Conquer Your Clutter. Rita Emmett June 15, :30 10:30am Session #25065

Transcription

1 Conquer Your Clutter Rita Emmett June 15, :30 10:30am Session #25065

2 RITA EMMETT 2331 Eastview Drive (847) Des Plaines, IL WEB: RitaEmmett.com General tips for BEFORE YOU START BEFORE YOU START Decide on one area where you will attack your stacks of stuff. You can't conquer all your clutter at one -- if you think of doing that you will get discouraged and exhausted. Pick one area -- then pick a small part of that area. BEFORE YOU START decide on a person or organization who will love your stuff as much as you do. Designate a spot in the house to put these donations (shelf, box on closet floor or in garage) so ANY TIME you decide you can get rid of something, you know where to put it. BEFORE YOU START If something doesn't have a place to belong, it is automatically clutter. Figure out where stuff will go - where will papers go, etc. BEFORE YOU START write on a postit and stick somewhere IF YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH ROOM FOR ALL YOUR STUFF, YOU DON'T NEED MORE ROOM, YOU NEED LESS STUFF. BEFORE YOU START set a timer for an hour. Clutter busting includes MAKING DECISIONS and after an hour of decisions, your brain begins to melt down BEFORE YOU START decide on an really nice reward for one hour of clutter busting. Something that will push you to do another hour soon BEFORE YOU START - if you will need help making decisions or getting rid of bags of trash or donations afterwards, ask someone to help you. NOT to get rid of your clutter. Nobody can do that for you. BUT to encourage you to get rid of stuff or to simply take away bags of your stuff. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* NEED MORE HELP CLUTTER-BUSTING? Go to On the "Product" page, whatever way to you like to learn, there is help for you. Like to read? You'll find The Clutter-Busting Handbook Like to listen? You'll find CDs of Rita talking about many aspects of clutter. (Paper clutter, sentimental clutter, etc.) Like to view? You'll find a DVD of Rita giving a talk on clutter. Like online courses? You'll find 30-day online courses where you receive a 3 minute message from Rita every day for a month helping you break the Procrastination and Clutter Habits. To sign up, go towww. RitaEmmett.Avanoo.com NOW is the time to get rid of some of that chaos. Don't put it off Rita Emmett is a "Recovered Pack Rat", a Professional Speaker, & best-selling author. You can reach her at or Remmett412@aol.com To subscribe to her free monthly Anticrastination Tip Sheet with quick short tips & ideas to help break the procrastination & clutter habits, go to the first page of her website

