The Clutter Fairy Weekly #298
Out of Sight, On Your Mind: Declutter Your Personal Space of Shame
Many of us have a place that serves as a last private refuge for clutter. Junk drawers, inaccessible closets, spare rooms—we use these spaces to conceal stuff from our families, our guests, and even ourselves. In episode #298 of The Clutter Fairy Weekly, Gayle Goddard, professional organizer and owner of The Clutter Fairy in Houston, Texas, explores hiding places for clutter and offers tips for reclaiming your “personal space of shame” as a usable part of your home.
Some content in this episode is based on results of a survey of our audience.
The next selection for The Clutter Fairy Book Club will be New Order: A Decluttering Handbook for Creative Folks (and Everyone Else) by Fay Wolf. Shop for the paperback or ebook at Bookshop.org.
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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.
Shameless Space
This week’s assignment is to chip away at the contents of your personal space of shame.
- Identify a space that meets our definition of a “personal space of shame”—an out-of-sight place where you tend to stash stuff rather than store it or hide things that you don’t feel ready to deal with.
- Schedule an appointment with yourself this week to spend time processing the contents of the space you identified. Anything you do here will be a step forward, so if all you can handle is five minutes, set a timer for five minutes and get to work!
- Start by removing the low-hanging fruit: trash, recyclables, and any items you’re willing to donate. Then take anything that belongs elsewhere in your home to its rightful place.
- Now move on to the stuff that will require tougher decisions. Think about why each item ended up here, why you struggle to decide about it, and whether you might now be ready to let it go.
- When your alarm goes off, take a few minutes to clean up the space and transport anything you’ve removed to its ultimate destination.
For the full discussion of this week’s tittle, watch the Weekly Tittle segment on YouTube.
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