Organizing: Ask The Expert
DECLUTTER Your Responsibilities by Crystal Nerpel, Owner of Cloud Nine Organizing
E
very day, I get to teach people how to eliminate the mess that creates stress. But before I was a professional organizer, I was an overscheduled, overwhelmed, slightly stressed out mom. The house was a mess even though I felt like I was always cleaning. I would forget about appointments even though I was always looking at my calendar. I was tired even though I went to bed early each night. I knew there had to be a better way.
I’m going to share with you how I cleaned up my messy stress. I didn’t worry about what I should start doing. I focused on what I wanted to stop doing. Here are 3 things you can stop doing right now If you’re ready to begin your decluttering journey. 1. Stop multitasking. Moms tend to be talented jugglers. We always have lots of balls in the air. We are proud of this talent because we believe we are accomplishing so much more than other people who can only do one thing at a time. Guess what. It’s not true. Research suggests that multitasking is less productive. Multitasking tends to create unfinished projects, and unfinished projects create clutter. Piles of partially opened mail, unwashed dishes, and mountains of
laundry actually disappear more quickly when we focus on completing one task at a time. 2. Stop doing it all by yourself. Make a list of all your responsibilities. Are you surprised by how long that list is? (I was!) At times, it’s impossible to get everything done because we expect so much of ourselves. Give yourself a break and get help. Delegate to the rest of the family. Teach your children to do their own laundry and pack their own school lunches. Have your spouse take over some of the daily chores. Ask a neighbor to carpool to school with you. Hire professionals to clean your home or mow your lawn. There are many ways to get help, but you’ll never get that help if you don’t ask.
3. Stop doing things you hate.
Obligation and guilt are not good enough reasons to do something. Of course,
there are certain things you can’t avoid
like paying bills or working. However, it is
possible to stop over-scheduling yourself. Don’t enjoy that monthly networking
group? Maybe you should stop going and find other ways to connect with
colleagues. Don’t love volunteering for
every event at your child’s school? Good news! You are allowed to say “No, thank
you.” Be selective about what you put on your schedule.
Intentionally declutter your responsibilities and start to watch that messy stress melt away. You may notice your home and
schedule start feeling less cluttered. You may even have more energy. Don’t get
hung up on all the things you think you
should be doing. Start thinking about a few things you want to stop doing.
Still need help? Crystal at Cloud Nine Organizing can help you declutter, destress and simplify.
CLOUDNINEORGANIZING.COM
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SEPTEMBER 2020 | 35 WEST | 29
