4 strategies to stop you feeling overwhelmed about decluttering and organizing! #101

Welcome to Living Clutter Free Forever, where we dive into all things decluttering and organizing to help you create a space you love! 

In this episode, we're tackling the common overwhelm that often accompanies the decluttering process with four top tips to help you regain control and make progress towards your organizing goals.

Feeling buried under piles of clutter? Don't worry, I've got you covered! Join me as we break down the decluttering process into bite-sized tasks, set timers for short and effective decluttering sessions, prioritize areas for maximum impact, and seek support from friends, family, and online communities.

Discover the psychology behind why these strategies work, learn practical tips for implementation, and hear inspiring stories of transformation from real people just like you. Say goodbye to overwhelm and hello to a more organized and peaceful home!

Whether you're a decluttering pro or just getting started on your journey, this episode is packed with actionable advice to help you conquer clutter and reclaim your space. Tune in now and let's get started on your path to a clutter-free life!

Thanks for listening! For more organizational motivation, support and free resources:
Join my online membership Clutter Free Collective
Join my podcast Facebook group Living Clutter Free Forever Podcast: KonMari® Inspired Organizing | Facebook
Visit my website www.caroline-thor.com
Come and say 'hi' on Instagram @caro.thor
Follow me on Facebook @carolineorganizer

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hi there, I'm Caroline Thor, professional organiser, konmari consultant, teacher and mum of three. I started off my life as a mum feeling overwhelmed, disorganised and desperately trying to carve out some time for me amongst the nappies, chaos and clutter. One day, one small book called the Life-Changing Magic of Tidying changed everything and I began to learn strategies for making everyday life easier. Today, I have the systems in place that means life can throw almost anything at me, and I want to share them with you. If you're an overwhelmed mum struggling to keep it together, then this is the podcast for you. Grab a coffee and settle in for a quick chat with someone who gets your reality. Hello and welcome back to the latest episode of the living clutter-free Forever podcast. I am so happy to have you join me today, and I have chosen today's topic because it is one of the things that I hear most often from people, whether it's my in-person clients or people connecting with me on Instagram, or members of my online membership or people in my online group coaching program, members of my online membership or people in my online group coaching program. I hear so often I'm feeling overwhelmed, I don't know where to start, and when we're feeling overwhelmed, we get a bit like this rabbit in a headlight situation where you just look at it and think it's just too much. I just don't even know where to begin. So I wanted to dedicate this episode to helping you understand why you start to become overwhelmed and how it affects our ability to declutter effectively, and then dive into some tips in detail which will offer you practical examples of how you can move through the overwhelm and start to make progress in your own home. So I hope you find this episode really, really helpful. It's one that people have been asking me to do for a long time, and today's the day. So, basically, the first thing to be clear about is there is nothing wrong with you if you are feeling overwhelmed by looking at a drawer full of stuff or a room that's really untidy or a garage that needs decluttering and organizing. It is completely normal in these situations to feel overwhelmed, and there are things you can do to help you. So I'm going to give you four top tips today to help break the overwhelm and help you move forward.

Speaker 1: 2:51

So let's start with the first one. I am always banging on about this. You've probably, if you listen to my podcast, a lot. You've heard me talking about this so often but start by breaking the decluttering process down into smaller tasks or areas. So, for example, in my online membership Clutterfree Collective for May, everyone has identified a project that they want to get completed by the end of the month, and what we're now doing is looking at how we can break that project down into smaller, more manageable chunks to reduce the feeling of overwhelm and increase the motivation. So it is more likely that this project will be getting done Now.

Speaker 1: 3:35

It's always important to look at your calendar first and this is what I've told everyone in my membership for May as well. Look at what you've got going on. How much time do you realistically have? We often get overwhelmed because we've chosen to do something that we don't have time to do. So breaking it down into smaller steps means that you're going to be able to work at something one day, feel that you've had a win, that you've made progress, and then move on on another day to do the next bit. So everyone in my membership is breaking down these projects, whether it's just a draw or a complete category or a complete room. We're breaking it down into smaller steps and then I'll be holding them accountable through the month of May, so that we make progress and work our way through. So, according to a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, people are more likely to follow through on tasks when they're broken down into smaller steps. So that is my first top tip do it. The second top tip is practical application.

Speaker 1: 4:41

So once you've started, you will find yourself wanting to continue, but very often it's the getting started bit that's difficult. When you're feeling overwhelmed, I am always saying just 10 minutes, some people even say five minutes. Set a timer and say to yourself I'm only allowed to work on this for 10 minutes and then stop and see how much you've managed to do in that 10 minutes. When you're really concentrated for 10 minutes, it's incredible how much you can get done. And often, once you've done that starting bit, you're going to find yourself wanting to continue because you can see the progress you've made, whether it's immediately or the next day. You do another 10 minutes and the next day another 10 minutes. We've also had this in my membership that for one week I challenged everyone just to do 10 minutes of decluttering, organizing or tidying every day. So that's 70 minutes in a week and I was holding them accountable and that worked really really well. So you could try doing that. You could almost have it written down in like a decluttering checklist or schedule and you can tick off when you have done that 10 minute session and then you will see that you're starting to make progress.

