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June 19 - June 20, 2021
Fantasy: If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing right. Reality: While I’m busy searching for the best way to do something, I’m not getting anything done. Meanwhile, the problem gets worse and is much harder to solve when I finally get around to solving it.
Fantasy: Someday, when I have a solid month to devote to my house, I’ll get it totally cleaned and decluttered. I don’t see the point in starting until I know I can finish. Reality: Housekeeping doesn’t end. Ever.
Cleaning my house is not a project. It’s a series of boring, mundane, repetitive tasks. The people whose homes are clean all the time do these boring, mundane, repetitive tasks.
Fantasy: I have an analytical mind. I enjoy thinking through problems and creating solutions that will last. Reality: Sometimes, I turn things into problems that aren’t really problems just because I love thinking so much.
Routines remove the need to make the same decisions over and over again.
Assuming I know how long something will take doesn’t work. My assumptions turn into delusions. Timers are a delusion-breaking tool.
Fantasy: I need to get this house decluttered. Then it will make sense to start doing daily tasks. Reality: If I wait until I’m “done” decluttering, I’ll be waiting forever.
Anything I have too much of, that consistently gets out of control simply because I have too much of it, is clutter.
Habits make decluttering easier, and decluttering makes it easier to maintain habits. They’re codependent.
Fantasy: I need to figure out how to organize all this stuff. Reality: I have too much stuff.
When a space is decluttered, that space is comparatively organized. If I remove the things we don’t need, there’s nothing getting in the way of things we do need. We can function in that space. We can use it. And isn’t that the goal of organizing? Decluttering is simply getting rid of stuff I don’t need. Organizing is problem-solving.
When a container is full, I know how much I can keep. If I try to shove more into the container than will fit (like I used to do), the stuff spills out and turns into clutter.
Fantasy: I need this stuff. I mean, not right now, but someday I’ll be glad I already have it. Reality: I can’t handle this stuff. The house is a wreck, and I can’t find the things I need when I need them.
Every person has a Clutter Threshold that determines what constitutes clutter in each unique home. I’m not talking about clutter tolerance (or Slob Vision: my amazing ability to not see piles of stuff until they’re completely out of control). My Clutter Threshold is the point at which I have more stuff than I can keep under control—the point at which my stuff turns into clutter.
The Visibility Rule: When I feel the urge to declutter, I start with visible clutter. I stop. I look around. I let my brain register which out-in-the-open space is piled with stuff.
Feeling happy is better than feeling overwhelmed.
Here is the logical approach: if they don’t want this stuff in their own home, they shouldn’t expect me to keep it in mine. I mean, duh. They decluttered it. They get to enjoy not having it in their house. I get to do the same thing.
