Doing Some Midlife Decluttering? A Simple 3-Step Formula To Apply BEFORE You Even Lift A Finger!

Episode 32 | (00:00):
Hey there, friend. Are you ready to start your Spring cleaning? Well, actually we're already in Spring. We're moving into May at the time of this recording. So maybe you've already started. Maybe you're getting halfway through, or maybe you don't even want to think about it.

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No matter where you are in this process, if you're looking for some midlife decluttering, I am going to give you a simple — oh my goodness — such a simple and easy 3-step formula for you to apply before you even lift a finger.

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Because I don't know about you but for me, when I started decluttering, the hardest part was getting started. I mean, it can be a little overwhelming, not just for decluttering but for just about any project in your life, right? So you have to make sure you are in the right midlife mindset for this to work.

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This simple little midlife tip is going to help you get very clear on how to approach your decluttering activities, all right? Are you ready? I think this is going to help you. It helped me so much when I figured this out. All right, let's do this, y'all!

(01:47):
Hey there, Easy Ager, before I get started today I wanted to remind you yes, once again, if you are not an Easy Aging® Insider, go to TheEasyAgingShow.com and sign up right after this episode. You're going to want to be on this list because it gives you first access, special offers, free trainings and all that kind of stuff.

(02:06):
So we've got some stuff coming up starting in May, and I wanted to let you know about it. So just go to TheEasyAgingShow.com and you're set, okay?

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So unless you've been living under a rock for the past, I don't know, 10 years or something, you've more than likely heard phrases like "downsizing" and "decluttering" and "Marie Kondo." Yes. We all want to Marie Kondo our houses, don't we?

(02:32):
Well, my decluttering phase started in 2014, and it was exceptionally helpful to me when I sold my house in 2017. Honestly, the hardest part about decluttering was just starting.

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I'm not sure what I was thinking before 2014, but somehow I think I was just waiting for the magical decluttering fairies to show up to my house and take care of business.

(02:56):
But since those very annoying fairies just kept disappointing me over and over again, I was pushed into a corner where I had to make a decision. So I decided that I was gonna make decluttering a priority because I knew that if it wasn't a priority, it would never get done.

(03:13):
Do you ever feel like that? Do you ever feel like, "If I don't make this a priority right now, this moment, nothing's happening?" I mean, sometimes that's the only reason I wash my car.

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It it's like A, B and C priorities. And the car is always a C or sometimes a D. It never makes it up to A until I just can't see outta the windows anymore.

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I mean, that's embarrassing, but true. When my tolerance levels have just blown through the roof and I can't do it anymore, then I'll go wash my car. And you know, when I wash it, I really like it. I enjoy the process of sitting in the little car wash and watching the water go back and forth.

(03:50):
And I like vacuuming my car. I like Armor-Alling...Yeah, that's the right word... Armor-Alling my car and taking all the dust out and throwing away all those extra little pieces of papers or straws or whatever's hanging around.

(04:03):
And afterwards I feel so accomplished, which makes me wonder why don't I just do it more often if that's the case, right? Decluttering is exactly the same thing. You feel so good when it's done. It's just that getting started, getting that momentum to get going, to making it a priority so it does get done.

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When I started this journey back in 2014, I committed 30 minutes a day to doing something, anything. There were no rules, there were no limitations. Just do something to move myself forward.

(04:36):
That was the only rule that was there because I just wanted to have fewer things in my life that didn't bring value to me. I know I've said this before but I never, ever wanted to be a minimalist, even though I can truly appreciate the idea of it. I knew that I would only ever be an essentialist.

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I would have the things that are essential to me, the things that bring value to my life, the things that literally — as Marie Kondo says — spark joy in my life and the rest of it needed to go away. My decluttering ranged anywhere from 30 minutes to a few hours at a time.

(05:10):
And that's because once I got started, I thought, "Oh, I've got a little extra time. I'll just finish this before I stop." Or sometimes I would think "That didn't take too long. I'll work on another area." It was shocking how quick and easy it was once I just got my body moving.

(05:26):
As the clutter began disappearing from my life, I began feeling more peaceful, calmer. Just calming down this part of my life seemed to help me deal with everything in my life better. I know that sounds crazy, but it's true. Things felt lighter. Things felt easier.

(05:41):
I realized I didn't have to be overwhelmed by stuff anymore. Now I would love to say to you, "Yes, I did it. And you can do it too." Tada! But you know, this podcast is not about the doing. I'm not going to tell you how to declutter your house.

(05:59):
There are plenty of people who are experts in this area who can tell you how to do this. What I'm going to give you right now are three steps you need before you even lift a finger. It's about decluttering your mind before you even get started, okay?

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So we're gonna get a little mindset action going today, all right? Your first step is to Decide. Ask yourself, "How important is this? Why do I want to do this?" Your level of unhappiness with the situation will help you define the level of importance you place on clearing things out. That's all there is to it.

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And let me tell you, if you do not make a firm decision on this at the beginning, all you're going to be doing for the entire process from day one is fighting the tofu. You know how you hit tofu? It seems like you punch the tofu and it punches back at you.

(06:49):
It's gonna booooiiiing, this kind of thing because you're not gonna make any progress. That's not gonna be any fun. You need to decide and make sure this is really and truly important to you. Not to anybody else, just you, because you are the one that's going to be doing it, right?

(07:06):
So number one is, Decide. Figure out how important this is to you and why you wanna do it.

(07:11):
The second step is Prioritize. All right, now you've decided, "Yes, I know it's important. I have to make it a priority." Just like I said earlier, if you do not make this a priority, it will never get done. Period. Ever. End of story.

(07:24):
Because here's a big secret: We always, always make time for the things that are important to us, whether you're watching your favorite sports team or cleaning out your garage or spending quality time with your family. If that is your priority, you're going to do it.

(07:43):
And if you can't find time for it, it's probably not really a priority. If it's not a priority, that's okay. Just make sure, after you decide that this really is a priority for you, that you're very clear with yourself so things get done.

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And your last step is simply Commit. If you decided that decluttering is important and you make it a priority, this one should be a no-brainer. Get it on your schedule, put it in your calendar, put it on your paper calendar, or the big calendar in the kitchen, put it in your phone, whatever you need to do to make sure you're blocking that time out.

(08:17):
And if you're still not sure about it at this point, it's probably a good idea to go back to the Decide or Prioritize step because you don't want to be putting yourself in a situation where you're gonna continually disappoint yourself over and over again.

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So that's it Decide, Prioritize and Commit. You know, I'm talking about decluttering but honestly, this can work for other projects too. I've also used this Decide, Prioritize, and Commit formula to help me get back on the exercise track after I had taken a break or help me drink more water.

(08:49):
Or, when I was selling my house, I had to Decide, Prioritize and Commit or nothing would've gotten done. It would've been such an overwhelming task to get everything ready to sell the house, to pack up and to move, right? So yes, this will work for just about any big project you've got coming at you.

(09:07):
So take a few minutes to go through these three steps any time you're moving into decluttering or any other type of project to make sure you break it down, to make sure you're really committed, and to really make sure this is important enough for you to follow through.

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And that's what we're talking about here. So get your mindset in order before you start any of this, and it's going to be a lot easier for you.

(09:29)
Once again, go to TheEasyAgingShow.com to get on the Easy Aging® Insiders' list so you can be the first to know stuff and until next time, peace, love and blessings to you and yours. Take care. Bye-bye!