*NOTE: This is a top-quality guest post from Josh Sarz, who blogs at Sagoyism.*
When clutter takes over...
Life goes on no matter what you do, and it’s extremely unforgiving.
If you have too much baggage, you won’t be able to avert disaster once it strikes. And trust me, reality hits you hard.
But what can you do to save yourself from breaking down? What’s the secret? How can you change your life so that you can live it without regrets, and enjoy every second of it?
First you need to know the enemy. The enemy known as “clutter”.
What Is Clutter Anyway?
Clutter has been repeated over and over again as something, anything that is in the way of you and your enjoyment of life’s bounties.
It can come in the form of bad habits and vices like smoking, alcoholism, gambling, addiction to anything. It eats away at your soul as you try and struggle to make your life meaningful to yourself and to others.
Clutter could also be emotional baggage, a job that you hate, a friend that doesn’t act like a friend, or just simply the junk you get everyday. From overrated gadgets to LED TVs, and more.
In the long term, all the clutter in your life will overwhelm you. Trust me, it’s not a good thing when your vices come back to hit you in the head and kills your relationships.
Why Should You ‘De-clutter’?
If you have to look forward to the weekend to get some quality rest then you can be sure you have some clutter.
If you hate waking up in the morning to get to work, then you know you’re job is cluttering up your life.
If you can’t find time to hang out with your loved ones because you have to check social media first, then you definitely need some intervention.
If you can’t picture yourself living in a small town, then you’re in trouble with too much clutter.
If you can’t save enough money for a vacation because of all the bills you pay, you need to tame yourself and respect your budget.
If you’re a smoker, or an alcoholic, or a compulsive gambler and it’s killing your personal relationships, then you really need some help.
Don’t worry – if you’re guilty with any one of the above, you’re not alone.
You Might Need Some Help
And by help, I mean a partner or a support group to back you up whenever you need someone to fall down on. This could be your spouse, your best friend, your family or your tribe. Just about anyone who understands what you’re going through, and who is willing to watch your back when you’re most vulnerable.
To be honest, you’re going to need all the help you can get, especially if the clutter that you’re facing up against is something like smoking or drinking, or something worse such as drugs.
I don’t do the third one, but I am proud to say that I’ve beaten alcohol to the ground. The next phase for me is to quit smoking, but it’s one step at a time.
Don’t Be Afraid To Admit Your Mistakes
And the first step to recovery is to admit that you have clutter, and that it’s not doing you any good. It also helps to admit that you want to throw it out the trash. You can’t fight something if you yourself don’t believe that you have this problem.
Humans aren’t perfect, and with what’s going on with technology, fashion trends, media and everything else around us, we’re bound to fall into the trap and collect a whole bunch of clutter.
Write A List
Take down everything in your life, from your TV, to your phone, computer, schedule, hobbies, everything.
- Once you’ve listed everything down, try to look for the ones you really need like shelter, health, personal relationships and rest.
- Remove them from the list.
- Rank the remaining items according to how easy they are to remove from your life.
- Start with the easiest one, and start now.
- Take it slow. Really slow. Allow yourself time to work on it, because your success on removing the clutter is life-changing.
Finally…
Reward yourself after successfully removing one item. Throw a party. Have a picnic with your family. Get a massage. Pamper yourself. You deserve it.
Then go work on the next easiest one on that list. Rinse and repeat until the list is completely empty.
This might take time, a really long time, especially if you’re already starting to work on removing bad habits that have been a part of your life. But you know, deep down inside, that you really have to let go of them so you will have time and energy to truly love and enjoy your life.
What types of clutter are you struggling with? How are you working on removing them? Let’s talk about our personal methods in the comments section below.
Josh Sarz currently works as a writer/editor for Thumbtack, an online marketplace for local services in the U.S. He is a Cebu Blogger, and in his blog he talks about Finding Ways To Enjoy Life
Image courtesy of TLC Guides
{ 37 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow! That’s quite a huge stretch in the definition of clutter.
