MORE vs Less: Decluttering Doesn’t Have To Be Linear; You Can Zigzag

Day 23 – I am a zigzag declutterer. I am okay with that.

I am a decluttering rebel.

The decluttering books I’ve read say to do one room or area at a time. And once you are done, THEN move on to a different area. That doesn’t work for me. I lose all motivation if I stay in the same area too long.

So far in this 23 day journey, I have not worked more than 2 days in a row in the same area. And yet I am seeing places decluttered.

So I say, know what motivates you. Set YOUR rules up in advance.

My rules . . .

• Set the timer for 31 minutes. When it goes off, I stop. Although a few times I have worked longer.
• I don’t have a set plan for what gets decluttered when. Well, I did plan to declutter my porch last week because it was supposed to rain. It DID rain and I DID declutter in time.

I have been all over the place from bathroom to art supplies to porch to digital clutter and so on. I don’t see huge improvement – yet. And I probably would’ve seen more improvement if I stayed in one room and finished that one room.

• But I am still motivated every day – yes every day.
• I am getting stuff moved OUT of my house.
• I own LESS that when I started on October 1st.
• I am sensing a change in the relationship between me and my stuff. I am feeling less connection to things; the “my” in “my stuff” is weaker. Does that make sense?
• My decluttering plan does not have to be linear, going from one completed area to another, in order for me to be successful.

Your Turn . . .  What are your rules? . . . Are you a linear or zigzag declutterer?

Day 23 –  31 Minutes of Decluttering = One container of miscellanies stuff – mainly paper memories from my 4^th/5^th grade. I don’t need to keep report cards and pictures/cards I made for my mom. It is sweet that she kept these items, but in the trash they went. I am feeling fatigued because of going through all these paper memories. Does that happen to you, too?

Go here for the landing page with all the posts for MORE vs less: 31 Days of Decluttering. #write31days  . . . I am joining 100’s of bloggers who are determined to write every day in October on one topic. To read more about #Write31Days, go here.

Join me in this experiment of MORE vs less. If you’d like, you can join our private Facebook group that is encouraging one another in this task.