The costs of clutter are both tangible and intangible.  The tangible costs include financial loss from over spending, late fees on bills and diminished work productivity that can lead to depression and illness.  The intangible costs of clutter may include social embarrassment resulting from a cluttered home, distressed personal relationships and even loss of momentum and direction in pursuit of our goals. Detaching from clutter may be difficult, but it’s worth the time and effort if you truly wish to live a simplified and more fulfilling life.

Let’s begin this journey by asking some questions about the items you own:

• Do you need the items?  If not, let them go.
• Do you love the item? If not, let them go.
• Do you use the items on a regular basis or recently? If so, maintain those items but keep them at a minimum.
• How do you use these items? How you use an item can shed light on whether the item should be kept.
• Are the items in good working order? Items that work improperly or are difficult to use can cause frustration and should not be kept.
• What is your relationship to the item? If you feel emotionally attached to an item, ask yourself the following questions.
  • Does the item bring value to your current life style? If not, let them go.
  • Is the item contributing to the life you wish to lead? If not, let them go.
• Are you keeping the item because you think you should or because you want to? It’s okay to let go of those items that you have kept out of obligation and it’s fine to keep family items that you treasure.

Learning to detach is often a journey that includes creating new habits.  One of the best ways to avoid having to purge, is to ask yourself if it will fit in the space and if you really need or love the item before purchasing it?

Begin by consciously using this method for a month or so, and you will be surprised at how easily you can reduce the clutter in your home and simplify your surroundings.

Darla Pompilio

Your Tasks – Our Time, Inc

The post The Clutter Free Life – How to Detach appeared first on Your Tasks Our Time.

Pick Your Battles

Look at your list and determine the cleaning and organizing tasks that make the most sense for this time of year.  For example, closets are a great place to start because this is the time of year we change from winter to spring/summer attire.  Garages are another good area of focus.  Now is the time to put away the snow blower and pull out the lawn mower.  And, let’s be honest, things tend to get piled and tossed into the garage all winter, so it’s time for a garage clean-out.  Your garden shed is another great fit for seasonal organizing.  Inspect and sharpen your garden tools, take stock of your supplies, clean your clay pots and determine your tool storage area based on how often you use the tools. With the onset of warmer weather comes the need to change to lighter blankets and comforters.  Once the bed is striped you can vacuum and turn the mattress to complete the process.

Maintenance is Key

Now that you have decided which areas make sense to organize during the spring season; let’s break the rest of that cleaning and organizing list into manageable tasks to be completed throughout the year.  Baseboards, doors and cobwebs can be dusted and cleaned during the winter when you’re stuck inside during a snowstorm.  Lampshades and ceiling fans can be dusted at regular intervals when you dust the rest of your home. Draperies, blinds and carpets can be cleaned in the fall or the end of the summer.  Many people have self cleaning ovens that can be cleaned any time of the year and grease traps and stove filters are easy to replace or clean on an as needed basis.

Consistency is the Name of the Game

Having a consistent, year around routine will help you avoid investing large chunks of time in the spring.  Instead, get out and smell the forsythia, spend time with family and friends or do whatever makes you happier at this wonderful time of year.  Organizing and cleaning are necessary for a functional life, so finding ways to spread it out and make it easier in the long run will save you endless hours each season.

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