The Clutter Fairy Weekly #121
Head Over Heart 3: Algorithms to Filter Our Stuff to Fit Our Space
Sometimes we recognize the negative impacts of clutter on our lives, but still feel powerless to manage the conflicting feelings that keep us stuck. So we give in to the panicked impulse to defer decisions for another day. In episode #121 of The Clutter Fairy Weekly, Gayle Goddard, professional organizer and owner of The Clutter Fairy in Houston, Texas, returns to the topic of decluttering algorithms—simple, practical rules that can help us set aside some of the emotions and gain more clarity in our decision-making.
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The Weekly Tittle is an exercise designed to focus your attention on a specific space, aspect, or challenge of decluttering and organizing your home. We assign a new tittle in each webcast/podcast, then check on your progress the following week.
You Make the Rules
This week’s assignment is to design an algorithm for evaluating a category of clutter that gets you stuck:
- Select a category or set of items that frequently gets you stuck as you’re trying to declutter your home.
- Design an algorithm to guide your keep–toss decisions. This may be one simple rule, such as “I’ll only keep T-shirts that I’ve worn in the last year,” or several rules. For example, “I’ll keep cookware that I’ve used in the last two years, but I’ll only keep pans that can go through the dishwasher.”
- You get to decide whether an item has to satisfy any condition or all of them to go in the “keep” pile.
- Write your rules in big print and post them where you’ll be able to refer to them as you process items that need thinning.
- Use your rules for a session or two of decluttering. If you find that you’re still keeping too many items from the category in question, adjust your algorithm to make it a little tougher.
For the full discussion of this week’s tittle, watch the Weekly Tittle segment on YouTube.
Chat Transcript
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I had a self-help nightmare. I had decluttered with feng shui.
Marie Kondo helped me understand the subliminal concept of surrounding yourself with things that uplift you. Things your subconscious mind sees. Thus surrounding your self with things, you enjoy, use, in good working order, etc.
But Clutter Fairy helped me understand decluttering and organising. Most decluttering books dumb down the subject or simplify it. One thing that Gayle had said one podcast—‘exercise equipment you’re too injured to use’. This helped me shift so many items. After this week’s podcast, all the projects I am too injured to do are going, too. I keep honestly kidding myself, I will do or use things. And if I do use it, it’s not for long.
Gayle also helped me understand organisation for lifestyle choices. This has made decluttering much easier. I am undertaking another delightful decluttering right now. It’s jubilee weekend here in the UK. Keep up the good work, Ed and Gayle.
Thanks
Angela