What one change helped you the most to reach your decluttering goals in 2011?

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What one change helped you the most to reach your decluttering goals in 2011?

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Started 5 months ago by Ella
Latest reply from Lucy the Writer
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Ella
Member

I'm assuming that all of us tried at least one new idea or habit change this past year. There have been so many brilliant ideas and inspiring success stories here. But I'm most interested in the little things... the small changes that made the biggest difference in helping us to declutter our lives.

For me, since paper is my biggest problem, I'd have to say that the one best habit change this year has been to open and process the mail every single day.

I used to be terrified of bad news coming in the mail (especially during the worst of my depression when I couldn't cope), and I would let unopened mail pile up and up for months. During this past year though, I've opened and processed ALL of my old mail, which was a huge accomplishment for me. But the single most important habit change has been to deal with the current mail every single day without fail. It only takes a few minutes. Sometimes I'm still afraid of what might be inside, but I muster up my courage, grasp the letter opener, and rip into it. :)

What about you? What one small change had the biggest impact for you in 2011?

Posted 5 months ago #
bandicoot
Member

i had to think about this for a minute.
there have been lots of small things that have consolidated the last couple of years' efforts to produce real visible change around here.

"no new clothes for a year" has been a big one though.
it forced me to assess what i had, to organise it, and to care for it a lot more than usual.
i've had a lot of fun with my wardrobe in the last few months. and saved a lot of money.

additionally, i think that my consistent behaviours have influenced my husband.
there is no magazine clutter here any more.
he isn't a major consumer of anything, really, but things are a lot less cluttery-looking around him and he is more inclined to get rid of stuff that he isn't using/hasn't used in ages. and omg he has started putting things back where they belong.

i love the snowball effect.

Posted 5 months ago #
irishbell
Member

Clean up as I go and put things away promptly after use.
If something needs doing, do it now, not later.
2 fairly small ideas, but help me out tremendously.

Posted 5 months ago #
ninakk
Member

The concept of expensive real estate of each drawer, shelf and other storage surface; trying to find a home for every item in the house is currently impossible so in order for the piles to shrink other stuff has to go. To give each item a home has been important this year and to put stuff back into their homes after use is equally important. This wasn't a single-file answer, since it is so complex.

The two-minute idea a bit tweaked from the original GTD mindset has also been a valuable thing for me (it sort of sunk in this year) and I've come to detest long to do lists that just sit there. To my great surprise I've been extremely active and have accepted the small steps every day as more productive than the very energy-consuming, huge blasts less often.

I'm still scared of facing bureaucracy sometimes, but it gets much worse if I zone out indefinitely and so I've bit the bullet considerably earlier than a couple of years ago as I was in a bit of a pickle somewhat like Ella.

The realisation of monetary value lost already when a purchase is being moved from the cashier towards the exit. Just don't buy it.

Sorry for not being able to pick just one; 2011 has been a year of shaking my belief system a bit in more than one area :D

Posted 5 months ago #
susanintexas
Member

What an interesting question, Ella!

I think the big shift for me was last year when I adopted A Thing A Day. It worked, and was a clear demonstration to me that consistency -- the incessant dripping of water on a rock -- erosion -- is just as powerful and much less disruptive than an earthquake. I just plugged away at it and nothing looked different -- and then it did.

This year I think the mental shift was committing to have the house "company ready" every time I walk out the door. Not magazine spread perfect, but clean, tidy and inviting. It inspired me to make a lot of little changes, mostly picking up after myself as I go, which means having a place for everything and remembering to put it there. Doing things right away -- simple things like hanging up the reusable grocery bags -- instead of letting a hundred 30-second tasks pile up. Spending about 15 minutes cleaning every morning instead of a day-long blitz every few weeks. It's a joy to come home now.

Posted 5 months ago #
JuliaJayne
Member

The realization that I did a good job decluttering. I have completed what I set out to do. This year I spent some time appreciating my efforts, and how much I have changed. I don't feel like I'm at risk anymore of going back to my old ways. I automatically get rid of the things that I no longer want instead of putting off those decisions. Not quite 100% of the time, but close enough.

There are a few organizing projects I will work on next year, but I don't feel the need to be perfectly organized anymore. Letting go of the want of that perfect state (which was probably impossible anyway) has freed up a shadow corner of my mind.

Posted 5 months ago #
DivorcedMotherOf3
Member

I started late, obviously, but my digital clutter is almost cut in half. Thanks, guys!

Posted 5 months ago #
Astreja
Member

I'd have to say that the ATAD challenge was the primary driver in motivating me from day to day. The habit-forming aspect of it also helped me advance or finish long-stalled projects, such as the subfloor in my study.

A truly surreal amount of stuff left my home in 2011, by truck, car or CurbMart. I suspect a few of the neighbours are still talking about it. :-D

What I've noticed is that the desire for new things is greatly diminished, and I'm less likely to jump at the first available version of something. Rather than buying, say, a mediocre coffeepot I'll tend to hold off for a week or more and look for the one I *really* want.

I'm switching the focus slightly for next year, to work more on finishing renovations and making the house sustainably clean with new cupboards and flooring.

Posted 5 months ago #
pkilmain
Member

I hace to say a combination of ATAD and not putting off small things (which includes PEEP). The main floor of our house is now always company ready - dihes done consisently/kitchen clean, bed made, clothes and other clutter picked up. And gosh, it takes so little time. LOL. On to the downstairs (and electronics) for 2012.

Posted 5 months ago #
lucy1965
Member

DH losing his job was a huge motivator for both of us. *wry grin* Happily the emphasis shifted from "OMG we might lose the house what are we going to do with all of this?" to "Hey, we were planning to move anyway; we can start to downsize without the immediate horror of moving three cats!"

