Next Tuesday is the start of my month-long Spring cleaning party on steroids, the Great ClutterBust. (Want a little taste? Join me on Thursday or next Monday for a LIVE Mini ClutterBust webinar!)
To mentally prepare for the Great ClutterBust, last week, in Part 1 of this two-part series, I shared four excuses that get in the way of releasing clutter.
As I said:
There are deep-rooted emotions tied to our stuff, and unless and until we deal with the emotions, there’s no way we can get rid of the stuff!
So today I share Part 2 — four more reasons we hold onto clutter.
Why We Hold Onto Clutter (Part 2)
Read/listen to Part 1 here.
5. “I spent a lot of money on it!”
Last week, I mentioned in Part 1 how hard it was for me to let go of the ketubah print samples I’d made up to exhibit at my booth at wedding fairs.
The main reason letting these go was because to do so meant burning a bridge — it meant cutting all ties to that particular career direction.
But even after I knew I never wanted to do another wedding fair as long as I live, it still felt hard to let go.
Why?
Well, partly because geez, I’d spent a lot of money on the darn things!
Eventually, the prospect of freed-up space (along with not being reminded on a daily basis of my failure at turning wedding fairs into the magic bullet that would 10x my business), overcame my resistance to let go. But I will not lie to you — it was hard!
Imagine, then, how much harder it’s been to even consider letting go of the hundreds of ketubah lithographs stacked in boxes under my bed.
A little background: Most of my ketubah designs are digital “giclée” prints, which are printed to order, one at a time. But two of my early designs were printed the old-fashioned way, using offset lithography. Which means the entire edition was printed at once, and now I’m stuck with having to store all those prints.
All 2,000 of them… (And let me tell you, 2,000 19″ x 25″ prints take up a lot of space!)
Each of the two lithograph designs has a variety of pre-printed texts (so couples can pick the text that works for their needs), all with blank spaces that are intended to be filled in by hand, with the couple’s names, wedding date, and wedding location. And for several years that was a big part of my job as a ketubah artist: filling in prints with special calligraphy pens, to match the pre-printed text.
But I stopped doing that back in 2005, when I had fonts digitized from my calligraphy.
(Can I hear a “hallelujah!”?)
And now almost nobody fills in prints by hand anymore, so I’ve got thousands of units of stock that rarely sell.
My Arts & Crafts Roses design has always been a good seller, but I have a version of that design without any pre-printed text, and a stack of those “border-only” ketubot live at my printer’s warehouse. So when someone orders that ketubah, I create a file of the text, which my printer prints onto the blank ketubah.
The rest, though, are taking up space, weighing me down. And oh, how I’d love to liberate that space!
But these are assets! I still have my ketubah business, and how could I possibly dump assets that could bring in revenue?
But are they really assets?
I’ve sold a lot of these prints since they were created back in 2002. Many tens of thousands of dollars worth, in fact. But sales have slowed down, and honestly, I’m just not interested in investing more time and energy into selling them, because my passions lie elsewhere (in building up my business as a Speaker and Creativity Instigator!)
So these “assets” are, in fact, just taking up space.
It finally occurred to me to add up how much I am actually earning each year from selling these particular prints. The truth is, at the rate they’re currently selling, it could take several lifetimes to sell out the editions!
So then I asked myself, if I had to rent even the smallest storage locker to store these puppies, would it make financial sense?
That sure put things into perspective!
All of a sudden, instead of seeing the prints as assets, I saw them as liabilities that I am essentially paying (in space and irritation) to store (and do you know what space costs in Silicon Valley?)
Suddenly my willingness to let them go rose dramatically.
But there was still another hurdle to leap over…
6. “If I can’t do it right, I won’t do it at all.”
Once you’ve earmarked stuff for releasing, the next question is: what the heck do I do with it?
This is where perfectionist gremlins love to creep in!
To continue with the example of my ketubah prints, for a few years the only viable solution to clearing those boxes out from under my bed seemed to be to try to sell them.
But guess what: nobody else wanted to take on this particular storage problem, either!
So they sat there, gathering dust (no doubt contributing to our stuffy noses in the morning).
And when I finally dealt with #5 above, and felt ready to let them go without trying to recoup (more) revenue out of them, I found myself stuck with what to do next.
There are pounds and pounds of really good quality paper in those boxes! The prospect of shredding the prints or hiring a hauling company to cart them to landfill felt like a horrible waste…
And while I could donate them to a local school or the local Resource Area For Teachers (or RAFT, a warehouse that accepts material donations and sells them for pennies to teachers to use in their classrooms), I didn’t feel comfortable doing so without first rendering them unusable as ketubot, because I don’t like the idea of my art being used or re-sold without my permission.
Of course, it would be easy enough render them unusable by making a big X across the front with a permanent marker, but the thought of having to do this to hundreds of prints, one at a time, just made me want to gag.
(My solution, by the way, was a brilliant idea from my husband: drill holes through a stack at a time. Which is precisely what I plan to do, before carting them to RAFT.)
This is a particularly dramatic example, but I could give you dozens more.
I don’t want to just dump my clutter. I want to dispose of it in the most earth-friendly and useful way possible!
