3515: Are You Doing The Clutter Shuffle? by Kerri Richardson How to Create Mental Space

[00:00:00] Before we start, please check out our new podcast, Good Sleep. Have you ever noticed how a calm mind can really set the stage for a good night's sleep? That's the idea behind our new podcast, Good Sleep. Greg, our host from Optimal Relationships Daily, is here to help ease you into a peaceful night's rest with some positive affirmations. And these affirmations aren't just comforting, they can help ease anxiety and nurture positive thoughts, setting you up for true good sleep.

[00:00:25] So press play on Good Sleep tonight because a good tomorrow starts with a good night's sleep. Just search for Good Sleep in your podcast app and be sure to pick the one from Optimal Living Daily. It's a Minimalist Monday edition of Optimal Living Daily. Are You Doing The Clutter Shuffle by Kerri Richardson of kerririchardson.com? And I'm Justin Malik, your narrator. And I'm gonna keep today's intro nice and minimal as we optimize your life.

[00:00:57] Are You Doing The Clutter Shuffle by Kerri Richardson of kerririchardson.com? A while back, I had a small stack of papers on my desk. There were only about five sheets in the pile, so I didn't consider it a priority even though I was sick of looking at it. Every now and then, I would pick it up, flip through it, straighten it up, and put it in a different spot on my desk. That'll be my new to-be-handled area, I told myself. Then I'd get sick of seeing it there, so I'd move it again.

[00:01:28] Hmm, maybe if I stand it up on its side between these books, I'll handle it sooner. This dance happened for months. Yes, months. I kept moving the stack around, but never took action, even though I had determined that these were follow-up items, things that needed my attention, and the next step was mine. This is a little something I call the clutter shuffle, and it happens for a couple of reasons. When your goal is to avoid dealing with the items,

[00:01:57] or when you attempt to organize your space before decluttering it. I was shuffling the papers on my desk because I didn't want to face what was in the pile. What I needed to do about them was emotionally charged and scary, and little Kerri wanted nothing to do with it. So instead of making that call or having that conversation, she'd move them around fooling herself that she was actually making progress. But as a temporary fix, I felt a little better for a minute,

[00:02:26] because instead of, say, the papers being strewn about, at least they were piled up and neat-looking. But before I knew it, I was annoyed by them again. I'm sure you've torn up the dance floor yourself in a similar way, moving things from one area to another, hoping that'll be enough, that the dreaded stuff will be taken care of, that you can finally stop thinking about it. Or maybe you're strolling through the store and see the cutest bins and baskets and think,

[00:02:52] ah yes, if I had those, then my space would be totally organized. So you buy them, get them home, and pile a bunch of stuff in them. The pretty bins become a catch-all place for your clutter, and because you didn't go through the stuff before you loaded it in, the bins, too, become clutter instead of an intentional home for your items. It's time to get off this merry-go-round, because frankly, it's anything but merry. So how do you stop the dance and make some real progress?

[00:03:21] Whatever it is you're shuffling around, commit to sort through it to be sure there's no clutter that can be cleared. Go through the pile or stack, looking only for those things you know you want to get rid of, and put them to the side. One thing that might stop you from taking action is the idea that you have to do something with each and every item you touch. If you're not sure if you want to keep something or where you want to store it, it can stop you from getting started. To combat this, only seek out the items you're ready to part with.

[00:03:51] Once you've narrowed it down to items you love, need, or use, it's time to find a home for them. When considering this, use the rule, form follows function, particularly if you'll be purchasing a piece of furniture, basket, or bin to store it. What type of storage is best? What type will make your life easy to use the item and return it to its home? Set yourself up for success. As you consider the form of storage you need to serve the function of the item,

[00:04:19] challenge yourself one more time to see if it is, in fact, a keeper. We don't want you storing clutter. Do you truly love, need, or use this thing? Or can you let it go? Out of sight is not out of mind with clutter. It's always playing somewhere in the back of your mind. So be sure you only keep that which you love, need, or use. Finally, if you struggle to let go of something even though you know it doesn't support the vision you have for your life, journal about what the item means to you.

[00:04:49] What does it represent? What does it have to tell you? If there's something you need to do to close a circle with a particular paper or item and you're not doing it, journal a bit about that as well. What are you avoiding? In my stack of papers was an estimate for a dental cleaning for my cat. When I journaled about it, I found that I was intimidated by the cost, and more, I was afraid to be the decision maker to put her under anesthesia should something go wrong.

[00:05:17] Once I identified what was really going on, I came up with a small step to take to alleviate my fears instead of jumping to scheduling the appointment, what I thought was the next step before journaling. Holding space for and giving voice to your resistance is crucial in dealing with stubborn clutter. It's often just what you need to finally say goodbye or make a move. You just listened to the post titled,

[00:05:47] Are You Doing the Clutter Shuffle? by Kerry Richardson of kerryrichardson.com. And I'll be right back with my commentary. The grind never stops as a business owner. When you're hiring, you need a partner that works as hard as you do, and that's where LinkedIn Jobs comes in. We've been lucky finding our team here at Optimal Living Daily, and I think LinkedIn Jobs would have taken luck out of the equation, finding us the best quickly. With LinkedIn Jobs, posting your job for free is just the beginning.

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[00:06:42] say that LinkedIn helps them find high-quality candidates. Post your job for free at linkedin.com slash selection. That's linkedin.com slash selection to post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply. Thank you to Carrie. I was kind of laughing to myself at the beginning when she was talking about that stack of papers on her desk that was only about five sheets, so she didn't think of it as a priority, but at the same time was sick of looking at it.

[00:07:11] I can completely relate because I have pretty much that exact same thing. It's like my to-do pile, but it's not urgent enough, so it just basically sits there day after day, week after week really, slowly migrating from one spot to another. So yes, I'm definitely guilty of doing the clutter shuffle too. As you said, there are two reasons it happens. When your goal is to avoid dealing with the items, or when you attempt to organize your space before to cluttering it.

[00:07:42] For me, I think it's more avoidance than anything. I feel like I want to do those things eventually, but there's some kind of pain or annoyance associated with it, or I know it's going to take a while to handle, so I just put it off and avoid it. But what's good about this, I think, is that just recognizing it, thanks to articles like these, is a step in the right direction. Like journaling, the more aware we are that it is happening and why, probably the less likely it is to happen.

[00:08:10] So thank you to Carrie for this one, and thank you for being here and minimizing along with me. Have a great day, hopefully decluttering a bit instead of clutter shuffling, and I'll see you tomorrow, where your optimal life awaits.