Last week, I shared the third step of getting your home organized and clutter free, which was letting go of clutter. You might be thinking, "letting go of clutter might be easy for some, but not me." I'm here to tell you that if you struggle with hoarding and/or are a clutter bug, I've got the fourth step directed especially for you. Find a faithful {organized} friend. Yes, this is very important. You need to find a friend {or if you really can't, hire a professional organizer} to come and help you to let go of clutter.
Look at your home with fresh eyes this week - WALK THROUGH your whole home and start looking at the piles of things everywhere. Actually look at it - pretend you are a visitor in your own home. Are you horrified? Or is it pretty good? Look around carefully.
Now, finding a friend who is willing to help you with getting your home organized and clutter free is crucial - and it will take just the right person. You may not actually have such a person in your life, so you might have to go and find a professional organizer. But, if you have a friend who can help you go through things, that is patient, and can really be an encourager but tough on helping you get your clutter out - THAT is the kind of friend you need.
I'm going to tell you that my mom is the inspiration to me regarding being this type of friend. She has been this type of friend to other women. She will take hours of her week to devote to helping her friend go through their clutter - she doesn't judge her friend and has found ways to help you let go of things that are even worth a lot of money that haven't been touched or used in years.
If you are the type of person who can BE that friend, here are some points from my mom of what you need to do for your cluttered friend:
1. Don't let your friend ponder things.
2. Keep your friend on track, don't allow them to ponder.
3. Encourage your friend to be willing to let things go - even if they want YOU to have it, even if YOU drive their things to the thrift store so it's done.
4. Have a time line and stick to it.
5. Don't judge them, just help them to see how having less clutter is going to free them up for a life with less to manage.
6. Be gentle and loving.
If you ask a friend to help you, this is what you need to do:
1. Be grateful and respectful to your friend for their spending their time helping you declutter.
2. Don't touch everything, allow your friend to hold up and make quick decisions.
3. If you truly want to declutter, that's what you need to do. Don't waste valuable time of yours or your friend arguing about how you need to keep each and every thing.
4. Be willing to let expensive/unused things go, if it's truly something you forgot about, if it's unsellable, and truly not worth anything in order to be free from the burden of the clutter.
5. If you MUST sell, set a deadline. If it doesn't sell within a week, give it away.
6. Have a donation truck scheduled to come the next day after your friend comes to help you with your stuff or allow them to drive it directly to the thrift store or donation center. Do not go back through things. Box or bag things up in black bags so you aren't tempted.
Find this friend. Be this friend. Get your home decluttered and organized. How can you get started this week?
A couple of resources I highly recommend, THIS POST from my guest Hilda of From Overwhelmed to Organized.
I also recommend reading THIS POST about hoarding:
Look at your home with fresh eyes this week - WALK THROUGH your whole home and start looking at the piles of things everywhere. Actually look at it - pretend you are a visitor in your own home. Are you horrified? Or is it pretty good? Look around carefully.
Now, finding a friend who is willing to help you with getting your home organized and clutter free is crucial - and it will take just the right person. You may not actually have such a person in your life, so you might have to go and find a professional organizer. But, if you have a friend who can help you go through things, that is patient, and can really be an encourager but tough on helping you get your clutter out - THAT is the kind of friend you need.
I'm going to tell you that my mom is the inspiration to me regarding being this type of friend. She has been this type of friend to other women. She will take hours of her week to devote to helping her friend go through their clutter - she doesn't judge her friend and has found ways to help you let go of things that are even worth a lot of money that haven't been touched or used in years.
If you are the type of person who can BE that friend, here are some points from my mom of what you need to do for your cluttered friend:
1. Don't let your friend ponder things.
2. Keep your friend on track, don't allow them to ponder.
3. Encourage your friend to be willing to let things go - even if they want YOU to have it, even if YOU drive their things to the thrift store so it's done.
4. Have a time line and stick to it.
5. Don't judge them, just help them to see how having less clutter is going to free them up for a life with less to manage.
6. Be gentle and loving.
If you ask a friend to help you, this is what you need to do:
1. Be grateful and respectful to your friend for their spending their time helping you declutter.
2. Don't touch everything, allow your friend to hold up and make quick decisions.
3. If you truly want to declutter, that's what you need to do. Don't waste valuable time of yours or your friend arguing about how you need to keep each and every thing.
4. Be willing to let expensive/unused things go, if it's truly something you forgot about, if it's unsellable, and truly not worth anything in order to be free from the burden of the clutter.
5. If you MUST sell, set a deadline. If it doesn't sell within a week, give it away.
6. Have a donation truck scheduled to come the next day after your friend comes to help you with your stuff or allow them to drive it directly to the thrift store or donation center. Do not go back through things. Box or bag things up in black bags so you aren't tempted.
Find this friend. Be this friend. Get your home decluttered and organized. How can you get started this week?
A couple of resources I highly recommend, THIS POST from my guest Hilda of From Overwhelmed to Organized.
I also recommend reading THIS POST about hoarding:
Here's the whole series, so far:
Want to know where I got that product?
Go HERE and find it!
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Useful tips to be well organized :)
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