And too often there’s not an easy way to do this… so the stuff just stays.
What’s the solution?
Well, often other people have great ideas. In last year’s Great ClutterBust, members shared all kinds of resources and suggestions for how and where to get rid of clutter.
But I also submit that a healthy dose of imperfectionism is super helpful.
At a certain point, you just have to accept that done is better than perfect. (Click to tweet.)
7. “I’ll have no more excuse to keep my space off-limits to guests.”
This particular reason is not really an issue for me, personally. In fact, turn this one on its head and you have one of my most effective motivations for clutterbusting!
Nothing gets me clearing stuff out of my space (not to mention cleaning!) like knowing I have guests coming over on a certain date.
It’s a built-in deadline.
If, however, you find yourself resistant to clearing your clutter because you don’t want people in your space, this is a wonderful opportunity to use my Golden Formula (self-awareness + self-compassion = the key to everything good).
Is it hard for you to set limits without the excuse of your clutter? (That’s the self-awareness piece.)
First, acknowledge that you’re human, that you’re not the only person on the planet with this issue. Then perhaps it’s time to practice setting limits as a form of loving self-care. (That’s the self-compassion piece.)
Perhaps it’s time to build up your sense of self-worth, so that you feel you are entitled to set limits!
If you’re keeping your environment cluttered as a way to avoid setting boundaries, you’re not treating yourself with love and kindness.
This is not an excuse to beat yourself up! It’s an opportunity to love yourself up, and to figure out how to love yourself better.
Imagine how wonderful it will feel to be surrounded by beauty and order instead of clutter.
You deserve that wonderful feeling. Whether or not you want to keep your space for yourself.
8. “I don’t know where to start!”
Oh. My. God. This is exactly how I felt for years whenever I walked into my Studio of Doom.
But of course using this as an excuse meant I never started at all!
For me, what worked best to get past this hump was to:
- Dedicate a month to really make time to declutter, with the Great ClutterBust.
- Surround myself with a supportive community — other clutterbugs with a deep desire to change, who could inspire each other with “before” and “after” pictures and cheer each other on.
- Create external accountability and deadlines, via the Great ClutterBust community Facebook group, and our regular live calls.
The group, and especially the regular calls, made all the difference. Throughout the month of the Great ClutterBust, members have literally dozens of opportunities to dial or log into a video conference platform, share what we’re going to work on for the next X hours, and then get to work, knowing that others are working right alongside them… from sometimes thousands of miles away!
Once you’ve made the commitment and set up the right structures to help keep you on track, I always find it motivating to start with low-hanging fruit. Clearing the clutter that is the most irritating to your eyes will make you feel successful, and give you a big hit of motivation right off the bat.
And, just as it says in my Creative Sandbox Manifesto (guidepost #5): If you are stuck, just start. Anywhere!
If you can start, and get the support you need to keep going, it is amazing the space and energy you can liberate, and the magic you can create.
Said Lucy, one of last year’s Great ClutterBust members:
I can move in our garage! Things are in order… paper piles are diminishing… we have a new look and feel in our livingroom. Dramatically changed the Feng Shui. Now I truly enjoy the next experience of being in this room.
Denice wrote:
Is it possible to over-rate calm and serenity? I’m beginning to think not! <smile>
Being in this group has been an incredible motivator for me–it’s the only reason so much has been done these past weeks. It’s not like I didn’t KNOW what I needed to do. I just couldn’t/wouldn’t get started… or would get started and couldn’t/wouldn’t sustain the effort for as long as it would take to FINISH.
Stephanie said:
Every time I throw something out, I feel like a pound of weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I feel connected and supported as I declutter, which has turned out to be much harder and more emotional than I realized. Knowing I’m not alone in this had been gold. The activity in the group is also a gentle reminder to keep decluttering a priority, so I don’t give up or put it off YET AGAIN. I’m getting clarity on how I want to transform my space to better support me, both in how I want to live and what I want to accomplish. I am literally clearing out the space to live my dreams.
That’s the magic of clutterbusting. I hope you’ll join me for one of my upcoming live Mini ClutterBust webinars, and jump on in the Great ClutterBust, which starts on Tuesday.
Read more and sign up at http://greatclutterbust.com.
Quotes In this Episode
There are deep-rooted emotions tied to our stuff, and unless and until we deal with the emotions, there’s no way we can get rid of the stuff!
At a certain point, you just have to accept that done is better than perfect. (Click to tweet.)
Creative Sandbox Manifesto rule #5: Just start. Anywhere!
Don’t beat yourself up – LOVE yourself up! (Click to tweet.)
Resources In this Episode
FREE LIVE Mini ClutterBust webinar – choose from two times: Thursday, April 7 or Monday, April 11.
My ketubah website, Ketubahworks.com
The two ketubah lithographs I mentioned: Arts & Crafts Roses Ketubah and Illuminated Letters Ketubah.
It’s a month-long clutter-clearing party! Join me and create the calm, serenity, and space you’ve been longing for. Walk into your dream space before summer rolls around!
Thanks for Listening!
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Now go get creating!
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