Give Yourself Permission to Let Go

Permission To Let Go: The Most Important Step

Hey you!  Thanks for popping over. Before I get into some steps you can take to declutter your home, I first want to talk about giving yourself permission to let go. Decluttering is hard — mostly because you've thought about it so much but never made a firm decision to move forward. You know what you want to do but fear still holds you back. Your brain needs to be trained that letting go is ok, and it feels great!  It's 90% mental (wrapping your head around it) and 10% physical (dropping it at a donation center). I will help guide you through that 90% of why it's ok to let go, but you have to allow yourself to let go. Give yourself permission because it's costing you not to let go. Letting go of the things you may have paid too much for, inherited, don't use anymore, or maybe have never used. The steps I share won't be useful if you don't get out of your way. You have to allow yourself to be honest and move past these items. They are taking up physical and mental space. It is time to move past all the stories you've been telling yourself that support keeping it (at a cost) and get the job done. You will feel so much lighter once it's done. I believe in you. You are worth way more than any of your possessions. Don't let your possessions possess you.  

Steps to Decluttering

1. Remove everything from a drawer, cabinet, room or closet- get it all out and start fresh. Start small if you feel overwhelmed, but you can do it.  Remember, it's 90% mental, and I'm your support.
2. Place everything into towns.  Towns are categories of similar things—for example, Flashlight town, craft town, pen town, etc.
3. When going through the items, has this item earned the right to be here and in my life today?  If not, it's time to let it go.  Keep in mind the three questions.  Do I like it?  Do I use it?  Would I buy it again if I lost it?  Taking pictures of things so you hold them as memories is a great idea- often, it's not about the physical item.
4. Try only to touch the items once.  Pick it up, and decide if it deserves to stay or can be donated, recycled, or tossed out.  Clutter is unmade decisions, so make the decision and move on.  
5. Place the items back in a home that will best support this item.  Make sure it's in a spot where it's easy to find, grab, and use or why do you even have it?  Designate this place as the "town" for this group of items.  Please give it a place, contain it in a container and label it.  Now it has a place to go back to and won't remain as clutter.
6. Once everything has been sorted and put back.  Take the donations and trash to the center right away.  Do not wait and let it stick around as clutter in your car, garage, or home, get it out of your space now.

Reading Recommendations

Here are some life-changing books about letting go and getting out of your own way: The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning (Canada Link, USA Link), Feel The Fear and Do It Anyway (Canada Link, USA Link), and Yoga Nidra (Canada Link, USA Link). I love these books and highly recommend them.

If you are overwhelmed with taking everything out you can start by collecting groups of items. Gather up all the pens and decide what to keep, or all the pet supplies and decide what has earned it right to stay in your home, and go on from there. There is a cost to clutter. It costs you your time, space, relationships, energy, money,  physical and mental health.  It's time to get your space back. You've got this! Message me if you get stuck.