Do you struggle with starting or making progress on an organizing project because you’re not sure if you’re doing it “the right way”? Well, we’re going to let you in on a secret: there is no right or wrong way to organize! As long as you get the results you were after, you did it right! Organizing is not one size fits all, and it is a process, not an event.
A few years ago, many people got caught up in the Marie Kondo craze of asking if certain items “sparked joy” and letting them go, if not. Well, that’s certainly one way to organize, but sometimes we do still need the things that don’t spark joy in our lives… like a toilet plunger. We prefer to ask the question, “does it add value to your life (or your work)”? If it doesn’t add value, it is clutter.
This month in our “It’s About Time” virtual productivity group, our topic is physical organizing and clutter clearing. As part of this, many members of this group, and of our Organize to Optimize Facebook group, are participating in a Minimalism Challenge.
The goal of the challenge is to eliminate over 450 pieces of clutter from our lives during the month of May. While that sounds like a lofty undertaking, when done over a 31-day period, it’s actually a fun and productive exercise.
This year marks the 4th time I have personally done this challenge and, somehow, even though I feel like I live a reasonably uncluttered and “minimalist” life, I am still finding more than 450 items of clutter to part with! It is a great periodic strategy to keep “clutter” at bay, however you define it.
There is no right or wrong way to do this challenge as long as you achieve your goal. You choose what works for you.
How do you define clutter?
Clutter can be anything that is no longer adding value to your life. Maybe it is the contents of the “junk drawer” that we all have in our homes, or maybe things you’ve been storing in the garage, attic or a storage facility. Clutter can also be non-material things, like digital clutter: the junk Email you receive and trash daily but don’t unsubscribe from, or the digital photos you have duplicates of and have been meaning to organize.
Do you have clutter you can eliminate from your life, freeing space for the things that add value? It’s not too late to join us for our challenge! We are only 5 days into it, with a total of 15 items cleared (1+2+3+4+5=15). Jump in and let us help share clutter clearing and physical organizing strategies with you! There are two ways you can participate, depending on how much support and accountability would best help you reach your goals.
No matter how you tackle the process of organizing or clearing clutter, if you reach the goals you set out to achieve, you did it right!
