Start and Finish in One Place When It’s Time to Declutter

One of the reasons de-cluttering often goes awry is the distractor factor. I want you to envision one of the Family Circus cartoons that you may have seen in your Sunday paper. The way these go (and there have been many over the years), one of the children is asked to go next door to borrow a cup of sugar or something similar and the cartoon shows their path. Let’s just say it’s not direct and leave it at that. 

The exact same thing happens when you start to clean and clear. It may seem overwhelming and so you do a little bit here and a little bit there and then a little bit more in a different place and really, you accomplish very little – and it’s not clear (no pun intended) that you have accomplished anything. That can feel discouraging. Then you may just quit. 

Uh-oh. That’s not what we want!

There is a better way, and one of the tips you simply must pay attention to is this one: 

Start and finish in one place at a time.

For example, choose one shelf, one drawer, one box, one file drawer, etc. Work on that shelf, drawer, box, or notebook…whatever it is that you have chosen, and only that area. Finish it before you move on to the next one. The idea is to be able to see the difference you've made and to make real progress.  

If you need to use a prompt of some kind to make sure you are not distracting yourself, then do so. For example, you could set a timer that goes off every 10 minutes. The timer is only a reminder to check in with yourself to ask, “Am I still working on the same ____ (shelf, drawer, section of closet, etc.) where I started?” 

If you find that you have already moved to another section – not because you were finished but because you distracted yourself – then you have only gotten over there for a few minutes and now your timer has reminded you to get back to your focus for right now. This works! I’ve tested the strategy many times as have my clients and those in my workshops!

The concept to internalize from this section is that when you are de-cluttering, it doesn’t really matter where you start. Any of the possible places you start can get you to your goal. You just need to commence and then keep going and avoid being distracted or you will never get there. 

Where will you start (& finish) first? 

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About Meggin McIntosh

I’m a former university professor and administrator and am currently a coach, author, and workshop leader. People just like you, i.e., people who are overwhelmed and would prefer to be overjoyed instead, are the people I’m fortunate enough to attract and work with. I am thankful every day. https://meggin.com