I think you bring up some good points here and although I wouldn’t put bad habits under clutter or a job I hate also under clutter, I think that there is a need to focus on the essential.
Looking at your system, once I rank them what’s next? How do I remove my emotional attachment to my habit or my collection of miniature cars
Thanks for sharing your platform Stuart, although I must say I have a cluttered desk
John Falchetto recently posted..How to get blog comments, and a community of raving fans
Hey John, as this is Josh’s guest post I’ll let him field your question, but I will say this:
What kind of cars do you like best?
You don’t have to remove everything and go minimalist to remove clutter. As long as it’s not interrupting the important parts of your life like your family, rest and relaxation, performing well at your job, etc.
I also had a huge collection of NBA cards when I was a little younger. I used to look at them for over an hour after school and it took precious time away from my studies. I didn’t fail at a class, but I wasn’t able to finish school projects in time. I eventually decided to quit it.
What I did was I just hid them from plain sight in our storage room. Although it was hard not to have them with me, and to gawk at them every minute, I just put to my mind that it was “still there”, just in storage.
Gradually I lost the need to stare at them and got more time to study. Then after a year or so I found out my mom had been doing some cleaning and she accidentally threw it away.
But I felt fine. One thing that still hurts a little, is when I think about it, some of those cards would be worth a whole lot more now.
Josh Sarz recently posted..25 Years Of Wisdom In One Blog Post
Thanks for writing this great guest post Josh, I (and the UTD audience) appreciate it!
Thanks for having me. It’s an honor.
Josh Sarz recently posted..25 Years Of Wisdom In One Blog Post
One small thing I’m working on is putting away social media to pay more attention to my family. I used to “pretend” to be listening when I really wasn’t and I’m stopping to “smell the roses” so to speak. Baby steps.
Patti
Patricia Yager Delagrange recently posted..E-Book Readers
Family is definitely a priority. We should never, ever choose anything over them.
Baby steps is the way to go. It’s always hard letting go of something that has been part of your routine. Right now I’m taking baby steps in eliminating smoking, which has become a really damaging part in my life, as well as my relationships with my loved ones.
Josh Sarz recently posted..25 Years Of Wisdom In One Blog Post
I like how you use the term “putting away” Patricia – we have to remove one thing and free up the space, before we allow something else in.
Thanks for commenting
Josh excellent post, man! I have a perfect example.
Recently, I had to reformat my iphone and reistall all of my apps and configuration settings. Well, in my previous config, I had all of my 6 email addresses and was constantly getting emails to all 6 inboxes. I was getting emails from my business, emails from facebook because someone had left a comment on a thread I commented on, emails from twitter because someone mentioned me, personal emails, etc!
It was driving me crazy and I had to put a stop to it all or I was going to pull out my hair, literally! lol..
anyway, my iMAC is now the main source for email and I know only check all of my emails on my desktop and only have my personal email on my iphone.
Since then I the stress levels have REALLY dwindled believe it or not and I am loving it. I odn;t know why I didn’t didn’t de-clutter sooner!
Hector Avellaneda recently posted..My Pro Elite Business Report – October 2011
Sounds awesome Hector! Another way I would like to de-clutter my email would be to setup filters. It’s really simple but a lot of people don’t really do it.
Thanks for reading my guest post, Hector.
Josh Sarz recently posted..25 Years Of Wisdom In One Blog Post
Wow Hector, I have 2 e-mail accounts and I struggle to keep up sometimes, so I can barely imagine what it must have felt like with 6 accounts!
But you’ve found something that works out for you, and you’ve embraced it – this is the joy of growing in life, and lining up with your higher values.
Take care Hector, and I hope all is well!
Hi Josh,
I hate clutter but I like your post. It speaks to me very directly. See, I live in a house full of clutter. I love waking up to get out of the house to work and hate returning to home. But I have no choice. Circumstances dictates us at the moment. Believe me I am trying all ways to rectify the situation now. Till then, I just need to declutter on and off. Thanks for reminding me with this post.
