I love watching the Olympics and the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver have been no exception. When one of the experienced cross country skiers fell and slipped into a ravine and hurt herself the commentator said he “just couldn’t write this stuff”. It was the first time I have ever seen such a fall. I cross country ski because I love skiing but am afraid of heights so I can’t go downhill skiing. I am in awe of the athletics that just zip down those hills with no fear or race on those tiny skating blades.
We were watching an interview of a skier who had flown down the hill at speeds higher than I drive my car. The reporter asked what was going through her mind as she was tearing around the curves. (Don’t cha just love some of the questions they come up with?) I know I would be thinking, “please let me live and I’ll never do this again”.
The skier basically said they have no fear. This is what makes them champions. I am a professional organizer who goes into people’s homes to organize and I know some people are afraid when it comes to getting rid of clutter.
People tell me as we are getting rid of clutter:
· But what if I need this in 6 1/6 years or longer?
· But I paid good money for it—even though I don’t like it and I never use it.
· I Might miss it. (Might? Might?)
· But it was a gift.
· I’ll make the decision later.
Do you have a fear of getting rid of clutter for any of the reasons above? Most everyone has had some of the same feelings. What will it take to get rid of the fear? As I organize with people as a professional organizer I ask some key questions such as:
· What will it cost you to replace it and is the clutter worth keeping it around if you don’t use it, love it or if it doesn’t light you up, meaning make you feel good about yourself and your home?
· Does it help you to keep it which just keeps you feeling guilty about buying it? Would you feel better donating it knowing you are helping someone else? We all learn from our mistakes but we don’t have to have clutter around reminding us all the time about what a poor decision we made. It could be something we did like at one time but then our tastes or ideas changed.
· Do you really want to live with the weight of might on your shoulders? By letting go you will feel freer and will actually be freed from clutter.
· It was a gift and you enjoyed it (or not) but you no longer like it and you don’t want it taking up space but you’re afraid to let it go because the person who gave it to you will feel bad. Will they even see it in your home if you keep it or not? It was a gift so it is yours to do with what you want. And honestly will they feel bad or is that just a story you tell yourself?
My mother made us a beautiful afghan that we used for several years. Now we prefer using quilts to wrap up in when lounging around watching television. I stored it away and as I was organizing the closet it was in I felt foolish holding on to it when someone else could be using it for warmth. I donated it knowing it was being twice loved.
· Make a decision now and get on with life. It won’t get any easier later on to decide what to do with an item you are unsure about keeping that just creates clutter. If you can’t decide now what is going to make it easier later on to make a decision?
The key to conquering your fear of getting rid of clutter is to keep your eye on the goal. As Vince Lombard said, “Obstacles are what you see when you take your eye off the goal”.
Click here to learn more time-proven methods to clear clutter from your home.
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