In an earlier post on life laundry, I wrote that usually the easiest and least angst-ful starting point for mobilising your life laundry programme is your list of physical decluttering tasks (you can read an earlier blog post for suggestions about drawing up your life-laundry lists.) One of the strategies I suggested as a starting point for tackling your physical decluttering involved clearing clutter from all the surfaces in your home and work-space.
I now offer an alternative strategy as a starting point for tackling your physical decluttering and this involves addressing your first groan of the day.
When does that significant groan happen (and here, let’s discount the groan that is triggered by the sound of your alarm clock)? Is it when you open your sock drawer and find that, even though it is stuffed to overflowing, you can’t find a single pair of partnered socks within? Is it when you amble into the kitchen for your first cup of coffee and find that the state of the kitchen counter sends you into reverse? Is it when you head to your workspace but open FaceBook on your phone because FaceBook feels a lot more friendly than the papers scattered over your desk?
Your first groan of the day (discounting the one that was triggered by the alarm) tells you where to start your life laundry activities.
Do you remember how good it felt to bury your nose in the pile of towels you laundered on Sunday? That sense of exhilaration is what you will now aim for when you pull open your sock drawer. Or when you go to the kitchen to turn on the kettle for your first cup of the day.
Allow your groans and their progressive elimination to lead you through your list of life-laundry tasks. This strategy will be helpful not only in addressing the tasks on your ‘physical clutter’ list, but also those on your other lists (your social, emotional, administrative, and organisational clutter).
Sort out your sock drawer. Dispose of socks that are angrily, unhappily and unremittingly solo. Re-unite those that have may have wandered from their partners but which would be delighted to return to the intimacy of matrimony. Separate the work-sock pairs from the sport-sock pairs and pile the two categories neatly and invitingly in two baskets in your sock drawer. What delight awaits when you open your sock drawer tomorrow morning!
Your first groan of the day has thus been eliminated, and what was previously your second groan of the day can now be promoted to top of the list.
Progressively you will work through these first groans of the day, eliminating clutter as you proceed over time, with an ever clearer vista greeting you at the start of each day.
We have now considered two possible strategies that you might use as a starting point for dealing with physical clutter: Clearing surfaces and eliminating the first groan of the day.
In a future post I will offer you a third strategy that you could use for dealing with physical clutter. In the meantime, if the angst of even thinking about de-cluttering is proving burdensome, you could read about my approach to counselling, mentoring and life-coaching and message me to help you get started.
