Getting rid of all this extra crap, clutter like Oprah says

[CoolStuff]

I have a bunch of stuff I just wanna get rid of. Mostly toys from when I was growing up as a kid. I really should just get rid of them, despite any emotional attachment I might have. I guess it's not worth the trouble to sell them.

I cleaned my room a lot in the summer, but going back to school made me really lazy and lacking of direction, motivation, and focus.

It just makes me feel all overwhelmed. I watched that Oprah show about clutter (one of the few I ever watched) and that's kinda what I need. LOL

[cdn2wheeler]

I didn't know Oprah was into that "get rid of the clutter" thing - I don't watch the show simply because I'm working when she's on - but I've always been a big fan of "When in doubt, throw it out."

Now I have two non-clutter rules in my place:

1. When something new comes in, something old goes out.
2. If I find something that I haven't seen, used or thought about in a year, it's gone. Sell it, give it away, donate it or throw it out.

It's very liberating.

[CoolStuff]

^ Yeah that's what I need to do more. My problem is just doing things. My work ethic has seemed to go down after going back to high school.

[cdn2wheeler]

You might try the "three pile" approach.

Gather together a good amount of your clutter and separate it into three piles:

Pile #1 is the keeper pile.
Pile #2 is the "throw away immediately because you don't need it, don't want it or it's too smelly pile"
Pile #3 is the "I'm not sure about this" pile.

Once you've got the 3 piles made, dump pile #2.

Then mix up the two remaining piles.

Then separate that into the 3 pile process again.

It will definitely help you get rid of some junk, but more importantly it will put you in a head-space whereby you realize that, by getting rid of stuff, you're doing yourself a favour.

Try it.

But if you find a watch with a jade face, that's mine. I lost it years ago...

[Lola]

Originally Posted by CoolStuff

It just makes me feel all overwhelmed.

I SO know what you mean.

Originally Posted by CoolStuff

My problem is just doing things. My work ethic has seemed to go down after going back to high school.

So do you see what's going on? Clutter saps your energy in a hurry. That's why, especially with school starting up, you don't much feel like messing with it. The old vicious cycle. "I'd feel better if I cleared stuff out but I don't feel like clearing stuff out."

cdn's pile suggestion is good. And take a shot at the chore in small bits rather than letting the overall task create a feeling of overwhelm. How long CAN you work at it everyday? 5 minutes? 10? 15? Whatever you choose. Then tell yourself "Everyday when I come home, I will spend X minutes clearing some clutter." Then get yourself a kitchen timer, set it, work til it goes off and stop. Do that everyday and before you know it, you'll be done. (And what might happen is those few minutes will fly by so quickly and you'll be so pleased you're getting stuff done - you won't quit! And that will just get you to your goal even faster. )

[CoolStuff]

Thanks both of you. Yeah Lola, that's what I was doing in the summer, cleaning up my room 15 minutes a day. I should get back to it. There's no reason not to. Thanks again.