

Dr. Christine Li [00:01:57]:
Hi, I'm Dr. Christine Li, and I'm a psychologist and a procrastination coach. I've helped thousands of people move past procrastination and overwhelm so they could begin working to their potential. In this podcast, you're going to learn powerful strategies for getting your mind, body and energy to work together so that you can focus on what's really important

Dr. Christine Li [00:02:21]:
and accomplish the goals you want to achieve.

Dr. Christine Li [00:02:24]:
When you start living within your full power, you're going to see how being productive can be easy and how you can create success on demand. Welcome to the Make Time for Success podcast. Hi, my friends.

Dr. Christine Li [00:02:40]:
Today I would love to revisit the issue of clutter and decluttering, and I'm going to lean towards having you leave this episode with a desire to actually start decluttering today. Whether you've been decluttering recently or not does not matter. I think the reason I am choosing this as a focus and as a strategy for today's episode is because clutter is famous for causing distress in our homes, for causing us to feel like we're going to lose something. We're going to lose our energy, we're going to lose our time, we're going to lose some sort of monetary or emotional value when we start decluttering. And it just is one big mess. Not only is it a physical mess, but it causes a time, energy and stress mess as well. That is why I'm hoping to help you feel more empowered about the process and more ready to take action on your clutter by the end of the day. In order to do that, I would like to ask you five different questions.

Dr. Christine Li [00:03:58]:
Some are going to be really relevant to you, some may not be, but I'm hoping at least one will trigger the thought, oh, well, I could do that easily today because I don't want decluttering to feel complicated, overwhelming, or too time consuming for you, because if it feels like that for you, you're not going to do it. And my goal is to help you understand that action taking can be really easy and we can declutter at any time. I feel like I've gotten to a point in my own life where decluttering feels like a regular thing that I do, that I'm always looking for the thing out of place. I'm always looking for the thing that I can release so that I can feel better about my space. And it's an ongoing process, certainly, but it's one that I feel better about and one that I'm definitely not complete with. But I'm on my way, and I'm hoping to get you on your way too. So the first question that I have for you is when you enter your home and you look around, is there a particular room where you just don't feel like things are the way you want them to be? It doesn't feel good to be in there. Perhaps it doesn't feel cozy, it doesn't feel welcoming or just kind of feels blah.

Dr. Christine Li [00:05:23]:
Something that may even be indescribable. And I want you to think about that space and ask yourself, what is going on in that space that makes me feel that way? And there's no judgment here. We may all have a space like that, and this is just between you and you. So think to yourself, is there one action that I can take before the end of today, before I go to bed tonight, that could uplevel the space? Whether it's decluttering something, whether it is straightening up something, whether it is removing something, maybe adding a special light in there, or dusting whatever it is. What do you need to do to change the energy in that room so it doesn't feel Blah anymore. So that's question number one. Question number two is, is there a spot, even a small corner or drawer perhaps in your home that doesn't feel blah that it feels like things are going pretty good with that space? It tends to stay tidy. It looks the way you like.

Dr. Christine Li [00:06:33]:
It's even pretty or inviting. So ask yourself about that spot. What makes that spot easier for me to manage? What makes that spot uncluttered? And see, can I extend that process to other spaces in my home? You're just taking stock of what is working in some areas of your home and what is happening when areas are not feeling neat, tidy, uncluttered. And again, no judgment. We're just taking an analysis. The third question that I have for you is a little bit different. If your clutter could talk to you, what would your clutter be saying? What kind of conversation would you be having? Would clutter be reminding you perhaps that, Oh, I am 7 to 10 years old and I'm no longer needed? Would clutter be coaching you to get this stuff out of the house? Would clutter actually be calling you to take better care of of the items? Maybe photos, maybe certificates, maybe awards that are really precious? And of course, some clutter would probably be telling us, you know what, we're overdue with this visit to the dumpster. Let's get the clutter out there.

