I help overwhelmed moms declutter their homes, heads, and hearts. Decluttering coach and the host of top 1% globally ranked podcast Moms Overcoming Overwhelm.
Inside: Your S.P.R.I.N.G. Decluttering Plan 🌸
Decluttering Tips and Support Weekly Newsletter Vol. 11 Dear Reader, My parents and aunt are coming in less than 24 hours to visit for Easter, and I'm having a bad case of hostess neurosis! Luckily we are in week two of our Spring Decluttering Series on the podcast, so at least I know my home isn't overrun by a bunch of extra stuff! Since I LOVE acronyms, I have your 6-step spring decluttering plan right here, using each of the letters of the word SPRING! Let's dive in: Schedule a weekly pickup (or drop off). The best way to keep yourself accountable for decluttering your home is to schedule a weekly pickup and make sure you've decluttered through the week in advance of that pickup date! Check out GreenDrop, PickUp Please, Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity and others to see what's closest to you! Pick the space that has been stressing you out the most! Normally I recommend starting your decluttering journey in your car - the most unsentimental, unemotional place for a quick and easy win! But when it comes to spring cleaning, a lot of us have what Kendra Adachi calls "big black trash bag energy" and it might be best to focus on that area that's been nagging at your for months! Remove items from your surfaces first and then move them to another space to process. If you are decluttering a space, you probably don't have a lot of room to work and can get easily distracted. Move things to another area of your home where you can look at everything easily - like a dining room table or a kitchen counter (of course, they have to be cleared off first!) ➡️ Trash ➡️ Recycling ➡️ Donation or given to a specific person ➡️ "Go back" bin to go to a different floor - or a different room on the same floor ➡️ Out-of-sight, out-of-mind bin ➡️ Items to be reviewed by someone else in your household Intentionally decide what goes back, where, and why. Remember to make sure that everything has a home and ask yourself some key questions before putting things back. Notice how you feel when the space is clear, and celebrate that feeling. Isn't it nice to be able to breathe deep and enjoy the peace that uncluttered spaces bring? Gather data so you can create a system to keep the space clutter-free. Over the next 1-2 weeks, notice if the surfaces are getting cluttered again. Why? Do you need a better system for stuff coming into your home, or for how things are put away? Pay attention to what's working - and what's not - so you can tweak accordingly. In Case You Missed It... I am thrilled that my article Minimalism's Missing Piece was featured on Becoming Minimalist yesterday. If you haven't had the chance, please give it a read! Living within our capacity is SO important! On this journey with you, Emily P.S. Scrolled to the end? No problem. This week on the podcast I shared my simple S.P.R.I.N.G. decluttering plan and spoke to NYT bestselling author Stephanie O'Dea about opting out of mom guilt and "either/or" thinking. |
Decluttering Tips and Support for Overwhelmed Moms Weekly Newsletter
I help overwhelmed moms declutter their homes, heads, and hearts. Decluttering coach and the host of top 1% globally ranked podcast Moms Overcoming Overwhelm.
Decluttering Tips and Support Dear Reader, Do you feel exhausted and drained? Do you find it hard to focus when you're at home? Are you surviving on caffeine and a prayer that things will get better? Putting your hope in coffee MAY not be sustainable...just sayin'! It may be that your cluttered home is zapping your energy and focus! Perhaps you can't find what you're looking for - keys, phones, permission slips, etc. We spend 2.5 days a YEAR looking for this stuff! That's a whole lot of time...
Decluttering Tips and Support Dear Reader, I've been avoiding getting on the bathroom scale for a while now. As long as I don't step onto it, I can ignore a number that will likely make me unhappy. Sure my clothes are fitting a bit snugger than I'd like. But ignorance is bliss...right? I feel ya, Bridget Jones Not necessarily. I just read a book called Finish by Jon Acuff where he talks about the importance of data when it comes to reaching our goals. As he shares: "Data kills denial which...
Decluttering Tips and Support Dear Reader, Recently my oldest son called out to me right before he was about to go to bed: "Mom! I need you! I think I decluttered too much!" My initial thought... He showed me an Amazon box full of trinkets he had decluttered from his "treasure box" - a shoe box that is the physical boundary for all the small knick-knacks he gets from school, birthday parties, etc. He had decluttered WITHOUT prompting! I was shocked. 😮 Now mind you, this has been several years...