When it comes to de-cluttering I have procrastinated like a pro. It’s not that I don’t like clean and productive spaces to work and live in, it’s just that at times I get super confused about what should go where, what to keep and what to let go of.
This little phrase, ‘items of dubious value’ has dramatically improved my effectiveness in this area of my life in a number of ways. Let me explain…
In the past, when I had finally had enough of the clutter, like a bull in a china shop I would charge into the task with ruthless abandon. If an item had been lying around for longer than 6 months and I hadn’t used it, I would throw it out. This led to regret on many occasions, like the time I threw out an ‘orphaned’ remote control for the TV I’d forgotten I had in storage, which I later wanted to use.
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When I would finally attempt to clean up again I would find myself standing in a room, holding an item in my hand that in some way had value, but no immediate use. In a way it is too good to throw out, not valuable enough to sell, yet no immediate or potential future use.
On one particular day, as I became aware that I had been pondering such an item in my hand for more than 10 minutes, I suddenly had the idea of creating a separate box for items like these and calling it, ‘items of dubious value’. This had an amazingly positive impact on my mood and my productivity.
I found myself oozing with renewed enthusiasm for the task at hand and eager to complete it.
The point is, that being able to categorise items like these in this way freed me to keep moving and complete the task.
Now I’ll be honest. I currently have 3 boxes labelled ‘Items of Dubious Value’ however, you need to understand that periodically I go through these and find useful things that I can now use and occasionally determine to throw out other stuff altogether.
So to finish this article off I will now go through the actual process I use when it comes to de-cluttering.
The first thing I do when I need to address a certain area, be it in my shed, my home or my office is to sit down and get myself really comfortable and observe the space. I avoid the urge to immediately get up and move something so that I can consider: how I use the space currently; what frustrates me or is difficult to use; is there anything that obviously does not need to stay in the space; and so on.
Once I have decided the improvements I want to make I start the process of cleaning up with the following four categories in mind:
- This item is a keeper and I want to use it now
- This item is a keeper, but I need to store it for future use
- This item has ‘dubious value’
- This item I no longer want and I can throw it out, give it away or potentially sell it
I encourage you to try this, if like me you’re prone to procrastinating. I’ve been so fascinated with the concept of procrastination I’m thinking about doing a PhD on it next year… or maybe the year after. Have a great day.