How to Let Go and Declutter Your Stuff

How to Let Go and Declutter Your Stuff

Kim Wolinski, MSW
“Dr. DeClutter” www.drdeclutter.com

Do you freeze, fall asleep, wander around, eat chocolate and “trance” when you want to make a decision about decluttering something?

Here are the keys to identify how to let and declutter your stuff.

Personal Internal Inventory
1) Pick up each item and do the following Mental Check List.
2) Answer yes or no. That’s all you get, yes or no!
3) Any wavering creates the “trance” and everything stops!
4) Permission: If you really get stuck, you can put an item aside in a box marked “Re-decide by next week.” Give yourself a week and go back to that box and do these steps over again until it’s empty.
5) Gaining speed as you do it really helps to say yes and no faster.
6) Ask for help when doing this. An objective other in the room is very helpful, and makes it easier to laugh at all our “stuff.”

Mental Check List
- Do I love this item?
- Have I used it in the past year? (Will I ever fit into it again?)
- Is it really garbage? (Some items can go on a garage sale, donate to thrift shops, domestic abuse shelters and such, or ... hey, Ebay!)
- Do I have another one that is better?
- Should I really keep two?
- Can I get or find another one if I ever need it again?
- Does it have sentimental value that causes me to love it?
- Does it give me guilt and make me sad when I see the item?

TIP: Everything holds energy.
The items we should surround ourselves with should be wonderful, evoking love, joy, humor, happiness, pride, etc. If items evoke anything but these positive and good feelings, they need to go.

(Remember: “Go” means recycle, re-purpose, re-gift, donate, etc. The trashcan is the last place it “goes” if someone else can still use it. Our landfills don’t need more than necessary!)

Happy decluttering!

©2005 Kim Wolinski – Dr. DeClutter

Need help getting your space (house, office, barn or backyard) organized? My new video “BURN YOUR HOUSE DOWN, AND OTHER ORGANIZING TIPS AND TOOLS FROM DR. DECLUTTER” is a great help. You can find out more or order BURN YOUR HOUSE DOWN at http://www.redecisionsinstitute.com/kims_store.html

My book LETTING GO WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT is also very helpful in decluttering inside and out. Find out more or order at http://www.redecisionsinstitute.com/kims_store.html

Editors and publishers are free to reprint blog articles as long as it is reprinted in its entirety and the signature line remains intact.

What Being Organized Means - 101

What Being Organized Means -101

Kim Wolinski, MSW
“Dr. DeClutter” www.drdeclutter.com

Have ever heard someone say, or heard yourself say, “I know I put it away, but I don’t remember where – I can’t find it.”

Most people define being organized as being neat or tidy. Or being spotless, clean and nothing around that you don’t want – or that “shouldn’t” be there. Do you know people who are really neat and tidy, clean and spotless… but are unorganized? I do! And, the opposite view, do you know those who are clutter-bugs and “look” unorganized, but are very productive and efficient anyway? I do! Can you say “Albert Einstein?”

TIP: People, most of us, who are visual learners, need to have things “out” in order to remember they have them. So, filing cabinets, drawers, cabinets are blocks for these people. “If I can’t see it, it’s not here.” The solution is finding and devising systems that can stay “out” that look nice in order to get work done, and then put away what doesn’t need to be out all the time with easy access and reminders as to where to find them again.

Now, back to Organizing Defined 101. The point being, it doesn’t matter how “it” or “you” look, it’s how productive you are in spite of it!

There are many different personalities when it comes to how space and stuff is used. And what people do with all their space and stuff is just as varied.

So, what does it mean to be organized? To be organized means:

1) You are productive… getting everything done when it's due.

2) You find everything you need when you need it.

That’s it!

©2005 Kim Wolinski – Dr. DeClutter

Need help getting your space (house, office, barn or backyard) organized? My new video “BURN YOUR HOUSE DOWN, AND OTHER ORGANIZING TIPS AND TOOLS FROM DR. DECLUTTER” is a great help. You can find out more or order BURN YOUR HOUSE DOWN at http://www.redecisionsinstitute.com/kims_store.html

Editors and publishers are free to reprint blog articles as long as it is reprinted in its entirety and the signature line remains intact.

6 Simple Steps to Start and Keep Your Day Organized

6 Simple Steps to Start and Keep Your Day Organized

Kim Wolinski, MSW
“Dr. DeClutter” www.drdeclutter.com

How frustrating is it to start off the morning, okay, every day, being unorganized? And, how stressful is it to feel like nothing is getting done because of it?

There are some simple steps to start your day off on the right foot – organized and orderly – so that the rest of your day flows much more smoothly.

Here are 6 simple steps.

1) PRE-PLAN WITH A TO DO LIST
Planning is everything. Start the night before. Make a list of the things you have to do the next day. Prioritize, list and organize each item in the sequence that it should be accomplished. (Things change throughout the day, but organize them as much as you can with the information you have.)

Look over your list for similar tasks and consolidate these tasks together. You’ll not only wake up in the morning with a clear-cut guide detailing everything that must be done, you’ll be less stressed and sleep better over night as well. Two birds – one To Do List!

2) GET OVER DISTRACTIONS
Distractions of all kinds show up in our lives and find their way into our grand plan, throwing us off track. One way to help you stay on track is to create a “reset button” or “tickler.” One option is to get a watch, or a timer, setting it to alarm every 30 minutes. This “tickler,” reminds you to be conscious and identify for yourself if you are working on your original plan or not. Be honest with yourself and get back to the plan!

