Stories from the Clutter Busting Front Lines

I want to share some memorable moments from this week's clutter busts.

A client had an old beat up torn hat that she wasn't wearing. She didn't want to throw it away because she felt it would only add to the landfill. 

I said if she hung on to the hat, her home would become a landfill. 

She said she was tired of living that way, and she let go of the hat.

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Another client was feeling stuck over letting go of a self-help book. She'd had the book for years, but never connected with it. She felt it was arrogant and selfish to say she didn't like something.

I said that it's okay to say no to something you don't like. It's your job to take care of yourself in that way. If it's not part of your life, you get to say so, and remove it.

She liked that idea, and let the book go.

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A different client had a collection of hundreds of books in his home, garage, and in his kindle. Part of him was proud of his collection. Another part was bothered that he had so many books. He felt overwhelmed and hadn't been able to do anything about the situation.

I asked him how long it took for him to read a book. He said about a month and a half. I said that came out to about ten books a year. He had more books than he could read in his lifetime. Plus the overwhelming presence of the books was taking away any pleasure he got from the books he did read.

My client said that it was sobering to see how he actually related to the books, versus how he thought he should relate to them. He didn't want to live in an overwhelming library anymore. With his clarity intact, he client began going through and letting go of books.

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This weekend I encourage you to pick a small area of your home and take a curious and honest look around. Pick up an item in that area and see if it still fits your life or not. Remember, you have things in your life to serve you, not for you to serve your things. It helps to keep coming back to, "Do I like and use this, or can I let it go?" Keep coming back to your happiness as a guide.