Spring is here in full force with new blooms appearing every day. Some blooms are in fact, weeds. These weeds can quickly overwhelm our garden. They crowd and strangle the plants we want to thrive.

Have you been decluttering and removing weeds from your garden? What have you noticed?

I’ve loved my outdoor time these last few weekends puttering and clearing the plant beds. I’ve gotten immense pleasure from working with my hands, digging in the dirt, pulling out the weeds, and creating clear, open space for growth.

Our personal environments are very much like our gardens. Our stuff can collect in piles, corners, closets and drawers. The piles seem to grow on their own, quickly and quietly taking over our spaces. Clutter can make it hard to think and move. The clutter in our home is like the weeds in our garden. It can prevent creativity, block growth, or zap our energy.

What would it feel like if you tended to your indoor garden and decluttered your weeds? What would less feel like? How would a clearer space (mental and physical) create possibilities for remarkable change?

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Come join the conversation! 

I’m excited to bring you another installment (v5) of the “What’s Interesting?” feature where I share my latest discoveries that inform, educate, and relate to organizing and life balance. I’ve included unique and inspiring clutter-related finds, which reflect this month’s blog theme. You’re a special and engaging group. I look forward to your participation and additions to the collection I’ve sourced for you. What do you find interesting?

What’s Interesting? . . .

1. Interesting Read – Decluttering

In a new publication from Budget Dumpster, The Ridiculously Thorough Guide to Decluttering, professional organizing pros (including yours truly) come together to share their best tips and strategies for letting go and creating clutter-free environments.  “According to Psychology Today, people tend to feel like life is out of control when they surround themselves with more things than they can manage.” If you’re in the decluttering mode (or want to be inspired to begin), check out this guide.

2. Interesting Container – Tall Box

Part of the decluttering process involves decision-making. What will stay, and what will be released? The other part is about managing or containing what remains. I’m super excited about The Container Store’s latest addition to its clear plastic box collection—the double-tall shoe box! The organizing possibilities go way beyond storing shoes. Get creative while corralling your clutter.

3. Interesting List – Mind Clutter

Knock Knock is one of my favorite companies. They know how to add humor and fun to their organizing products. One of their newest creations is the Daily Intention Tracker Pad. With untraditional categories like “Appreciate,” “Let Go Of,” and “Feel,” it’s great for releasing and organizing our mind clutter in a visual, productive way.

4. Interesting Product – Sorting

In December I met two amazing women, Yukiko Uno and Keiko Hamaguchi, Shuno-no-su business partners, at the JALO conference Expo in Yokohama. They’ve designed a variety of organizing products. One of the most unusual and clever is their Colorful Sorting Sheets. They're used to “sort out your stuff” into categories such as “use every day,” “use once in a while,” “don’t need it-let it go,” and “actively use it.” They can be used to sort (and ultimately declutter) everything from clothes to cosmetics to papers and more.

5. Interesting Tech Tool – Cord Decluttering

Last month in Los Angeles at the NAPO Conference Expo, the Cable Keeper, brainchild of Neet Products founder Chris Voss won the NAPO Organizers Choice Award for “Best in Show.” Have you been frustrated by cord clutter and tangles in your bag, home or office? The Cable Keeper is a cable management tool that not only is practical, but also comes in a lively array of colors. Guess which color I bought?

6. Interesting Thought – Stuff

What is too much? Only you can decide. If the things in your life are taking over your time, space, and thoughts, it could be an opening for change.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. What are your interesting finds? Do any of these resonate with you?  Come join the conversation!

Life is complicated. There are many dynamics, decisions, phases and stages. There is constant change that we navigate to the best of our ability. Clutter is complex too. We become emotionally attached to our things. Our stuff seems to collect as we sleep. Where did those piles come from? How did my closet get so crammed that it’s stressful getting dressed every morning? I have to keep my stuff because if I let go, I’ll lose a part of me.

I’d like to share two powerful and possibly simple clutter concepts with you. Are you ready?

While there are many solutions for “dealing with” clutter, and I’ve written lots of posts sharing those ideas, it all comes down to two basic concepts: Release and Manage.

Powerful Clutter Concept One: Release

To reduce the volume of clutter, to make it easier to manage our stuff, we need to release or what I like to call, “edit.” Yes, we’re talking about letting go of the unessential so that we can make room for what’s most important and significant. You get to decide which clutter is taking up physical and mental space in your world and then release it.

Powerful Clutter Concept Two: Manage

To organize the essentials that remain, we need to create specific “homes” for our stuff to live so that we can manage how it works with us. The homes might be containers, closets, surfaces, or compartments. Yet it’s not just the creating of the homes, it’s also taking the time to return things to their homes.

You've heard this before: Less is more. Less is easier to maintain.

Decide what your less looks and feels like. What is your optimal less? Experiment with reducing the volume of clutter. Experiment with managing what remains. If you’re struggling with decision-making or organizing, enlist the help of a trusted friend, family member, or professional. The right kind of support can make all the difference.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Come join the conversation. What’s been your experience with releasing and managing clutter?

Chronic disorganization and organizing industry innovator, Judith Kolberg, said:

“. . . the most significant things you get from your parents are non-material. Nothing you could throw away would damage your love for your parents, because the love is non-material. It’s in your heart.”

In our conversations this month about clutter, we’ve also dialogued about letting go, making room for what’s important, freeing our minds, space, time and energy by reducing the “stuff” in our lives. Judith's quote focuses our attention on valuing the non-material more than the material. It's interesting to think about it in context of the struggle many of us experience with managing our possessions.

If clutter and letting go challenge you or someone you know, consider these questions:

• Do your things overwhelm you?
• Do you having difficulty letting go?
• Is clutter blocking forward movement and growth?
• Is clutter causing stress or anxiety?
• What becomes possible when you let go?

When we have emotional attachments to our possessions, letting go can be more challenging. Maybe our things represent treasured relationships or conjure up memories from another time. There can be comfort and freedom in knowing that memories remain long after the stuff is gone.

I invite you to join the conversation. What are your thoughts about clutter, attachments, memories, or letting go?