Posted 5 months ago #
rutheverhart
Member

ninakk -- I love this: The realisation of monetary value lost already when a purchase is being moved from the cashier towards the exit. Just don't buy it.

But to answer the question, my mantra has become: Close the loop. It makes such a huge difference. Most of the loops are small housekeeping tasks related to laundry, dishes, mail. But the mantra is equally effective for getting my writing done, getting submissions in the mail, etc. I also have come to realize that when I'm feeling "funky" or slightly depressed, it's often because there's a loop somewhere that I can't close because it's out of my control. Just realizing this can help me shake off the funk. I can think, "Well, that's not a loop I can close, so what else is on my plate?"

Posted 5 months ago #
Conny
Member

For me it has to be: not to turn on my computer until after 2 p.m., (there have been exceptions, but that is what they are) that, and setting my timer (á la Flylady) to 15 minutes and just start on something, doesn't matter what.

A rule that worked really well for both of us this past year, -which was established long before - but not carried through with any consistency (in regards to scheduling) was:"if it is not written on the calender, you haven't told me"

Posted 5 months ago #
Nina
Member

Less procrastination when it comes to daily/weekly chores. I clean/hoover the apartment 1x a week, clean the cat toilets 1x a week, do the wash once a week (the folding, ironing the next day or at the latest 2 days after) and clean the kitchen every night. Not having to constantly think "I need to do this" is really great as it used to take up time and energy.

Posted 5 months ago #
PracticeMakesProgress
Member

Being absolutely ruthless about what comes into our house. Freakin' ruthless. Since we had everything moved out (it took six weeks, that's how deplorable a state the house was in), that gave me the awesome opportunity to allow ONLY what I wanted back in. We've been home since March and I'm still working with my organizer, going through a box at a time, and not everything that went into storage is making the cut. I'd sorted things in January 2009 when packing up the house, but I'm a changed woman with new priorities so lots of stuff that no longer suits my needs is being donated. And as Astreja said, the desire for new things is greatly diminished. Yay!!

In addition, everything that does come home has a place to live, and it goes there in a timely fashion. I pick up after myself and my husband (he's an engineer, his mind is elsewhere), but there's not much of that to do, as we mostly put things away after using them. I have a cleaning service come every two weeks, and what thrilled when one of the women asked me, "How do you keep your house so clean?" Yeah!!! It's working!!!

Posted 5 months ago #
lottielot
Member

You are all very inspiring. I feel like I'm not meeting any uncluttering goals as life is chaotic right now, and my house is reflecting that, but once the next 10 days are over, I'm re-visiting this thread for some ideas.

Posted 5 months ago #
Swede
Member

What helped me is setting clear goals on how much stuff I wanted to let go of. For example; I had penpals while growing up (one of them is still a close friend today!) and I kept e v e r y single letter I ever received. I had four or five decorative boxes with letters and decided I wanted to keep one. Just one. It's easier to let go when you realise that bc I had so many letters I never looked through them... And to compare one letter to another to decide which one is a keeper makes it (most times) easy to decide. Reading through all those letters prob for the first time since I got them made me also realize that most of them were quite boring. Haha.

The other thing that made the biggest inpact on reaching my goals was unfortunately an eye infection from hell (still not rid of it 3 months later) that had me house bound for 6 weeks. I couldn't really have people over either as the doctors weren't sure what it was and if it was contageous. While I do not recommend this to anyone I have to say that the boredom made any uncluttering task seem exciting. :) Prob got rid of a third of everything I own during those weeks...

Posted 5 months ago #
bandicoot
Member

swede, the eye thing sounds dreadful and i do sympathise.
i wonder if a neti pot would be helpful to you?

lottie, don't talk crazy....you get more done in a day than i do in a week!

Posted 5 months ago #
writing all the time
Member

Can't pin down only a single thing. One important thing is changing my mindset. This meant:
Stop bitching at myself
Take any action, however small, that leads to uncluttered-ness
On a down in the dumps day, write down my accomplishments for the last few
days and read over for a boost.
Say out loud what I've accomplished

I have chronic depression and DH has severe PTSD. Ours is not the sunniest of homes sometimes. BUT, when I'm kind to myself and remind myself of how much my own efforts have changed my life, it helps enormously.

The posts Erin has made about clutter creating clutter make me think about depression's downward spiral. Acknowledging I'm depressed and taking action as best I am able at that time help shift the path.

@Ella, thanks for the topic. This post is very inspiring!

Posted 5 months ago #
Mimi
Member

ATAD helped me a lot during the the first month of 2011. i uncluttered many things before ATAD but it helped me to go on and to learn the concept of "chain habits" - of doing one litte thing EVERY day instead of an enormous effort one day and nothing for the next couple of weeks or month.

"wash one load a day" improved my private life to an extend that i could not forsee. my weekend changed from doing-laundry-days to private-life-days. and the daily load does not bother me at all. it feels like there is one more free day per week. no more laundry clutter.

the end of 2011 is dedicated to FATAD. it was a lot of work and very similar to the tangible clutter- the list of things to do seemed to be never ending. i did a lot of things and also learned that i can´t do everything on my own -right now there are 3 craftsmen in the house. :-) it´s good to know what should be done and also good to realize what is doable and to accept that i need help from time to time.

Posted 5 months ago #
snosie
Member

I think the keys for me are
- set limits (on space or quantity)
- buy quality over quantity
- delay purchases (sometimes the need subsides)

Posted 5 months ago #

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