If you don't have a problem with clutter and procrastination due to depression, post-trauma stress disorder, or ADD or ADHD, OCD, or some other learning disability or impairment, count yourself hugely fortunate. I wasn't always this bad...it wasn't always this hard to control my space and what was in it...however, events happened which pulled the trigger on the problem for me....but that's another blog entry for another day. People like me are not procrastinators and seemingly messy because we don't care...we care a lot...the inability to manage like others do often separates us from the rest of the world and has us hidden away in our little cluttered world where we are too embarrassed to invite others in...we are people who are painfully aware of our shortcomings in the arena of all things sorted, organized and clutter-free. So, if you aren't like me in this regard, you might want to skip this one...it will sound so elementary you'll think I am a four-year old picking up her toys.
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So, the bedroom hasn't been touched yet because I am procrastinating. (I blogged about an hour ago how I was a-gonna go in there and kick some clutter-ass.)
I am, as usual, overwhelmed. However, the good news is that I am not so heavy that I feel tired by the prospect. I am a confirmed believer that being overweight and living in a cluttered state is a self-perpetuating cycle and that they feed upon each other to the detriment of their host person.
Today is a good day to celebrate my 40 pound weight loss by taking clutter into hand and giving it a swift kick out the door. So here's the plan of attack. It's the way I trick myself into unloading the dishwasher when I don't really want to...I use the method I mentally refer to as...
Just Do Four
Four things, I tell myself. When the dishwasher needs to be unloaded and I don't like the prospect of doing it because I am interested in something else, I tell myself "Just put away four cups and then you can quit." But, in my ADD way of operating, once my hands get busy unloading, first thing you know, I am half-way through the whole task of unloading the dishwasher. Getting started is always my problem. Okay...now, it is the bedroom which needs attention...lots of attention...so, how can I "Just Do Four" in my bedroom?
I have a bedroom closet to attack. So, let's start there. The shoes are piled up and totally disorganized. Now, I think I'll just go pick out four pair and pull them out of the closet in order to pair them up...and if all goes right, I will have all of my shoes paired up before I realize what's going on. I'll report back in fifteen minutes if it's not working and much later if it is. Okay, it's 10:45 a.m. now...I'll check in in a bit.
11:10 a.m. - And, that worked well. I even got the vacuum out and vacuumed the closet floor. (Patting myself on the back.) The next job is to place all my seldom worn shoes into a box...the kind that comes with a case of letter-sized copy paper in it; it has a lid. Once those are in there I will put a date of March 2008 on the box, mark it on my calendar and when March 1, 2008 rolls around, whatever shoes are still in that box since September 22, 2007 will be going to permanently visit Mr. Thrift Store.
Once the box is filled, I will neatly organize my shoes on the floor of my closet. Okay. I'm back on it. (This is me...walking back to my bedroom closet project.)
----The Next Day----
My "just do four" exercise got me off to a great start. Got the floor of the closet de-cluttered. I actually got the vacuum cleaner inside the closet and put the carpet into good order. I even wiped down the baseboards of the closet while I was within reaching distance. My shoes are neatly lined up and I feel good about the progress.
After I finished the floor of the closet, I went through my hanging clothes and pulled out the items which don't fit any longer due to my weight loss. I folded them neatly and put them on the shelf overhead to get them out of my range of vision when I am getting ready for work in the mornings. Gosh, I can actually find what I need now.
I decluttered a good bit in my bedroom on my shelves and drawers after completing the closet, and then finished out the day by steamcleaning the bedroom carpet. Today is the day I will tackle the bathrooms. I am so pleased with the bedroom results that I am motivated to get started again.De-cluttering is so good for the soul!
1 comment:
Boy, do you have my number. I'm 58, male, white and former business owner. Dealing with major depression. Things that I'd formerly attack and have done in quick order look like a mountain to me now. The result? These seem like so big a task that I frequently do nothing at all. And yet I know they MUST BE DONE.
Some projects I wait until the last minute and try to FORCE MYSELF to get things done that way. Most of the time I cut myself so short of time that some of the project gets done, but some goes undone which is terribly disappointing to me. Makes me look stupid and unorganized.
No matter what, I seem to ALWAYS have something else to do. . . . time wasters like watching television or fooling around on the internet. But always in the background in my head are those tasks that need doing and aren't getting done.
I like your "Just Do Four" idea. I'm going to try it TODAY. I'll report back.
I'm so glad to know that I'm not the only one who does these things.
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