Speaker 1: 6:02

My top tip, number two, which does relate a little bit to the one I've just mentioned, is setting a timer for short decluttering sessions. You may have heard of the Pomodoro technique. This is a time management method that uses a timer to break work into intervals which are traditionally 25 minutes in length and are separated by short breaks, and research has shown that this technique can improve your focus and productivity. So if you're thinking, well, caroline, 10 minutes, what am I going to get done in that time? Try 25 minutes, have a little break and then do another 25 minutes. So that could be something that could work for you. And my other tip would be to experiment with different time intervals to find out what works best for you. I know personally that for me, 30 minutes works really really well, but I have people in my membership who I know 10 minutes is enough for them, so it's different for everybody. Just because I say do 10 minutes of decluttering and organizing doesn't mean that necessarily is what's going to work for you. So play around with it a bit and the important thing is fully committing to the decluttering task. During each timed session, try to eliminate distractions and stay focused, and that way you will really see how much you can get done in that time. Okay, top tip number three Prioritize your areas or categories based on urgency and importance.

Speaker 1: 7:37

Now, the KonMari method, as you may have heard me mention before, is based on categories, starting with clothes, then books, then papers, then kimonos, such as your bathroom, your kitchen, your cellar, your craft materials and finally your sentimental items. Okay, but a survey conducted by the National Association of Professional Organizers found that the kitchen is the most cluttered room in the house for 90% of Americans. And I have to say, when I go and work one-on-one in person with clients, it is very often they will say to me okay, I understand how the KonMari method works, but please can we do the kitchen first, because that's the thing that is annoying me the most and is having the most impact on my daily life. Of course you can. You can start wherever you want. Clothes is the traditional place to start with the KonMari method. But if you have an area of your home that is driving you absolutely crazy, then start there first. So that is one the efficiency impact is really important and then develop a strategic approach to it. Assess what has the most stress or the biggest impact on your daily life. Is it the entryway, your bedroom, your home office? Where is clutter impeding functionality and creating daily frustrations? And then start working there.

Speaker 1: 9:08

Okay, and my final top tip is seeking support from friends, family or online communities. There is a huge impact that accountability has and, according to research published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, people who have an accountability partner are 65% more likely to accomplish their goals. Now I am seeing this firsthand in my membership Clutterfree Collective. The accountability the members are providing for each other and I'm able to provide for everyone means that people are making massive progress in their decluttering and organizing. So see if you can find support from a friend or a family member, or you're very welcome to come and join us in Clutter-Free Collective and we will hold you accountable. And community connection also has a massive impact on your ability to declutter and organize when you're feeling overwhelmed. So the power of online decluttering communities mean that you can share progress. You offer support and celebrate successes together, and I would encourage you to reach out to friends or family members who can provide you with that encouragement and accountability throughout your decluttering journey. If you are feeling overwhelmed, there is nothing better than to feel you have got people who have got your back and are cheering you on, and I am hoping that you're starting to see that, even if you are looking at a space and feeling overwhelmed, there are things you can do to help yourself, move forward, to inspire you and motivate you.

Speaker 1: 11:03

So these were what they were again, start by breaking the decluttering process into smaller tasks or areas. Top tip number two was setting a timer for shorter decluttering sessions. Top tip number three was prioritizing areas or categories based on urgency or importance. And finally, seek support from friends, family or online communities. If you are interested in clutter free collective, we would love to have you come and join us. You can try it out for a month and see how it works for you.

Speaker 1: 11:40

Go to caroline-thorcom forward slash clutter and there you can find all the information about what we are about. We would love to have you join us If you're not ready to make that sort of commitment. There is also my Living Clutter Free Forever podcast Facebook group. So come and join us there and you can search that if you go to Facebook or I will put the link to both things in the show notes.

Speaker 1: 12:09

So that was a speedy look through how, if you're feeling overwhelmed by your decluttering and organizing, you can get started and you can make progress. I hope you found that useful. If you have, please leave a review, because it means that the podcast gets sent out to a lot more people and I am on a mission to try and help as many people feel less overwhelmed in their homes as I can. Until next time, if you've enjoyed this episode, please send the link to a friend you know would appreciate it, subscribe and leave a review. I look forward to bringing you more organising tips next time, but if you can't wait until then, you can go to my website or find me on Instagram, at carothor, or on Facebook at Carolineolineorganizer. Thanks for listening and I look forward to guiding you on your journey to find your clutter free ever after.