Boxes. Boxes. Boxes.

Full of random stuff.

Forgotten stuff.

Stuff we don’t know what to do with.

Boxes in the garage and the shed and the basement.

In the attic and under the beds.

In the wardobe and the closet.

Packed to the rafters in the spare room.

And squeezed under the stairs.

Clogging up the kitchen cupboards.

And inch by inch taking over the bedroom floors.

Until they have invaded every last space in our homes.

Sound familiar?

Boxes of clutter are overwhelming aren’t they?

AND the thought of tackling them.

Of trying to fight back.

Even more so? Huh?

There’s just SO many of them.

It feels like an unwinnable battle.

That we’re defeated before we even start.

BUT … don’t give up! Please!

BECAUSE I have an unbelievably simple trick for you.

That WILL easily banish your boxes.

Just as it has mine.

And … BIG and … it will only take 5 minutes a day.

Hurrah!

So, are you ready for this?

OK. Well first things first.

And the very first thing you need to do is put the kettle on!

 

Put The Kettle On

I’m serious.

You need to put the kettle on.

For a nice cup of tea. Or coffee.

Because our first weapon for fighting our overwhelming boxes, is to relax.

As I’ve shared before, clutter feeds off our anxiety.

So we’re going to stay calm.

If it would help, you could even pour yourself a nice little glass of red

Once you’re armed with your drink.

You need to take up your next weapon.

Which is two empty boxes … and just a little bit of space.

 

Just A Little Bit Of Space

Now I know when we’re overwhelmed with boxes, finding a little bit of space can feel hard.

But you just need somewhere you can store three boxes –

I’ll explain the third in a moment –

AND sit down next to them with your drink.

My little bit of space is tucked under my bed.

It doesn’t look pretty.

BUT this little bit of space gives us phenomenal power in our battle to banish boxes.

Once you’ve found your space, take just one box of stuff.
 

Just One Box Of Stuff

It absolutely doesn’t matter which box of stuff your pick.

Just take whatever is easiest to reach.

Without bringing all the others toppling down!

Now take that box of stuff to your special space.

And fit it in next to the two empty ones.

Now you are already to let stuff go.
 

Let Stuff Go

What you’re going to do, is sit down every day.

With your drink.

For at least 5 minutes BUT no more than 15.

And work your way through the box.

Item by item.

If you’re ready to let something go, brilliant.

Put it in one of the empty boxes.

If you’re not, DO NOT worry.

Just put it in the other empty box.

The important thing is to work steadily through the box.

Whilst you drink your drink.

Putting each item in one box or the other.

But NOT on the floor.

When your five minutes or your fifteen minutes are up.

Just leave the three boxes, neatly.

All ready for you to pick up where you left off tomorrow.

And the next day.

Until you empty the box.
 

When You Empty The Box

Right, you’ve emptied your first box.

With almost no effort at all.

Hurrah! Well done you!

Now get all the stuff you want to let go, out of the house.

In the bin. Or recycling. Or to a charity shop.

As quickly as you can.

So you actually get the pleasure of it being truly gone.

But what about the stuff you couldn’t let go?
 

The Stuff You Couldn’t Let Go

Well, the most important thing is NOT to worry.

As you get into the habit of decluttering a few things daily, it will become easier to let stuff go.

And easier. And easier.

Every little thing you let go, builds your strength to fight those boxes.

And you can boost your strength even more with these lovely simple:

• Declutter questions
• And declutter mantras – (trust me, they do work!)

Just be gentle with yourself. You will win through.

If you’re keeping quite a bit from this first box.

Transfer the things back to the original box.

And tape on it a sheet of paper with a rough list of contents.

Then put your box back where it came from.

If you can keep it to one side, wonderful.

But it’s not a problem, if not possible.

If you’ve only kept a little, you can ditch the original box.

And leave your keeps in your working box, to be joined by anything you keep from your next box.

BECAUSE you are now ready for your next box.

 

Your Next Box

You’re going to follow exactly the same process for your next box.

Bring it to your special space.

And in 5 to 15 minutes every day.

Over a cup of tea …

… or glass of wine,

Work through each item, steadily.

Putting it in the let go or keep box.

Once you’ve emptied the box, get everything you’re letting go out of your home fast.

Be gentle with yourself about stuff you’re keeping.

For the moment.

And mark up your keep box with a quick contents list.

Put it back where it came from.

Take the next box. And repeat.

It IS as simple as that.

But it ALL adds up, and truly will banish your boxes.
 

It All Adds Up

If you sit down for 5 minutes or so every day, with your drink, and calmly work through your box, you will easily process one if not two boxes a week.

If you do one box a week.

And keep half the stuff from each.

You’ll still have over 25 less boxes by the end of the year.

If you do two a week.

And keep half, you’ll be 50 boxes lighter.

AND you will have done it ALL over a nice cup of tea. OR a glass of wine!

With no stress. No running around. Getting exhausted.

Just calmly.

And that IS why this declutter trick works.
 

Why This Trick Works

We all have clutter in the first place, because we are overwhelmed.

In our busy lives we’ve lost the time and space to truly process things, and to move on and let go.

But then the clutter itself becomes overwhelming.

And with all that stuff whirring around our homes AND our minds we can’t let go of anything.

AND if we try yanking loads of stuff out on the floor.

Or purging the garage all in one go.

For hours on end.

We just make it worse.

Our brains literally shut down as they are bombarded with all those boxes of clutter.

By creating a little bit of space.

And a little bit of time.

Every day.

To be calm.

Focus on one box.

And let things go.

Gently.

We can make steady progress.

Until, like Aesop’s litte tortoise – remember him? – we triumph.

And banish our boxes.

For good.

I truly hope this declutter trick helps. It made a massive difference to me.

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Every week I share the practical, honest tips that have helped me let things go.