Read this if you’re “too busy” to declutter…
We’ve gotten a lot of emails recently from people who are considering joining my decluttering program (SimpLESSity) so they can take control of their homes and get back on track, clutter-free. And one of the common questions we continue to receive over and over is:
“I’m really busy/overwhelmed, but I really need to declutter. How could I fit your program into my schedule and see results?”
I completely understand. You may be busy with work/your business, family, the kids, caring for others, school, the house, planning activities/events, cooking, cleaning, driving around, running errands, trying to take care of yourself, and a million other things on your to-do list 🙂 How in the world are you supposed to fit in completing this program AND… the work involved (decluttering your house!).
As we both know, starting something new can be really overwhelming, especially when you’re already overwhelmed with a busy schedule!
I get it. When I started my business in 2008, I wasn’t sitting around doing nothing. I was busy! I woke up everyday at 6AM, I had a full-time job, I spent 1.5 hours commuting in traffic each day, I had to dress up in fancy business suits Monday – Friday (all of which required so much ironing and dry-cleaning!), I packed my own lunches for work, I made dinner, I had my own apartment to clean and keep up with, and my stress and anxiety levels were through the roof (a lot of it was from having an awful boss at work who would randomly call me into his office just to “drill me” on questions. And if I didn’t know the answer (which I usually didn’t), he’d back-slap his hands together like he was going to fire me the next time it happened. To say I carried around a lot of daily anxiety would be an understatement. I was constantly worried I was going to get fired for not being “smart enough,” which brought financial anxiety that I wouldn’t be able to afford my $1315/mo. rent if the “worst-case scenario” ever came true.
That was 2008, the year of the financial meltdown when the economy crashed.
The same year I also started my business. I’d get home from my stressful job, throw on comfy clothes, make dinner, eat, clean up, pack lunch for tomorrow, and then (if I wasn’t going to a networking event in the city to find people who needed my organizing help) I’d sit on my light blue stool at the kitchen countertop with my laptop, and work on my business until midnight-ish.
I’d then go to bed. Wake up at 6AM and repeat everything all over again. While I didn’t have to work my full-time job on the weekends, I spent EVERY weekend working on my business (or working in my business at a client’s home helping them declutter and get organized).
Although I didn’t have other commitments like children, taking care of others, school, etc., I still had a full schedule.
Was I busy? Yes.
Was I tired? Yes.
Was I exhausted? Yes.
Was I drained? Yes! (I was mentally drained from being anxious all week at my “real job” hoping my boss wouldn’t call me into his office to give me the ultimatum!). All of that mental energy will drain you of physical energy since our minds and bodies are linked.
So how in the world did I fit in “starting a business,” in a down economy, while working full-time and just being “busy” in general with everything else I had going on?
I did it the same way our members are decluttering their homes…
I made the time. I prioritized. I temporarily cut out commitments on the calendar so I could focus. I did a little bit each day (even on weekends). And I refused to give up.
Was it hard? Yes.
This March it’ll be 9 years since I started my business. Although it hasn’t been an easy road, am I happy I pushed myself to get started one day? You bet I am.
While I don’t know exactly what you’re busy with, here’s my best advice for you:
Anyone that has gone through my program and seen success was likely busy as well. Maybe some had less commitments than others, but most people who have joined my program aren’t people who sit around at home all day twiddling their thumbs with copious amounts of free time!
Most people have jobs! They have kids! They’re busy! They sit in traffic! They take care of others! They have dishes to clean! They have laundry to finish! They have errands to run! They have things to plan! They have long to-do lists just like you and me! While being “busy” makes it harder to get this stuff done, it doesn’t make it impossible.
Meet Rachel, one of our SimpLESSity members. Rachel has 4 kids, she home-schools, AND she runs 3 businesses with her husband. She’s BUSY! But… Rachel has successfully made the time to declutter her office, her kitchen, and her living room. She can now think straight, she feels a load off her shoulders, AND her kids feel happier!!!
The people who have gone through my program and have seen results prioritized decluttering as a “must-do” instead of just a “to-do,” regardless of how busy they were (of course there are exceptions here such as being sick, etc.).
But maybe that means they woke up a little bit earlier, went to bed a little bit later, hired a baby-sitter for a few hours to watch the kids (or maybe the spouse took the kids out of the house for a fun afternoon somewhere while the other person stayed back and got things done), took a couple hours off from work on Friday, cancelled their weekend plans, RSVP’d “no” to the social invitation, took time off from extracurricular activities, or whatever commitment was on their calendar so they could make the time to go through the program and declutter their home. It’s all about making the time. We all have 24 hours in the day. How we spend it is completely up to us…
Now I completely understand what it feels like to be exhausted and you just don’t feel like doing a single thing. After all, you’re tired from all of the running around that comes from being busy! I have days like this as well.
I believe there’s a fine line of “pushing yourself” to do one more thing versus “practicing self-care” and allowing yourself to relax on the couch without the guilt that you should be doing everything you’re not. It’s a balance. And sometimes doing nothing is just what we need to recharge ourselves, mentally and physically, so we can push ourselves tomorrow.
On the other hand, when you push yourself to do one more small thing, such as spending 10 minutes pulling out books you’ll never read again, or sorting through the smallest pile of paperwork on the counter, well, you never regret it.
If anything, you’re glad you did it and maybe, just maybe, it even gave you a burst of energy to continue doing a little bit more (it usually does J). If you just devoted 20 minutes a day to doing my program and the work involved, 30 days from today, you’d be well ahead of where you are now…
How would that make you feel if you were on track and making progress with the clutter in your home? Stop and really ask yourself that.
My guess is, you’d probably feel great!
Let me add one more thing here, going through this program and the work involved is only temporary. There’s a starting point and an ending point. You begin with clutter, and (if you do the program correctly) you’ll end with a home that only contains the items you actually use, definitely need, and absolutely love. Nothing more.
While you’ll always have to be mindful of accumulating things again, your house will be decluttered and you’ll be reaping the wonderful benefits of living clutter-free each and every single day. AND… the stuff you got rid of, well, you’ll never have to deal with any of that ever again! Imagine how good that’s going to feel!
If you can temporarily get yourself to make the time to go through this program and prioritize doing the work involved (by doing a little bit each day), regardless of your busy schedule, 30 days from today you’ll feel less overwhelmed with your clutter than how you feel right now… I promise you that.
Whether I see you in the inside or not, I hope this email offered some helpful words if you’re busy but really need to declutter (or do anything else for that matter!).
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