Decluttering Tips and Support Weekly Newsletter Vol. 12

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Dear Reader,

I started decluttering my home almost a decade ago, and I've gotten rid of my fair share of stuff...but I still have more to declutter!

Sorry to break it to you...but the decluttering process never ends! And once you get through the physical stuff in your home, you may find yourself facing the head and heart clutter that's even harder to remove!

As we finished week 3 of our Spring Decluttering Series on the podcast, I shared the 5 "head and heart" things I'm decluttering this spring to live lighter! Which one(s) do you need to declutter, too?

1. My "shoulds": Sometimes the hardest things to declutter are the unrealistic expectations you place on yourself. Anytime I tell myself, "I SHOULD be doing this" I need to remember Byron Katie's four questions when it comes to our thoughts:

• Is it true?
• Can you absolutely know that it’s true?
• How do you react when you believe that thought?
• Who would you be without the thought?

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99% of the time, I can declutter my "shoulds" just by doing that simple reflective exercise!

2. Doing everything for my kids: My kids are old enough to do a LOT for themselves, even if they sometimes pretend they can't or turn into wet noodles on the floor when I ask them to clean up. :) I am experimenting with saying, "It's time to..." rather than saying, "Do you want to..." when it comes to things that need to be done like their routines and chores.

3. Apologizing for saying "no" to things that exceed my capacity: I am a chronic over-apologizer. I always have been. But I have to remember that I was never intended to handle everything. I can say no with confidence to anything that would make me exceed my personal capacity, and not feel bad about it.

4. Making excuses that prevent me from doing my daily non-negotiables: We recently had spring break and my schedule looked different than previous weeks. I sometimes use this an excuse not to do my non-negotiable habits, even though those habits are the foundation of my physical and emotional wellness.

5. Mindless social media scrolling: I am taking a detox/break from Instagram and Facebook except for posting about the podcast and in my Facebook group. It just isn't serving me and I need to refocus my time and energy on what matters.

Before You Go...

I was recently a guest on the Wannabe Clutter Free podcast with Deanna Yates! I love her podcast and this conversation and I hope you enjoy it as well.

On this journey with you,

Emily

P.S. Scrolled to the end? No problem. This week on the podcast I shared the 5 things that I'm decluttering this spring to help me live lighter and spoke to Teresa Wiedrick from the Homeschool Mama Self-Care Podcast about creating boundaries around our self-care. ​