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Solutions
for Life
from Solutions Counseling & EAP
by Keri Forbess-McCorquodale, MS, LPC, LMFT, CEAP
Letting Go of Clutter
I moved recently after 18 years. As most
of you know, that is a huge undertaking.
Here is what I have learned: we are filthy
(seriously, I could not believe all the
“dust bunnies”), I might as well go ahead
and build a trip to Target every day into
my schedule, and we have too much
stuff.
One of the changes in the new house
is that my closet area is smaller. I had to
get rid of about ¼ of my clothes to make
it work. Some of you are having heart
palpitations thinking about that. Me, not
so much. I love the process of organizing,
which includes getting rid of things you
don’t want or need.
I do not like clutter. I can’t think
when there is stuff everywhere. People
have commented on how clean my
kitchen countertops are. I’m a big
believer in displaying only things you
love. Anything else should have a home
hidden out of sight. My office is the same
way – no stapler, pens or hole punch out
for all to see. In fact, I wish I had a way
to hide my adding machine, computer
monitors and phone!
Please note, I don’t hold everyone else
to my level of “unclutteredness.” I’m
OK if you have your coffee pot on your
countertop, and seeing your stapler
on your desk doesn’t bother me. But
unorganized mess does bother me – a lot!
I don’t understand how anyone functions
in chaos. And I have observed that messy
people are much less efficient than
organized people.
I think efficiency is the key for me.
Anyone who knows me knows I am
all about the shortest/fastest route to
the goal. I do not meander. My idea of
hell is a road trip with no destination.
(Seriously, I was dragged on that kind of
trip as a kid and was miserable the whole
time!) My idea of hell in the therapy
setting is the same thing – I’ve got to
have a destination or goal in mind. What
are we working towards? My favorite
66www.thriveswla.com
kind of exercises are those that work
more than one body part at a time. See
what I mean? Efficient.
Being a “clutterbug” definitely hinders
one’s ability to be efficient. Everything
your little eye spies as you are looking
for something requires a process for
your brain to go through to filter out the
undesired objects. Have you ever been
looking through your junk drawer for
something and couldn’t find it, but when
you pulled everything out of the drawer,
sure enough, it was there? You couldn’t
see it because of all the filtering your
brain was having to do.
My husband laughs at me when we
are staying at a hotel. I keep everything
picked up, trash in trash cans, etc. He’ll
say, “You know, there will be someone
coming in to clean up after we’ve gone.”
Of course I know this, but every time I
see that piece of paper on top of the desk
my brain has to process if it is something
I need or not. I’d rather skip that process
by getting rid of what I know I won’t
need as I go. That way, if it is out, I must
need it. And, guess what…I rarely forget
things at hotels.
If it’s time for you to do some
uncluttering, may I suggest these areas:
Unclutter Your Mind. I don’t know
about you, but my brain can handle only
so much. So, I have learned to ease up on
the expectations I have for my memory. I
document everything. All appointments,
even recurring ones, go in my calendar.
Same thing with errands I need to run.
That way I don’t have to remember that
weekly meeting, or the fact that I wanted
to get the oil changed next weekend. I
simply look at my calendar and it’s all
there. Along that same vein, I encourage
you to have only one calendar. Some
people have a personal, work, and family
calendar. Now you have three places to
write everything and three places to
Thrive Magazine for Better Living
look! Lastly, consider going electronic
if you haven’t already done so. It’s so
much easier to put recurring events
in once and have the computer do the
recurring for you. You can also share
appointments with others easily, so
everyone knows where you are.
Unclutter Your Time. Just as I only
want things I love to look at around me,
I only want to do things I love in my free
time. If I don’t love it, I try really hard to
get out of it or delegate it. If I am going
to give up some of my precious free time,
I need to be passionate about whatever
I am doing. If I am volunteering, I must
believe in the cause and it must be
well run (back to efficiency). And I am
spending time only with people who are
uplifting and with whom I feel a strong
connection.
Unclutter Your Possessions. Seriously,
take a look around you. Do you either
need or love everything? As I decorate
for the various holidays, I ask myself
that very question. Every year I have a
little stack of holiday items that I move
along. If I didn’t put it out, or if I did put
it out but didn’t love it, it’s time for it to
go. I do that with the rest of the house
too. I have a once/year motto: if I haven’t
used it or worn it at least once in the last
year, I don’t need it. Either I obviously no
longer love it, or I forgot I had it. Either
way, its cluttering up my closet and my
mind and it needs to go!
As you may recall, I have proclaimed
2016 the “Year of Letting Go.” I hope I’ve
inspired you to re-evaluate and let go
of some of the things cluttering up your
life!
May 2016