Living Lovely – There is a plethora of advice available of how to live successful lives. The more I muse upon this thought, the more I veer towards simplicity. Success can be defined in many ways, but each one must determine what is most important. To me, my heart longs to simplify. And it starts at home.

There is too much “stuff” in my household. I have been working at it bit by bit. Are you also surrounded by “stuff?” Is your life filled with “things?” We plan to move to another house eventually and I refuse to drag everything along and fill up another place. The tricky part is deciding what goes and what stays. I will still hold to things if they are heirlooms or have too much sentimental value. Up to a point. : ) For example there is an old cookie jar boxed in my garage. It was always on my mother’s table in our kitchen and holds too many memories. I got as far as boxing it and putting it in the garage to go but still haven’t gotten rid of it. It’s not always easy…

Join me on this adventure of de-cluttering and together we’ll celebrate how freeing it can be. Don’t get overwhelmed. Step by step, week by week.

What is your worst area of clutter?

I think mine at the moment is paperwork and books. Let’s learn how to live lovely and invite a new measure of success to our lives!

I have officially declared 2018 a year to Declutter and Simplify. Clutter can take over our lives and distract us from what is truly important. We all want a cleaner slate for the New Year, right? So where should we start? Well, first off, let me share a few tips that I have learned the hard way.

1. PRAY. A short prayer for determination and the ability to let go. We can’t do it alone. 
   
2. Start small. It is too easy to jump in with all good intentions and soon find ourselves…overwhelmed.
3. Choose one thing to focus on and begin sorting. What is making you the most irritated right now? Closets? Kitchen drawers? Cabinets? Your desk?? Personally, I feel overwhelmed with paperwork. Writing projects, receipts, bills, letters, cards, saved brochures etc. But I can only do a little bit at a time or it makes me…crazy. So whatever area you choose to attack, dive in but back off when you start feeling like the piles of stuff are growing before your eyes.
4.  Give yourself credit for every bit of progress, no matter how tiny! If you threw out one bag full of shredded papers, you have accomplished getting rid of SOMETHING. Sorting clothes? Again, one bag or box is PROGRESS.
5. Put it aside, if an item ties you up with too many memories and you can’t decide to toss or keep. You can always go back to it later. Don’t slow yourself down.
6. Space out your time to declutter. If you do a little bit each day, you will eventually see the difference you are making in your household. But if that doesn’t work for you, go at it one day for a few hours, then skip a day or two. We can’t dwell on the big picture or we will end up back at the beginning – overwhelmed.
7. Pretend you’re moving : ) Seriously, do you really want to pack all that stuff?
   

Now it’s your turn.

What project will you start with? I’d love to hear some Declutter Victory Reports!