3 Sample Newsletter: THE ANTICRASTINATION TIP SHEET From Rita Emmett Author of The Procrastinator's Handbook and The Clutter-Busting Handbook ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* EMMETT'S LAW: The dread of doing a task uses up more time and energy than doing the task itself. ~~ Rita Emmett ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Message from Rita Dear Readers, Many people to let me know that my help with breaking the procrastination habit has moved them toward pursuing a wide variety of goals and dreams. Then there are others who ed that you can't move forward on anything because your clutter is holding you back. Pity my poor husband who listened to me rave and rant each time I read an that said "All this clutter prevents me from pursuing my dream. And I can't get rid of it because " Did I want to get into a debate over was your "because" a valid reason or a miserable mealy-mouthed excuse? I did not. More fun to continue ranting at my ever-patient husband. Then it hit me NOT reasons, NOT excuses...myths!! The dictionary defines myth as a fictitious story or belief serving to explain some phenomenon, often spoken of as though true. Based on s I received, here is my response: EMMETT'S LIST OF MISERABLE, MEALY-MOUTHED MYTHS OF CLUTTER. 1. It's too overwhelming. I can never get rid of all this clutter. Poor Baby. So true. It IS overwhelming. So smack yourself in the face with a trout and let's get real. Start by picking just one spot to clutter-bust. Not the whole house, not even a whole room. Just one part of the room. So to begin, PICK ONE SPOT. Not the whole closet, just that shelf. Not the whole office, just the stack in the corner Not the whole car, just the trunk. 2. It will take me forever. Yes um and how long did it take to accumulate? Yes, Sparky, It WILL take a while to gain control. No sense procrastinating. Might as well start now. 3. I don't have time to devote to clutter-busting. Yes, you don't have a whole afternoon to devote to it, but you can find an hour. Maybe not an hour a day, but at least an hour a week. If you can't do that, then every day, take 3 things from that spot you selected (See Myth #1) and process it. That means either toss, recycle, donate or put it where it belongs. 4. First I need to be organized. Nope. You don't. In fact, it's almost impossible to be organized when surrounded by clutter. As you get rid of clutter, you will become more organized. In fact, you'll actually be able to find things. (What a concept!!) 5. Clutter-busting doesn t work for me; when I'm done, the stuff is still there. Ummmm, yes, we know how that goes. You take everything out of the closet or garage, sweep it out, and put everything back in. And you are puzzled why nothing disappeared, correct? So before you start, write these lines down and post where you are clutter-busting: Conquering clutter means MAKING DECISIONS. If you don't need or use it, get rid of it. If you don't have enough room for all your stuff, you don't need more room, you need less stuff. If something doesn't have a place to belong, it automatically becomes clutter. 6. After I get rid of clutter, it just seems to re-appear in no time. Let's consider: Do you ever find yourself saying: "Poor, poor pitiful me. I'm swamped with the clutter of stuff and the clutter of debt. Wait!! I know what will fix it I'LL GO SHOPPING!!"? Or when someone finishes cleaning out their basement and offers you 16 boxes of stuff, do you say "YIPPEE. I'd love it. Thank you"? Or does your car screech to a halt on trash day when you see something at the curb that is "just too good to throw out"? Or do you consider garage sales and flea markets to be blissful, spiritual experiences?? Tell me, Punkin, are you starting to figure out how that clutter magically re-appears? 7. I need to find the perfect recipient for everything I'm getting rid of. Let me guess. The last time you went through your closet, you ended up with 15 stacks of

4 stuff that you planned to pack up and mail or deliver to many people. Then you were too tired to pack it all up, so you put it back in the closet and are still mystified why that closet continues to be so cluttered. You need a DISPOSAL PLAN. Instead of packing up a bunch of items, donate it all to one organization. If getting it there is too overwhelming, ask a friend if he will help by delivering your donation bags to Goodwill. If a garage sale, Ebay and Freecycle are too overwhelming now, don't do them. Just donate everything to one place. Being free of clutter will mean more to you than the $39.52 you would make after spending all weekend on a garage sale. Make it easy to get rid of your stuff. NOW COMES THE SUPER-DUPER, TEAR-JERKING, HEART-RENDING REASONS (MYTHS) "WHY I REALLY CAN NEVER EVER GET RID OF THIS STUFF". 8. I might possibly need this one day. OR maybe I won't, but maybe someone sometime some place on this planet might need it. Seriously?? A coffee can full of rusty nails? Seven pounds of rubber bands, ketchup packets or used gift boxes (with matching faded, scrunched bows)? Your old used faded curtains that you had hanging for ten years? YOUR TEXTBOOKS AND NOTES FROM SCHOOL??? Seriously? How many mugs, towels, sets of sheets does a person need? Now a bit of reality (Yes, another slap yourself in the face with a trout moment) IF someone told you she needed a thing-a-ma-bob, you would probably forget you had one because it's buried under all your clutter. And if you DID remember you had it would you really be able to find it? Seriously? 9. I just need to get it fixed or repaired. If it broke yesterday and you know how to fix it. OK. Keep it. Otherwise, if you've had it for more than six months, and it still isn't fixed it s clutter. 10. This brings back memories. Ahhh Sweet Little Grasshopper, let us contemplate boxes of memory-providing mementos in the storage unit, back of your closet, basement or garage. Um... what is in those boxes? You don't remember? THEN HOW IS IT BRINGING A MEMORY TO YOU??? Our memories are in our minds and in our hearts, not in those boxes. If you absolutely need a memento, then take ONE picture your child drew, not all of them. One tee shirt from college, not 135. One item your grandmother left you, not everything. Then honor her memory by giving the rest of her items to people who need and will cherish and use them. 11. It's a gift. When you give a gift, do you expect it to be kept forever? If yes, then you need more face-trout-smacking because that is an unrealistic expectation. If the answer is no, then you understand that gift-giver does not expect you to keep it forever either. Keep it for a while and then get rid of it. If they ask you about it, act absent-minded and say "I was using it but then something happened to it." You don't have to get specific and tell them you gleefully donated it to the Organization of People Who Love Weird Stuff. 12. I might lose a ton of weight and then I d fit into these clothes again. Dear, dear adorable, delusional, unrealistic, clueless darlin'. Ask anyone who's done it. Once you lose all that weight you will say "Wear this old, out-of-date stuff?? Heck no. I deserve some cool new clothes for the cool new me." Trust me. It's true. Warmly, Rita ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Rita Emmett is a "Recovered Pack Rat", a Professional Speaker, and best-selling author of The Procrastinator s Handbook; and The Clutter-Busting Handbook. Go to for info on Stress Management, Procrastination and Clutter. You will find books, CDs, and DVDs. Because people learn in different ways, she also produces 30-day online courses where you receive a 3 minute message from Rita every day for a month helping you break the Procrastination and Clutter Habits. To subscribe to her free monthly Anticrastination Tip Sheet with quick short tips & ideas to help break the procrastination & clutter habits, go to the first page of her website Rita can be reached at or REmmett412@aol.com.

