The Clutter Fairy Weekly #151
Celebrate “Get Organized Month” by (re)Starting Organizing Projects
January is “Get Organized Month”! But after the year-end shakeup, it can be hard to figure out how to start new projects, restart past efforts, make a solid plan, find motivation, and keep momentum. In episode #151 of The Clutter Fairy Weekly, Gayle Goddard, professional organizer and owner of The Clutter Fairy in Houston, Texas, offers strategies for planning and implementing a rock-solid organizing project.
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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.
Where Does It Hurt?
This week’s assignment is to start planning or refreshing your organizing project(s) for 2023:
- Start by spending a little time in self-reflection on your areas of concern. Think about or write down responses to as many of these questions as you feel inspired to answer:
- What makes you crazy about your space?
- What annoys you every time you look at it?
- What feels unsafe about your home?
- Are you worried about the safety of yourself, your guests, or others who share your space?
- What seems overwhelming?
- What makes your brain freeze when you contemplate your project?
- What would you like to have when you’re done?
- How would you like your home to look or feel to you?
- What end result would be the most rewarding?
- What result, if you achieved it, would give you the most relief or happiness?
- Your answers to these questions will reveal pain points that you can use to set goals for what you want to accomplish with your project(s).
For the full discussion of this week’s tittle, watch the Weekly Tittle segment on YouTube.
What makes you crazy about your space?
An abundance of items everywhere.
What annoys you every time you look at it?
When we tidy up we fill boxes of things to put away. The boxes seldom get emptied and so there are overflowing boxes on the floors. We have a small home and every box takes up valuable real estate.
What feels unsafe about your home?
Walking through the space is often equivalent to walking through a maze. I promise it isn’t as bad as it sounds, but it is often worrisome.
Are you worried about the safety of yourself, your guests, or others who share your space?
We don’t have people over because of the embarrassing mess.
What seems overwhelming?
My daughter’s stuff. She’s soon to be 13, and has dozens of hobbies. She has stuff all over the house.
What makes your brain freeze when you contemplate your project?
I always second guess myself. I never know if something will fit or look nice until it’s in the spot I wanted it in. Sometimes I get lucky but mostly I don’t.
What would you like to have when you’re done?
An open space without mazes of things to walk around. I want a comfortable home I can have guests over to without cringing and feeling inadequate and embarrassed.
How would you like your home to look or feel to you?
Clean.
What end result would be the most rewarding?
Being able to easily clean up dog hair and sand they track in (I have three dogs). As it is now it’s very hard if not impossible to get it all swept up.
What result, if you achieved it, would give you the most relief or happiness?
I’d be relieved not to have to shuffle things around anymore.
I’m taking steps to make things better. But I want the decluttering project to reach the point where I can just maintain instead of going through the declutter process 24/7.
The most rewarding results are as I have finally achieved clearing my mess, my cluttered home and life… “All of the above” questions and thoughts: the Chatter shushed as the full relief comes along with such powerful clarity as I intended by fulfilling happiness living in my own home becoming organized, clean, sharing myself with other people and new pets that I love!
Another reply…ok? Thank you for the upcoming podcast Using the “BluePrint” background of a home! I had recently started to “stage” my new home with pictures to stimulate my upcoming move to my new, forever home. I also, pulled out my Husband and my original BluePrints to tape on the wall as I progress with us all in our Clutter Fairy Tribe/going into this new year 2023. Very powerful to keep me motivated. Truly! WellDone!