Dr. Christine Li [00:07:58]:
So decide for yourself what is the clutter trying to tell you? And also evaluate to yourself and with yourself, what are the reasons that the clutter remains? Why does it feel so sticky? I always use the term sticky because that's how it feels. When I have sticky clutter in my house, no matter how deeply I desire to be done with it, it still manages to stay around. Clutter really is sneaky that way. So again, no judgment. Just decide that you are more powerful than any sticky clutter could be. After all, it's simply inanimate objects. They are simply goods and souvenirs and pieces of paper. And we're going to decide in this questioning, analysis process that our life energy is way more valuable than any certificate, award, or memento could be.

Dr. Christine Li [00:09:01]:
And that is, with all due respect to the certificates, awards, and mementos, because they did mark really special moments and times in our lives. Decluttering is complicated, isn't it? Okay, so now question number four. What is the thing that you keep moving from pile to pile or from room to room or from drawer to drawer, but you can never really quite let go of it? And then again, ask yourself, what is the real reason that it is still there. Even though a good part of you really wants it out of your hair once and for all, you want it gone. And again, this is really about sticky clutter. And it is about maybe thinking of it in a different way. Instead of thinking about your attachment to it, you may want to start thinking about the opposite. About what kinds of freedom, what kind of openness and space freedom might you be able to experience for the first time once this sticky pile of clutter is removed, once it's released, once it's thrown away, donated, recycled or repurposed, you might not feel that you have to move it anymore.

Dr. Christine Li [00:10:24]:
It's just done. That's my goal when I do decluttering. It's the idea of actually finishing something once and for all. Maybe that will help you. I hope it does. The fifth question that I would love for you to ask yourself is if you cleared one space in the next day or two, just one space, what could you do differently in that space next week? How would it feel? Would you be able to create more? Would you be able to cook more? Would you be able to be healthy more? Would you be able to have a better conversation in that space once the clutter is gone again, get in the habit of thinking about the possibilities rather than the loss and the distress that that clutter tends to be paired with. Think about open space as who your new self is going to be that you are aligning yourself with your home. Your home wants to be functioning.

Dr. Christine Li [00:11:26]:
It wants to be breathing, it wants to be alive, it wants to support you. And the clutter is letting you know that it's time to go. Or maybe I am. It is. Okay. Use your imagination. Because we need to use everything within our power without wiping ourselves out to decide again. We are more powerful than our clutter could ever be.

Dr. Christine Li [00:11:53]:
I hope you enjoyed this episode and I hope you really feel today. You know what? I really could declutter that space. It's only going to take 15 minutes. It's going to refresh my energy for not only today, but all the days going forward. And that will be worth my time and energy. We have come to the end of the episode, but it is certainly not the end of our decluttering journey. I want to let you know that I am hosting a re energize your home five day challenge. It's really seven days, but I call it a five day challenge.

Dr. Christine Li [00:12:31]:
And we are going to start on June 15th as a collective of people who are interested in not only decluttering, but learning the secrets for decluttering quickly and easily. This is the 14th time that I have run this exact challenge and I can tell you with all honesty that it is a beautiful experience. It is effective, it is fun, it is eye opening and I think you're going to love it. All you need to do to join this free event and we will work together for the entire week. You just need to go to maketimeforsuccesspodcast.com/june. Again, it's maketimeforsuccesspodcast.com/june. I'll get you all the information you will need and we will get going in earnest and really get our hands on this clutter so that we can make more space, more time and call back that energy that we've been craving. Thanks so much for being here on the Make Time for Success podcast. I will see you next week.

Dr. Christine Li [00:13:43]:
Bye.

Dr. Christine Li [00:13:45]:
Thank you for listening to this episode of the Make Time for Success Podcast. If you enjoyed what you've heard, you can subscribe to make sure you get notified of upcoming episodes. You can also visit our website make time timeforsuccesspodcast.com for past episodes, show notes, and all the resources we mention on the show. Feel free to connect with me over on Instagram too. You can find me there under the name Procrastination Coach. Send me a DM and let me know what your thoughts are about the episodes you've been listening to and let me know any topics that you might like me to talk about on the show. I'd love to hear all about how you're making time for for success. Talk to you soon.