5 RITA EMMETT 2331 Eastview Drive (847) Des Plaines, IL WEB: RitaEmmett.com 21 CLUTTER-BUSTING HABITS by Rita Emmett Our clutter does not come from being messy, lazy or disorganized, it comes from four goofy habits: Saving things that we never need or use Insisting on bringing in things that we never need or use Never deciding on a place for things to be put Setting things down instead of putting them where they belong So how about trying to incorporate one new habit to counteract clutter habits? Here are 21 ideas: 1. If you haven t used it in a year, get rid of it. 2. Every day, before turning on your computer, toss or put away three things on your desk. 3. When you buy 1 thing, get rid of 1 thing. (a toy for a toy, a shoe for a shoe) 4. Glance over your left shoulder every time you leave a room. Pick up the clutter you spot and take it with you to where it belongs. 5. Decide now. Clutter is often caused by putting off decisions. 6. Make a place for everything, such as special papers, and each child s school papers. Make a place for mittens, scarves, hats, boots, and so forth. 7. Put everything in its place. Teach your family to put things where they belong. (One way to teach: If everything is where it belongs, you can come with to the mall or you can watch TV. If not, you can t. ) 8. If you take it out, put it back. 9. Ask a non-clutter friend to help you sort through your closet or other clutter. Some people will be delighted to help you de-clutter. All you need from them is help in deciding what to keep or not keep. 10. Take five minutes whenever you can to tackle a small section of clutter (or do it during the commercials of the first hour of watching TV). 11. Find a person or organization that will love & cherish your stuff as much as you do. That makes it easier to say good-bye to things you don t use or need. 12. Decide on one place to put your keys (a hook or bowl near the door, a certain

6 section of your purse) and cultivate the habit of putting them there always. 13. Live simply so that others might simply live. 14. When you want to buy something no matter how sensational or adorable it is think if you have a place to put it. Even if it s the greatest bargain in the world, don t buy it if you don t have a place for it. What a life changing way to think! 15. Always open mail next to a wastebasket. Get BIG wastebaskets for every place in your home that you need to encourage tossing or recycling paper, magazines, catalogues, newsletters, newspapers or other paper clutter. 16. Never leave a room empty-handed until the only things in the room are ones that belong there. 17. Never go up or down stairs empty-handed as long as there is something that should be taken up or down. 18. Have company over once in a while so the house gets cleaned. 19. Pay bills, fold laundry, sort through catalogues & magazines, and so forth during TV commercials or while visiting on the phone. 20. When de-cluttering a room, start at the doorway & go right or left. Then if you re interrupted, you can see where you stopped. 21. Don t de-clutter & clean the same day. You might keel over, poor thing. Just making one of these habits a regular part of your day will impact the amount of clutter in your life. # # # Rita Emmett is a "Recovered Pack Rat", a Professional Speaker, and best-selling author of The Procrastinator s Handbook The Clutter-Busting Handbook and Manage Your Time to Reduce Your Stress Go to for info on Stress Management, Procrastination and Clutter. You will find books, CDs and DVDs. Because people learn in different ways, she also produces 30-day online courses where you receive a 3 minute message from Rita every day for a month helping you break the Procrastination and Clutter Habits. To sign up, go to RitaEmmett.Avanoo.com To subscribe to her free monthly Anticrastination Tip Sheet with quick short tips & ideas to help break the procrastination & clutter habits, go to the first page of her website Rita can be reached at or REmmett412@aol.com.

