Cultivate a slow & steady mindset

As in the fable, The Hare and the Tortoise, ‘slow and steady wins the race’, when it comes to clearing clutter. People tend to approach decluttering with a mindset that if they don’t have x amount of hours available well then forget it. They self sabotage by thinking that 30 minutes here and there won’t add up to make a difference so why bother. They may spend one weekend decluttering intensively, which burns them out and as a result they ignore it again for another 6 months. This is not sustainable.

The way to a clearer home is to cultivate a 'slow and steady' mindset. Take small and steady steps and make decluttering part of your routine, your lifestyle. 

The tortoise won because of her steadfastness, she persevered despite what seemed like attempting the impossible. Her slow but steady steps and her perseverance got her to the finish line and she won. The tortoise also ignored the mocking laughter and judgement of the hare who insisted it couldn’t be done. I’m sure you're familiar with that mean and nasty voice in your head that tells you it’s impossible. Ignore it. You don’t have to believe everything your mind tells you. Instead, listen to your heart and keep going.

Slow and steady might look like

• 30 minutes a day

• 60 minutes every other week.

• 3 hours on Sundays.

For example, I’ve been meeting with one of my decluttering clients every other week for a year, with breaks for travels and such. She has a very hard time doing any decluttering in between our sessions so most of her sorting through her things to decide what to keep and what to let go of is happening in our one hour coaching sessions on Zoom. One hour every other week might seem very slow. Yes, it means it will take longer especially because she has a lot of things to go through. But even at that pace, because it is steady, she has made amazing progress and has cleared out a lot of things she no longer wants or needs and has found all kinds of buried treasures that she didn’t know she had. Awesome!

Steps to take to engage a slow & steady mindset

1. Read the Aesop’s fable The Hare & the Tortoise: https://read.gov/aesop/025.html

2. Use the following questions as prompts for automatic writing about the approach you’ve taken so far:

1. Has your decluttering process been in fits and starts? 

2. Do you do decluttering intensives that burn you out? 

3. Do you get some help, make progress and then it falls to the wayside and the clutter comes back? 

3. Contemplate and explore through writing or drawing, what pace feels doable, gentle and sustainable? How might you weave clearing your clutter into your lifestyle?