Distractions are self-made and other made. Don’t see everything as an emergency. Don’t let others create dramas in your life either, distracting you from your plan. Acknowledge where you are and get back on schedule if you’re not. No blaming, no guilt, no shame! It’s your “reset button.” Start to just say to yourself, “Stop. Oh. I see. Here I am. Get back. Okay!”

3) CALL AHEAD TO CONFIRM APPOINTMENTS
How frustrating to commute to a scheduled appointment just to find that they are not there or forgot! When you have an appointment always call to confirm before you leave your home or office. Sometimes there may be extra information you’ll need for the project/meeting and you’ll get this on the phone call too. This helps to ensure that you and your appointment are “still on the same page” and, if there is a delay expected, you can do something else first, before you leave. Obviously, if it’s cancelled, you surely want to know this ahead of time.

4) COMPLETION IS A GOOD THING! CHECK OFF ITEMS AS YOU COMPLETE THEM
I’m one of those people who feel great accomplishment when I know I’ve completed something. I’m into completions. I’m into lists. I LOVE checking items off my list when I’ve completed them. It’s important to do this too so that you don’t keep reading over the same items, wasting time and distracting your mind to thoughts already finished.

BONUS! If you love lists and crossing things off as much as I do, try this. If you do something that’s not on the list already, write it down, and cross it off! YEA!!!! Man that feels good!

5) TO DONE? OR STILL TO DO LIST?
The day is over. How did you do? Take a look at your list. How many items did you accomplish – how many are scratched off? It’s time to pre-plan for tomorrow. Get out a clean sheet of paper and start your list.

The few you may have left, move to tomorrow’s To Do List and start over again fresh. If you have a good number of items left undone, and you know you were honestly working away at the list all day, you might have too many items on your list. Step back a bit and re-think how much and how many activities, events, projects and tasks you can really do in a day’s time. You can’t work 24/7, no one can. Take a deep breath and maybe be more realistic, delegate or dump some of the items.

Life isn’t all about “to doing” all day long. We are human beings, not human doings! But the To Do List will help you get and stay less stressed by creating a form and function, order and linear path for your creativity to take.

6) CLEAN UP YOUR SPACE
When you’re all done with your days list, getting ready to write you next days To Do List, make sure to clean up your space and completed projects. This means filing, putting items back where they belong, routing, mailing, etc. You want to maintain your space so that you can start your next day clean, tidy and a space where you will not be distracted with leftovers.

©2005 Kim Wolinski – Dr. DeClutter
Need help getting your space (house, office, barn or backyard) organized? My new video “BURN YOUR HOUSE DOWN, AND OTHER ORGANIZING TIPS AND TOOLS FROM DR. DECLUTTER” is a great help. You can find out more or order BURN YOUR HOUSE DOWN at http://www.redecisionsinstitute.com/kims_store.html

Editors and publishers are free to reprint blog articles as long as it is reprinted in its entirety and the signature line remains intact.

Super Man II Has Died

Super Man II Has Died

Kim Wolinski
“Dr. DeClutter” http://www.drdeclutter.com/

He didn’t fly through the air, though I suppose over the radio and TV waves he did – for over 30 years – right into our homes. He didn’t run faster than a speeding bullet, but his humor was very quick. And he didn’t have problems with kryptonite, only small groups of people due to being shy and feeling out of place.

Johnny Carson died this week, as you may of course know. Being a native Nebraskan, and University of Nebraska Alumnus, I always appreciated his helping keep a heartland state on the map. I sure miss him. But certainly beyond that, I will miss his kindness, gentle nature and laser quick humor blanketed in humility. Who’s going to forget those puppy eyes and that “ah-shucks” face after a joke? That’s Johnny Carson to the bone. Unique – human - a star. I can still watch clips of his shows and laugh like it was the first time – fresh and new – classic.

A man who saw what he wanted and kept his eye on the mark all his life. How many of us can say that? And, a person who as he climbed the ladder invited so many others to step up behind and beside him.

Did you know that Carson was also a very big philanthropist? At least to the UNL, the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. As an NU alumnus, Johnny Carson just a few months ago donated $5.3 million to support UNL’s Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts’ Department of Theatre Arts. The gift supports the renovation and expansion of the Temple Building. The gift also creates an endowment to keep performance space equipped with the latest advances in lighting and sound technologies and assists students and programs in the department.

In recognition for this and past gifts, NU will rename the Department of Theatre Arts in Carson’s honor. Yes, Johnny has been giving for years with the stipulation that it be kept quiet. As he lived his life in all other ways, including in death he did not have a funeral for others to attend, he didn’t want fan-fair about his giving.

“I got my start in the Temple Building and have never forgotten the impact of my academic studies at the University of Nebraska on my life and career,” he said. Carson received his bachelor’s degree in radio and speech in 1949. His senior thesis, “How to Write Comedy for Radio,” was recorded on a reel-to-reel tape in the basement of the Temple Building.

So, I want to say thank you Johnny for being such a wonderful human being and for showing us all how to be successful and brilliant, while being funny, happy, creative, friendly, humble, giving and supportive to others in very big ways. You are a Super Man, Johnny!

©2005 Kim Wolinski, MSW
kim@drdeclutter.com