Living Clutter Free Forever - decluttering tips,home organizing, minimalist living

How to start decluttering when you’re overwhelmed — one 15-minute step at a time #159

• Caroline Thor - Professional Organizer - KonMari® Consultant

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Feel like your clutter is shouting at you every time you walk past it? Wondering how to even begin when you're already stretched too thin?

If you’re staring down piles of paper, bursting drawers, or random bags of “deal with later” and thinking, I can’t do this right now—I see you.

This episode is for you.

Because starting is the hardest part. Especially when your brain is fried, the kids need you, and the mess just feels like too much. You’re not lazy. You’re not bad at this. You’re overwhelmed—and there’s a reason for that.

In this episode of the podcast, I’m sharing exactly how to begin when even the thought of tidying feels impossible.
No 5-hour organizing sessions.
No Pinterest-perfect storage hacks.
Just real, doable declutter strategies that work in 15-minute bursts—even if you’ve failed before.

You’ll hear how home organization doesn’t have to mean all or nothing. And how taking one small, intentional action can shift your whole day (and lower your cortisol, too). Whether you’re buried in paperwork, drowning in toys, or just don’t know where to begin—this is the nudge you’ve been waiting for.

Imagine this: You clear one surface. You feel better. You believe in yourself again.
That’s the KonMari spark we’re after—not perfection, just progress.

Ready to stop avoiding and start breathing again?
Tune in now. This is the episode that gets you moving.

I would LOVE to hear from you. Text Message me here.

Join me for the PAPER RESET! Already 100 amazing women have joined. Grab your special gift for being there live. 

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

Speaker 1:

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 thank you so much for joining me today. Now, before we get into today's episode, I just want to take a moment to say thank you, because last week someone left me a message through the part of my show notes that says leave, leave me a message asking me a question about the paper reset, and the message simply said what time are the three 15 minute zooms? And while I loved receiving it, it was so frustrating because I can't reply. This is part of my podcast platform that I use to host my podcast and unfortunately I don't get your name or your email, just your location, and in this case it said Waco, texas. So if you're listening right now, hello, and thank you so much for asking. And I can let you know that the paper reset is running this weekend, may the 17th, 18th, and then the following Monday, the 19th, and the live sessions are at 5pm Central European Summer Time and 11am EST, and you'll get your Zoom link once you sign up. And if you can't make it live, don't worry, I'll send out the replays each day. I really appreciate you, whoever you are, for reaching out and I hope this helps. I didn't want you thinking I was ignoring you.

Speaker 1:

Okay, so let's get on with today's episode. I'm going to try and keep it to 15 minutes. I really struggle with that, so I have a challenge in front of me today. Now, let me guess you have got a paper pile in the corner of your kitchen or on the stairs or the dining room table and you glance at it every day, thinking I've really got to deal with that, but somehow days or weeks or sometimes months go by and it's still there. Now, how do I know this? Because this used to be me and it still sometimes is me. I know it so well and I've lived it for years and in that moment you have every intention of doing it, but other things happen or you procrastinate on it.

Speaker 1:

And what I really want to say to you in this episode today is this you are not lazy, you are not bad at this, you are not disorganized. You're likely exhausted or overstimulated or just carrying too much, especially if you're a mom. Maybe you're a mom of neurodivergent kids or someone juggling work and care and life, and you just have very little breathing room. So it's no wonder that we don't get round to doing these things that we intend to do and these piles of paper or things that we've left lying around. This clutter is not a character flaw. It's a consequence of life being more than one person can very often manage and, let's face it, we are not always getting the support from other family members that we would love to have.

Speaker 1:

So let's talk about why starting is so difficult. Even when you really want to feel better in your home, you might feel like if you start, you have to it all, and where on earth are you going to find the time to do that? You don't know what to keep or throw away. Major decision fatigue. You've tried it before and it just didn't last. So, quite frankly, what is the point of even doing it? And you don't want to open a pile that might trigger some guilt, shame or hard emotions. And in paper that's often the case, because we perhaps have unpaid bills or we have got a letter from someone that we haven't replied to. All that sort of stuff, and it's completely valid. And it's not that you're unmotivated, it's that your brain is actually trying to protect you from what it thinks will be a threat. And what's the threat? It could be failure, it could be mess, it could be regret. So it says let's not go there today and we go okay, even if that means that we stay stuck. And I have been here. I procrastinated for years on bags which I had stuffed things into to deal with them later, boxes that I had piled up full of stuff that I meant to deal with later.

