Author Karen Kingston offers interesting advice in her book Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui around “should” versus “could.” If you’ve got clutter at your house that you’ve put off clearing, your procrastination may be because you don’t care! If you feel like this is something you should do but you don’t really have the heart for, then you’ll find a million things to do before you tackle that hot spot.

“Should” is someone else’s rules, someone else’s opinion.

“Could” means you have a choice.

When you choose to do something, your focus and energy change. Figuring out your priorities is a trick to getting anything done, whether it’s decluttering the basement, or solving the problems of the world! If you choose to solve something for a reason that resonates with you, you’ll get it done.

And I know – clutter can still seem overwhelming even when you choose to tackle it. So where do you start?

• Start by making a list of hot declutter spots. Just making a list will help you feel more in control.
• Note on the list whether this is a small, medium, or large project.
• Start with small. You want to get a success under your belt! One drawer. One part of a closet. Your desk. Which one is bugging you the most? Start there.
• Notice each time you declutter how you get an energy buzz when things are in order. And how delightful it is when you go to find something and there it is – with nary a thought.
• By the time you move onto medium declutter zones, you’ll be better practiced at being decisive.
• And by the time you hit the large zones, you’ll know the energy you get from living in a clearer space. That reward is what makes decluttering worth the time and effort. That’s when you shift from doing it because you should to doing it because you want to.

Just remember that when you take that deep breath and decide to get started, give yourself enough time. Dress for success in comfortable clothes and shoes. And have your boxes and bags ready for the trash, give-away, return-to-sender, and stuff that needs to go to a different place in your house or at work. And at the end of your declutter time, move the boxes and bags out of the decluttered space.

It’s amazing what you can do – when you decide to do it.

I stumbled on a “D” along the shore this weekend. D for Declutter? Or Decision? I’ll see if I can find more of the letters this week 🙂

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