So many times I hear people tell me they do not know how to get started tackling their clutter, simply because they are overwhelmed.  Our stuff can be very overwhelming when it becomes a giant mountain of homeless items.  When there are so many, we fail to see the individual items and only see the large stuff monster staring us down. 

The truth is, we made this monster and it is easier to ignore than challenge.  When things live in our space long enough, we fail to see it anymore.  It is only when we focus our attention on the clutter that it causes anxiety and nightmares.  So, here is the trick…take it one type of item at a time.  Start with water bottles or shopping bags.  Remove all of that one type of item until no more are visible.  It is ok if you know in your heart that more are further down, we are only working with what we can see.

Address the items removed by giving them an appropriate home.  An appropriate home can be a shelf, drawer, or even the trash.  Strongly resist the urge to think about something then set it down.  You have foregone the entire exercise when this happens.  Take care of the things removed from the pile NO QUESTIONS ASKED!  There are no “save for later’s” today. 

Once you have completed one type of item, rest.  Pat yourself on the back for doing more than you did yesterday and enjoy the feeling of overcoming your monster.  Then do it again tomorrow. 

Have a Neat day!
Jennifer Snyder
Neat as a Pin Organizing Experts
www.neatasapin.net