Episode 123 - Tip Tuesday - How to Get More Done and Make the Most Impact Decluttering When You Have a Few Hours to Designate to Purging and Organizing - Intentional Edit

A few hours is enough to make a big impact on reducing the clutter in your home. Having a plan and being intentional is essential to getting the most out of your time. Minutes spent purging and organizing will always give you more time for things you enjoy in the future.

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Full Episode Transcription (not edited):

A few hours is enough to make a big impact on reducing the amount of clutter that’s in your home. Having a plan and being intentional is essential when it comes to getting the most out of your time, staying on track, staying focused, but I want you to remember the minutes spent, purging and organizing will always give you more time for things you enjoy in the future. Hey, moms, welcome to the Intentional Edit podcast. Do you wanna stop feeling overwhelmed and finally get your home organized? Do you find yourself up late at night worrying about how you are going to get everything done and not drop the ball? You are wondering where to start and what to do. There is never enough time in the day the piles of laundry are building up and it’s already time for afterschool activities, homework, snacks, and carpool. Again, I’m Lauren.

(00:48):

I too want an organized clean home where my family can make long lasting memories and be present in the moment. Feeling like there is never enough time to complete all the daily tasks is exhausting. So simplicity all around a healthy meal on the table at dinnertime and a family that contributes to the chores really is attainable. Stop telling yourself that you have to do it all or it will never get done, or that picky eaters will never allow for a complete free dinner. In this podcast, you will learn exactly how to declutter, implement systems, and maximize routines that remove the overwhelming, unorganized parts of life, bringing simplicity to your life and home. Come on, it’s time to create a life you love.

(01:30):

Here we are mid-December, trying to do everything and get it all done on a time. Today we are talking about decluttering when you have a limited amount of time, but designated time to purge and declutter. This is a great topic and a little bit really goes a long way. I do wanna remind you to please join the Facebook group, the Facebook community for the Intentional Edit Podcast listeners. The link is in the podcast description. You can click on it wherever you’re listening to this podcast, scroll down and join the Facebook community. A lot of you are reaching out to me through direct messages on both Instagram and Facebook. I am much better at responding to messages on Instagram. I responded to all of the messages. It might take me a couple days, but I make sure that I get back to every one of you and point you in the right direction or help you with your organizing, decluttering, simplicity, scheduling, all of that.

(02:33):

I’m here to help you. The Facebook group is a great place for that, and I know that there is some hesitancy with posting something in the group. I want to assure you that it is a positive environment. If any negativity comes up or bullying or not so nice comments on a post or something, I will remove that person immediately. We won’t tolerate that, and that hasn’t happened. That hasn’t been an issue. But some of you are hesitant about posting and you’re fine. We go back and forth in conversation and direct messages, but I want to assure you, you are asking the same questions as many, many, many other people. If you think something in your home is too messy or too cluttered or too out of hand, I promise you it’s not. Clutter creeps in when we don’t have systems, intentional systems in our home created and designated to take care of our belongings, to make sure every single one of our belongings has a place where it goes a home within our home to be stored when it’s not in use.

(03:43):

So systems and organizations go hand in hand, and if you have questions, post it in the Facebook group, because I have seen what you guys are doing behind the scenes, and I know from the pictures that I get in direct messages that you are accomplishing so much. And I’ve recently gotten really fun direct messages where someone said, you know, I found you a couple months ago. I’ve been listening. You’ve inspired me to organize my pantry, clean out my closet and such and such. And then there is an amazing picture of this clutter-free pantry with food that they can see decanted items when it’s appropriate, and a system for where everything goes. So you’re not over buying and you’re not running low or running out of things that are necessities within your home. This is a common occurrence. Let’s try to do more in the actual Facebook community where we can support each other and help each other.

(04:40):

I am going to give some things away. I’m gonna give away a course. I’m gonna give away some coaching sessions for people that start to post in the community their questions or, uh, before and after picture or something that you are wanting to work on. Maybe just do a post and say, this is what your plan is to do. You want to organize your closet, or you have a desk drawer that needs work and you plan on doing it in the next week, and that post is going to help you be accountable to this project that you’ve been putting off and off and off. Be realistic about these things, of course, but let’s get more engagement going over there in the Facebook group because a little goes a long way. One person can post and many, many can benefit from it. I love to see what you’re doing.

(05:32):

I appreciate all the conversations in the direct messages, but a lot of this could be helpful and a true blessing to so many people that are struggling with decluttering and organizing and not knowing where to start. So let’s help each other. Scroll down in the podcast description, click on the link to the Facebook group for the Intentional Edit Podcast community. Answer those questions. When you click on the link and you click to join, it’ll ask you three really simple questions. You can just put one word or an entire sentence. You can be elaborate if you really want me to know what you’re struggling with and what you’re wanting to organize. Or you can be basic. It doesn’t have to be a lot of time, but I need you to answer the questions so that you can be approved. Otherwise, we think that you’re just a spam, like a bot account, and then you’ll just be deleted.