Jimmy recently posted..Our Common List of Emotions in Life
Just take it really slow dude.. You don’t have to rush. If you rush it, there’s higher chances for failure because you won’t be able to wean yourself off of it properly enough for you to take it.
Baby steps.
Josh Sarz recently posted..25 Years Of Wisdom In One Blog Post
As Josh said, it’s baby steps Jimmy – the clutter needs to be treated as a project, rather than an impulse – it WILL take time, and it WILL take effort, but that is where we must persevere for the higher cause.
Thanks for commenting Jimmy
Josh, great post about cluttering. I will sometimes sneak an episode of “Hoarders” and I must admit, I feel much better about my own life.
It’s amazing just how much we allow “stuff” to clutter our lives. And how much cleaner we can feel without it all there.
Good to see you Stuart.
Bryan recently posted..Why YOU Should Write a Novel!
True. Makes me wonder how it might feel if I go minimalist completely.
Josh Sarz recently posted..Pedaling To Success
Hi Bryan, I’ve never seen Hoarders before, but I can shed a guess as to what it’s about!
Thanks for stopping by my friend, hope all is well?
I’ve never thought about clutter this way, but after reading your post, I completely agree. I think that my biggest clutter has to deal with time, and that I want everything to slow down, and I just want to enjoy the small details of life, like spending time with my kids, baking bread, walking in the forest listening to the birds etc.. There are so much focus on the fast pace, and doing everything all the time.
My list can be fairly long, but on the other hand, I don’t deal with any “problems”, I just have so many things I want to be doing all the time. I don’t focus enough. What I have been doing, and that works for me, is to always spend at least 30 minutes reading a book (without doing anything other than reading the book). This makes my mind slow down, and it makes me relax and focused.
Awesome post!
Jens P. Berget recently posted..List Building Made Super Easy
Good to hear that you don’t have “bad clutter”, so your agenda would then be prioritizing and time management then, I believe.
Hope you find time to spend with your kids and bake some awesome bread.
Josh Sarz recently posted..Pedaling To Success
I agree with you Jens – I want a world where life slows down, we appreciate more in life, and we treat each other with respect and grace. It’s a long way from this, but I believe what Josh suggests is one step towards this ideal.
Thanks for commenting my friend
Nice post, Stu. I’ve found that the clutter in my life equals the clutter in my mind. When I clean up the basement of my mind, I clean up the basement of my house. As I climb higher and clean all other levels of my mind, I find I clean my whole house, my yard, my office and my glove compartment of the car. T’is a simple life we lead, isn’t it, Stu. blessings
Hi Rob,
The simple life is something we all wish to lead, and could actually lead if we made the choices to. But it’s all about the choices, it won’t just ‘happen’ for us!
Thanks for commenting
Josh, great to see you on Stu’s site here bud. Really nice job, and I appreciate your approach to this topic. And well job in beating alcohol!
And Stu, the site continues to look better and better my friend!
Marcus
Marcus Sheridan-The Sales Lion recently posted..The One Key to Becoming a GREAT Content Marketer (Video)
Thanks Mane man. I had to quit that part of my life, of course. It was getting too much.
The site does look better.
Josh Sarz recently posted..Pedaling To Success
Thanks for stopping by my friend, and thanks for the kind words!
Here’s to moving forward together
Hey Josh & Stu,
Starting off with removing physical clutter is the easiest. It’s the mental and emotional clutter that is the toughest to find. We have been living with it for so long we have just gotten used to it being around.
