The Clutter Fairy Weekly #111
Because You’re Worth It: Decluttering as Self-care
Cluttered space impacts and complicates every other aspect of our lives—our physical fitness, emotional health, productivity, family, financial wellbeing, happiness, sense of satisfaction, you name it. In episode #111 of The Clutter Fairy Weekly, Gayle Goddard, professional organizer and owner of The Clutter Fairy in Houston, Texas, reframes decluttering as a form of self-care and offers tips for supporting your most important organizing helper: you.
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The Weekly Tittle is an exercise designed to focus your attention on a specific space, aspect, or challenge of decluttering and organizing your home. We assign a new tittle in each webcast/podcast, then check on your progress the following week.
A Certain Thing, 2022 Edition
It’s March 15, so U.S. taxpayers have one month plus one weekend until tax returns are due. You’re groaning, and we hear you, but now is a better time to start than April 15, so let’s spend a little time on taxes this week. Your assignment will vary depending on where you are so far in the tax-prep process:
- If you’ve done nothing at all, your version of the homework is to sift through all the standing paperwork, looking for things related to your taxes. Create your catchall place to gather your tax docs, such as a file folder or a document box or pleated expanding folder. Browse your stacks of paper and pull out any envelopes that say “Important Tax Document”—or anything that you think might support your tax return. Don’t worry about sorting. Just gather everything into one place.
- If you’ve got your documents gathered already, then your homework is to sort them and start preparations to use the documents. And recheck any stacks of mail for missed documents.
- If your materials are generally in order, then start the calculations needed for preparing the return. A big one for The Clutter Fairy is the mileage report. There’s a lot of data that goes into making mileage deductible, and it takes a lot of time to organize it.
- If you’re not affected by U.S. tax code, then lucky you! You get a different tittle. Look for a project that you’ve been spending a lot of energy avoiding, and take action on a task. Focus your energy on doing something instead of nothing this week, and see how much better you feel about the project!
For the full discussion of this week’s tittle, watch the Weekly Tittle segment on YouTube.
Chat Transcript
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I have a refrigerator issue in the middle of my downsizing. It’s quitting! Can’t get a new one yet due to delivery issues and blizzards here in Colorado! So my husband bought a small one to temporarily solve this issue. I’m shredding old paperwork now and recently lost 30 pounds. So no clothing fits. Getting bags ready to donate to a Women’s Shelter.
Yes, it’s taking up mental space to continue to deal with this mess. I work an hour a day on my office. This is a catch-all room.
Self care is essential! Great show!!
It’s amazing how something so small in size could use up so much of my energy because of my avoidance. It’s only taken me 2-1/2 months to decide I couldn’t use a very pretty calendar I got as a Christmas gift! Should I keep it or not? It’s so pretty I don’t want to give it away, but I really can’t use it. But it’s so pretty! So today I made a commitment to a friend that I would let someone else get to use it for the remaining days of the year. (Ed, I know you can figure that number out quickly!)
Thanks,
NJD