It’s a waste of time to wait until you’re READY

Are you waiting until you feel READY to start organizing, decluttering, and letting go? That day may never come, so let’s do it anyway.

You might as well start before you think you are ready otherwise nothing will improve.

Let me tell you about my sister Chris.

She’s retired, lives in Florida, and has ADD.

I visit my sis once (or more) a year and during my visit, we usually declutter an area in her home.

This February she reluctantly allowed me to coach her as she tackled her two craft cabinets.

I say reluctantly because she knew there were things in there that needed to go plus the stuff in the cabinets was a reminder of hobbies she used to enjoy; stamping, bookmaking, and creating photo cards.

She felt bad about not using her card-making supplies and beat herself up for not taking the time to create like she used to.

I reminded my sis that switching interests is okay as well as letting past hobbies go.

Her circumstances have changed. Chris no longer lives in Wisconsin where she worked on crafts during our unreasonably long winters. When she lived in Wisconsin, she had a room with a table and space dedicated to crafting. It was easier to sit down and create in that space because it wasn’t her kitchen table.

Her interests and hobbies have also changed over time.

Even though she wasn’t ready and didn’t want to tackle the craft supplies, Chris decided she would let me coach her through it on my birthday—as her gift to me 🙂 I was actually excited about helping her declutter on my birthday.

Here are the steps I coached Chris through to better organize her cabinets.

Remove everything, one shelf at a time, and sort it into categories.

Look at each category and decide how much to keep (card stock, envelopes, other paper).

Look at each box of tools and small supplies. Decide what to keep. She found things she forgot she had.

Relocate items that didn’t belong in the cabinets.

This project took about 4-6 hours, but it’s hard to know exactly because she became distracted. I’d find Chris organizing in a different room or sorting out a dresser drawer. This is when I remind her we are organizing her crafts, not her dresser.

She also took breaks, as one should.

Chris stuck with it and finished! She let go of her bookmaking supplies, sold some things on Facebook marketplace, and donated several bags of things.

Well done Chris!

THE CABINETS BEFORE DECLUTTERING

 

BETTER–AFTER DECLUTTERING and DONATING

Not ready to start? Be more like Chris and do it anyway, you might as well.

Reach out to me if you want my accountability, support, and encouragement. Find my rates here.