Thank you, I’m so glad you’ve stopped back here! So…how did your second day of finding 12 things to “let it go” go? Did you fill your box, or did you struggle a bit?
Truth is, I failed. I scrambled to do it this morning. Sigh…
I’m ready to get back on track though, and with a plan. You know, the plan I promised you yesterday that I’d share with you today. I’m all about following through with my promises. Well…mostly…yeah, mostly I am. I just didn’t fill my collection box yesterday, that’s all. Really!!
Remember, practice makes permanent. We’ve (I’ve) practiced how not to clear clutter a lot longer than we’ve (I’ve) practiced how to clear clutter. I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying, “It takes 21 days to make a habit.” Me too, but then I saw this:
I love it. It’s an awesome motto for us! You know why? Low and behold, there are exactly 22 days until the end of this year. Yes, you got that right, we have 22 days to get into this new habit of letting go and learning to live lighter in the process.
Man oh man, aren’t we just brilliant? We didn’t waste the year, we waited until the last month of the year. The last 22 days to be exact. We knew the perfect timing to begin to practice what we need to be successful-clutter-clearing-heroes!
We just need to practice our “let it go” skills for 22 days. Starting out with small items that have just kind of blended into life and our home and:
- we notice them and are slightly irritated about them when we see them
- we wonder why we haven’t made a decision about keeping them or not
Hallelujah, we’re ready, hear the bells ringing!?! Another drummer boy drum roll please…here’s our action plan.
Gather 4 boxes:
- Your collection box, aka, the one you’ve used for two days now, the one that is empty and ready to fill again.
Collection Box - A donation box
- with a cover, once you put stuff in there, you must not look again until you’re adding another item
- when box is full donate it to your favorite charity
- Remember to take a picture if you claim a tax deduction for donations. If not, skip it you don’t want to have to remember those items again, you’ve “let it go.”
Return/Repair box and Donation Box
- Remember to take a picture if you claim a tax deduction for donations. If not, skip it you don’t want to have to remember those items again, you’ve “let it go.”
- A return/repair box
- small enough to remind you that when full it is time to get to running those errands and return the items. Note if the item belongs somewhere else in your house, just put it away. Jeez…just get moving put it away where it belongs, right now!
- small enough to remind you that if you’ve borrowed it from someone, you’ve taken way too long to return it, just return it now – remember to include a nice little thank you card/gift. It is the season of giving!
- Schedule a time to repair or take item in for repair before our 22 days are up, if not, out it goes in the trash!
- A box labeled “I can’t really decide yet…I’m so close to a decision…but it will hold me back if I don’t start deciding so I’m placing it in here for now.”
Our trusty little crutch box (we are still in learning mode).
Now for our daily action steps:
Every day, by the end of the day (before retiring to bed), gather 12 items in the collection box. Our daily dozen quota. Empty the items into the appropriate box, 1, 2, 3 or 4 from above.
Note: If the item doesn’t fit in 1, 2, 3, or 4 from above, you really do love it and want to keep it, or it is trash to throw or something that is recyclable. If you love it, put it in a new spot in your house to see if it just didn’t fit where you found it. You’ll come back upon it later. Trust me, things don’t just disappear on their own. If it is trash, what the heck are you waiting for, just throw it or recycle it!?!
Whew…so that’s it, our “Let it snow, (heck yeah), let it go” action plan. What do you think? We’re going to be amazing! We just need to get going finding our “let it go” items and get on to practicing. Hurry, don’t be late, the clock is a tickin’. The year will be ending in 22 days. We can do it, yes we can, we can learn to “Let it Go!”
Good graycious, I’m excited, how about you?
See you soon! I’ll be back posting treasures I’ve found to “let it go.” As always, I love to hear how this plan is working for you! We all benefit from accountability partners don’t ya know!?!
