A while back, two dear friends of mine (who were also clients) lost their parents.
I helped both of them go through their things.
Even though, in both intances, each of their parents were very neat, clean and tidy people, they owned a lot of stuff and had duplicates of lots of things. Both my friends were completely overwhelmed with it all.
Because of all the excess of things to go through, I saw how it made the grieving process much more difficult.
Anyone who has gone through this knows how hard this part of losing a loved on is, and anyone who hasn’t, I know can imagine it.
Going through your possessions and minimizing is not only one of the kindest things you can do for your loved ones but you will discover that it is truly one of the kindest things you can do for yourself too.
It is giving yourself a freedom that you never dreamed possible. I don’t think any of us realy realize how much our stuff is holding us back untill we expereice it.
I’m giving you an assignment… We’ve still got a lot of time to make this year the year that you’ll get the house de-cluttered.
I have outlined a way that you could tackle some of the excess you have around the house and how to decide what goes and what stays… How about taking on this challenge?
- Start at your front door and go clockwise.
- Set a timer for 15 minutes and make some decisions about things you own and live with.
- In a nutshell, the main rule is:
- If you don’t love it it goes.
- If it is broken and you love it, fix it.
- If it can’t be fixed, or you know you’re not going to fix it, give it to someone who will or toss it.
- If it doesn’t serve you anymore or if it doesn’t fit on your body let it go.
- If it’s something don’t use anymore, it goes.
- If it doesn’t fit in your home, donate it.
- If it’s a duplicate, get rid of it.
Make decisons quickly. Keep thinking of WHY your doing this and then make a call for someone to come and get those things. Act fast!
You can not believe how many duplicates and triplicates of things we came across.
If you ever have any plans in your lifetime to do something different, move to another city, travel more, start a new career or make any kind of life change happen, you would be surprised how belongings can stop you from making anything you dream of becoming a reality… add to that, the incredible burden placed on loved ones left with many items to go through and it just plain does not make sense that we don’t do something about this while we can.
Much Love to You!
Kathy
The Tidy Tutor
PS I’m having a free challenge! You can check it out by clicking HERE All the information is there and how you can sign up. We will be tackling the clutter magnets at home that, no matter how often you clean it up, it continues to get cluttered up again. 3 day challenge with a video assignment each day, and a live Q and A time each of the days.