7 RITA EMMETT 2331 Eastview Drive (847) Des Plaines, IL WEB: RitaEmmett.com 22 TIPS FOR PAPER CLUTTER by Rita Emmett 1. Create a place for each paper to belong. If it doesn't have a "home", it becomes clutter. 2. Handle each piece of paper only once. Make decisions the FIRST time you touch a piece of paper. 3. Feed your wastebasket or recycle bin. It's not an evil monster that gobbles your important data. It's your friend who needs to be nourished. Feed it. 4. Get rid of what you don't need. 5. Skim material as soon as it arrives. 6. Open all snail mail near a wastebasket or recycle bin. 7. Try to get off junk mail lists and if they insist on sending you mail you don't need or want, don't even open it. Send it straight to the recycle bin. 8. If it takes less than a minute, do it now (read, recycle, toss, file, delete). 9. Create a place where all incoming mail goes till it can be sorted, tossed, recycled or put where it belongs. 10. Create a place where all incoming school papers go till they can be sorted, signed, reviewed, acted upon or filed. 11. Pass on to the appropriate person any papers someone else can handle. 12. Put papers where they belong. 13. Most monthly bills can be paid electronically. Saves time, cost of stamps, and paper clutter. 14. Realize the world won't end if you get rid of much of your paper. 15. Do you have stacks of magazines you will read "someday"? Why do you need all those? You don't! Eliminate whatever you don't have time to read. Stop subscribing. 16. Recycle it. Put used papers in a stack where people who need something to jot notes or print out an joke can help themselves instead of taking a new piece. 17. Ask yourself: Do you really want to be caretaker of this paper? Do you really want to devote precious space to this? Can you get this information elsewhere?

8 18. If you have scraps of paper everywhere with phone numbers on them, get a spiral notebook. Enter all phone numbers & messages in it till it can either be responded to or entered where it belongs. 19. If you can get this same material from the internet or someone else, why keep it? 20. Take ten minutes each day to sort, file or toss papers. Do at beginning or end of work day, or do it during the commercials of the first hour of watching TV 21. Every day, before starting work, put away ten things on your desk. 22. Get rid of it ~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^ EMMETT'S CLUTTER FACT: If you don t have a place to put something, it WILL become clutter. When you don t have enough room for all your stuff, you don t need more room, you need less stuff. EMMETT'S ADMONITION: Don't consider your wastebasket or recycle bin to be an enemy who gobbles up your important data; consider it to be a friend who must be nourished and fed. Above quotes from The Clutter-Busting Handbook by Rita Emmett ~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^ Rita Emmett is a "Recovered Pack Rat", a Professional Speaker, and best-selling author of The Procrastinator s Handbook; and The Clutter-Busting Handbook. Go to for info on Stress Management, Procrastination and Clutter. You will find books, CDs, and DVDs. Because people learn in different ways, she also produces 30-day online courses where you receive a 3 minute message from Rita every day for a month helping you break the Procrastination and Clutter Habits. Interested? Go to ritaemmett.avanoo.com To subscribe to her free monthly Anticrastination Tip Sheet with quick short tips & ideas to help break the procrastination & clutter habits, go to the first page of her website Rita can be reached at or REmmett412@aol.com.