(06:21):

So make sure you answer the questions. Your approval should happen within about 24 hours, and then you can join us and we can help each other out over in the intentional edit Facebook group. Now let me answer the question of the day. It’s a tip Tuesday. So the question that came into today is a good one, and it really applies to any time throughout the year when you are trying to figure out how to get the most bang for your buck. The question is, I took a few extra days off before Christmas and want to use some of that time to get organized and do something with the toys that are all over my house before my kids open more. What should I focus on to get the most done in a short amount of time? I’m sick of having stuff all over, but don’t know how to get organized and there’s so much to do.

(07:12):

Well, my first answer is sign up for the Simplified Home Masterclass because it will walk you through all of it and help you determine exactly where to start. But the short answer in terms of you took a couple days off, you’re going to have a couple extra hours. The stressor here is the toys, what you have toys all over the house, and you know more toys are coming in. So I would suggest starting with that area. You know, I’m a big proponent of start with your biggest pain point. If that is something that you are worried about and that’s stressing you out right now, let’s solve the problem and eliminate that issue. Get in there with your trash bag, with your box for donations or your big bag for donations and start putting things away after you have sorted and perched. I want you to listen to episode 59.

(08:03):

It is the episode all about decluttering and how to do that efficiently with questions. You can ask yourself for what to get rid of. So listen to that episode and then start the pro process. Get into that room. Get into those areas of the house where the toys are, the messiest and start purging them. Make decisions if you are going to keep them group-like items together and put them away. Once you know that it is something that is played with, it is used by your kids and you are keeping it with intention. If they don’t play with it, if it is just adding to the clutter and never being used, if it’s not something that they really want, donate it. If it’s broken or not working anymore, that means it’s trash. If it’s missing pieces, it’s trash. So be ruthless with your decluttering. Move through this lace.

(08:56):

Quick, quick, quick, and you will get as much done as you possibly can in a short amount of time. Put on a podcast, put on your favorite music. Do something to keep you motivated. Set a timer if you needed to for 30 minutes and don’t do anything. Don’t look at your phone, don’t check your emails. Don’t go to social media. Work until the timer goes off and then do it over again. Give yourself another time limit what time you have is going to determine how long you’re going to set the timer for. Do you have four hours? Then break that up into two chunks, at least maybe three chunks. Give yourself little mini breaks so you stay focused. Or do you only have 30 minutes? 30 minutes a day can also get you a lot done, but set the timer and be intentional and stay focused and on task.

(09:45):

The timer will help you do that if you get through the toys and then you have extra space available. That’s the goal. You did what you wanted to do because now you have space for the new toys that come in, and if the toys, because you took these days off, and if the toys don’t take you all of the time available to you, then move on to something else. What is the next area in the home that is stressing you out and causing a point of contention among your family? What’s making you irritable and tackle that. In the same way, use what you learn in episode 59 about the proper way to purge and declutter and take those tactics and go to the next space. You’ll use the same process in every area that you choose, depending on how many hours you have, you can get through different areas in your home and put them in priority, the one that bothers you the most and it’s causing you the most stress, tackle that one first.

(10:50):

Then move on to the next one. You might only get through that first space depending on how much clutter and excess there is, but if you have more time, move on to the next one and then the next one and then the next one. If you’re organizing an entire room and decluttering an entire room, that is going to take you more time than trying to simplify what is in a drawer in your kitchen. That is having trouble closing. The size of the project matters in terms of what you are going to get done, but I will say this over and over. Be ruthless in your decluttering. Do not keep it if you don’t need it. If you don’t use it, if you don’t want it, or if you don’t love it, the less stuff you have in your home, the less stuff you have to maintain.

(11:37):

So good luck with this project. If you are listening to this and you have similar projects and you have a little bit of time available, tackle what is the most stressful, check it off the list, and then sign up for the Simplified Home Masterclass so you can join us in January and use this next year to get your house organized, running efficiently, have systems in place. The clutter will be gone next year. This time you won’t be in the same position feeling so overwhelmed by the immense amount of stuff that is taking up space in your home. Don’t forget to go over to the Facebook group, sign up for that. Send me your questions in the group. Post those questions, post what your projects you’re working on, what your goals are, what you wanna get organized in the next year. I’m excited to interact with you over there.

(12:28):

Have a great week, and I will meet you back here on Friday for the next episode of the Intentional Edit podcast. Thank you for listening to the Intentional Edit podcast. If you found today’s episode valuable, tell your friends about it by taking a screenshot, sharing it on social, and tagging me at intentional edit. I’ll be back soon with another episode. In the meantime, find me@intentionaledit.com and be sure to follow intentional edit on social platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook. To ensure you catch future episodes, click the subscribe or follow button. Now. I am grateful for a five star rating and review from you. Be sure to let me know what you liked about this episode and what you want me to cover in the future.

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Lauren is the founder of Intentional Edit, a home organization and lifestyle company focused on consciously editing to create efficient and organized spaces. Lauren believes that a functional home that looks and feels good has a positive influence on all aspects of life. Creating systems that allow for the home to function more efficiently, therefore, eliminating most of the clutter and chaos is her priority. While trends come and go organization is always in style!

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