In the “cleaning world,” the month of March is when pre-spring cleaning usually happens. This is when we shake off the cold winter season, roll up our sleeves and open up the windows. Pre-spring cleaning is the time to de-clutter, to get rid of the old, used, unwanted items and make room for some new ones. It is a time for getting “order” back into your life and your home. After all, order in the home is a major contributor to inner calmness, and we want to be calm going into next month’s deep spring cleaning!
De-cluttering, re-organizing, achieving order, or whatever it may be, allows you to regain control of your “stuff” and your life. For some of us, this is an easy task to do. For others, it is quite difficult. And as much as we all want to keep our home in a reasonable order, some of us can’t let go of the myths associated with de-cluttering which makes our work harder than it needs to be.
Why not begin to de-clutter your home once and for all by throwing out all those excuses for hanging onto unneeded items and untrue myths of de-cluttering! Read on for more explanations of myths:
Myth 1. I get overwhelmed just thinking of organizing. While these thoughts might be true, you might be amazed at what you can do in just five minutes. While waiting for food in the microwave, you can organize a kitchen drawer. While drawing a bath you can empty some shelves in the medicine cabinet. These small acts of de-cluttering count towards your final goal of an orderly home and a happier you.
Myth 2. I have to keep my old phones, tablets, ipads and computers because someone will steal my personal information off of them. This has been a myth of mine for a while. The truth is, you can look in the manual of your electronic device for instructions on how to perform a factory reset. This factory reset ultimately reformats the hard drive which blocks all access to any data previously stored.
Myth 3. I might need that item sometime in the future. I don’t know anyone who didn’t use this excuse at least once in their life! Limit yourself to a few storage bins of things you want to hold on to. Be honest with yourself on what you think you may need because, chances are, if you haven’t used those items in the past year, you probably won’t use them at all. Donate items and give someone else a chance to cherish them like you did!
Myth 4. I like to collect things. Ask yourself, am I collecting or hoarding? A collector usually doesn’t stash items in garbage bags under beds, or stores stacks of items in basements. A collector usually collects items and stores them in a logical order, usually showing them off for all to see.
Myth 5. I like to keep items that remind me of the past. Ahh, momentos. We all have those items that put a smile on our face when we pull them out. But ask yourself, in reality, do you really need to keep all the items, or can you narrow it down to just a few? You can always take a picture of each momento and keep the pictures in a display book. This way you can cherish and share your memories with others on a daily basis. Remember, mementos work best when they’re carefully chosen, and when they don’t take up much room!
Cleaning and de-cluttering can be looked at as ways to practice living in the present moment. Do you have any de-cluttering myths you would like to share?