Justin | Personal Growth recently posted..11/11/11 and Manifesting Your Reality
Hi Justin,
That’s a valid point – we don’t deal with our emotions as openly as our ‘stuff’, so this can be harder to first identify, then remove. Thanks for adding to the conversation
WOW. Basing on your list, people have got tons of decluttering to do. I thought this was going to be an article on organizing your work space and throwing out unneeded things. Well, I have finally been able to quit smoking after almost 7 years of heavy smoking. I have also improved my diet by eating mainly fish and greens. And, yes, I definitely feel like a heavy weight has been lifted from me. My support system is my boyfriend who listens to all my rants, ambitions, everything. My boyfriend is just incredible he has inspired me to become a better person.
Reese recently posted..Consumers Taking on Less Credit Card Debt
Hi Reese,
First, well done on quitting smoking – I’ve never smoked, but I understand it’s one of the hardest things to do.
Second, this is what Josh was referring to – removing the mental and emotional clutter, as well as the physical clutter. The benefits are ten-fold compared with just throwing a few old things out, they really last.
Thanks for stopping by Unlock The Door Reese
Hi Josh,
I enjoyed the post. Especially the practical examples you gave there.
Removing clutter from our life has become very important in our chaotic life especially when we started saying ‘YES’ to everything that comes our way thinking that ‘We can handle it’ or ‘ It will help me in some way’. Saying ‘YES’ to everything is THE shortcut to clutter.
So learning to say ‘NO’ is also one of the important skills one has to develop to avoid cluttering himself with too much stuff.
Neverthless, great post
Naveen Kulkarni recently posted..Why Your MLM Network Marketing Business Needs A Website Immediately
Thanks for adding that thought about clutter. You do have a point. It’s because we say “yes” too much that we have all the clutter in our life right now.
Josh Sarz recently posted..Pedaling To Success
Great addition to the conversation Naveen! By saying “yes”, we bring more and more into our lives, until we can’t possible take any more.
It’s like having a cup of tea, and we haven’t drunk any yet. Then we get offered more tea, and we accept. The tea is poured, and the cup overflows – no more can go in. In order to remove this weight, we first have to remove what’s in the cup
I agree with John. The definition of clutter here is pretty broad. I, too, wouldn’t consider having to drag yourself to work, not being able to immediately adjust to the life living in a small town or choosing to talk with friends over social media over family to be living a cluttered life enough to warrant me to join a support group.
Since the definition of clutter is “a disordered heap or mass of objects” or “a state of disorder”, dealing with clutter can be as easy as simply organizing yourself and setting your priorities. True, there may be some things that you need to get rid off. But in many cases, all it takes is a bit of taking some time out and resetting your priorities. At times, you also need to give yourself time to adjust. A bit of organization and goal setting can deal with many of the things that you mentioned “clutters” people’s lives.
Hi Adeline, thanks for commenting on Josh’s guest post!
It all depends on the individual’s choice, but what Josh says is worth bearing in mind. If we are struggling with something, is it because of something deeper, or is it just natural anxiety when faced with a new environment? Only the person who is actually experiencing the emotions will know, and that’s only when they admit it to themselves.
Take care
Hey Josh,
As I was reading the article, I was thinking about my understanding of “clutter”. I looked up the definition, and found “a confusing or disorderly state or collection”. It’s pretty general, and it can be applied to your desk, your house, your car, your mind,…
Are smoking and drinking “clutter” ? These, to me, are bad habits and not clutter.
That being said, I get your point. I agree that we need to weed out that “clutter” (smoking, alcoholism, gambling, addiction, emotional baggage, a job that you hate). We then become more productive, more focused, happier, healthier,…
Interesting post
Cheers,
Matt
Matt recently posted..Supercharging Your Mind Mapping – Part 2: Navigation Using Mind Maps
Hi Matt,
There’s a very fine line between clutter and bad habits, I agree – it’s knowing how to deal with each situation as they occur.
Having said that, Josh has pointed out that the two are inter-linked quite heavily – so maybe the same approach will work with both problems?
Thanks for commenting
Hey Stuart,
Fair enough, I agree with what you’re saying
Thanks for your reply!
Matt
Matt recently posted..What I Learned At A Cashflow Boardgame