Speaker 1:

Did you know that studies have shown that clutter can actually raise your cortisol levels, so your body's stress hormone? One study even found that women who described their homes as cluttered had higher cortisol throughout the day than women that didn't. So if you're feeling frazzled just looking at a messy counter. That is not in your head. It is actually a physical response that you have to seeing the clutter. And here's the truth that we don't hear enough. You do not need a whole weekend to deal with this. You do not need to be in the mood, you don't even need a clear plan. What you need is just one moment of action one shelf, one drawer, one pile.

Speaker 1:

When you clear even one small surface, your brain gets a dopamine hit, like the opposite of getting raised cortisol, not from having done everything, but from having done something. And here's the real magic when you start to stack those tiny wins and I see this all the time in the women in my online membership you don't just build a tidier space, you build trust with yourself again. You start to believe I can do this. I don't need to wait for the stars to align before I can start. So if today's the day you want to begin, even just a little bit, give yourself that first tiny win, that first dopamine hit. Here's what I suggest Choose one spot, something visible but not overwhelming, so it might be your kitchen counter, it could be the corner of your desk, it could be your bedside table, any surface that you try to avoid looking at and then set a timer for 15 minutes and sort whatever's there into three simple categories Things to get rid of or put back somewhere else, things that need action to-dos and things to keep for now. So no long system required and that's it. And when the timer goes off, stop, no guilt, no shame. No guilt, no shame. Just breathe and let yourself be proud that you did something, you actually started. Now, if this is resonating and you are thinking this sounds like what I need, but I do not fully trust myself to follow through, I totally get you.

Speaker 1:

It is almost impossible for a lot of people to get started Now. I have got an amazing client at the moment, anna, and she contacted me actually because she needed help predominantly with her office space and papers, and I have been to her now three times in a row and we've been gradually picking away at the piles of papers that they have and the cupboard spaces that they have in their office and we've been getting everything out and decluttering it and organizing and putting it back again. But the fact that she made that date and she started has given her so much momentum and in the times between my visits she has got on and done her medicine cabinet, she's done drawers in the kitchen, she's made a star on her clothes. She is feeling so proud of herself. She has been stuck for years and just because she has now started, she's gradually gaining the momentum and she's being able to find the motivation to get on and do things on her own. So if you know that you could really benefit from just starting but it's really hard, and I know it is then why don't you join me this coming weekend for the paper reset?

Speaker 1:

It's a free three-day challenge starting this Saturday, may the 17th. Each day, we're meeting just for 15 minutes live on zoom, where I'm going to guide you through one small powerful action, and then you can choose. You can either say, okay, great, I know what to do now I'm going to get on with it. Or, if you want to, you can stay with me for about 15 minutes of co-working time afterwards and you can then actually get started and have the accountability of me being there and supporting you. And if you get stuck, you can ask me questions If you think oh, my goodness, this sounds amazing, this is exactly what I need, but you can't make it live. Do not stress. If you sign up. I will send you the replay each day and you can do it when you get a chance. But if you do show up live, you'll get an extra special bonus just for being there.

Speaker 1:

So imagine this this time next week you walk past your kitchen bench and instead of dread, you feel calm because there isn't piles of stuff there. You're not avoiding the mail. You don't panic when the school asks for a form. That's what we're creating, not a perfectly organized house. I don't promise anyone a perfectly organized house, because personally I don't think it's possible in the lives that we live these days to have a perfectly organized house all of the time. But what we are creating is a version of you who feels less weighed down.

Speaker 1:

So please remember, you're not broken, you're not lazy. You are someone who deserves support and a system that meets you where you are. So let's start with one surface, let's let it be enough, and I will see you this coming weekend in the paper reset. The link to join is in the show notes. Until then, I look forward to bringing you more organizing 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 caroline organizer. Thanks for listening and I look forward to guiding you on your journey to find your clutter free ever after.