5 tips to breakthrough the clutter & get focus

Recently I’ve had to come to terms with the fact that I am not the type A personality that I thought I was. I have the skills, and ideas but not the execution. My life just go so busy that I found myself struggling, and letting things slide. Seriously managing an online business, career, home, family, friends, and I admit I need help. So many times I found myself without business cards to hand out. Or my tablet for newsletter sign-ups. Plus that dongle for the credit card swipe payments goes awol all the time. My mind was becoming a reflection of my cluttered my environment. Time cut through the clutter to gain focus! So, when Wundermax reached out and asked to sponsor this post, I jumped at the chance to soothe my organization woes.

5 Tips to Reduce Clutter & Get Focused

We live in a ‘go fast’ culture and I’m over it. My new motto is go slow and do less, live more. Time to be out with the old, in with the new and only have with me what I need. I’d like to say that most of my issue is the physical clutter but I’m also heading down menopause lane. Which seems to often leave me with a mental fog. Combine all that together and I’m overdue an organizational intervention. So let’s begin.

Get the urge to Purge your clutter

I guess the first tip has to be to simply purge your stuff. We tend to hold onto a lot of things “just in case”. The Minimalists have a 20/20 rule. Get rid of anything that cost less than $20 and it would take less than 20 minutes to replace. I’m down with this! Start with non-sentimental items first. I’m fully on the minimalist journey and will be sharing more clutter purging posts soon.

Be visible with things you use often

If you have things you use a lot are they in easy reach? And if you aren’t using it can you purge it, or store it elsewhere? Let’s imagine you gave up coffee in favor of healthy smoothie each morning. Is your coffee maker still on the counter? Or your blender? My vitamix is on the counter. We don’t own a coffee maker. If you use it daily, keep it out. If not, purge and put away.

Abide by the 2 minute rule

“I’m too busy, I’ll put this away later”, probably has to be one of the biggest lies we tell ourselves. This is one I’m guilty of, and probably a lot of you too. We seem to think we’re “too busy” when in reality most of us are busy just being busy. If you haven’t heard the 2 minute rule then here it is. If it takes less than 2 minutes do it NOW. Sounds simple!

Organize like with like

The caveat with organizing is that it’s a step 2. The first rule is to purge, then you organize. Whatever you’re organizing put things into groups. Think about your clothes. You don’t just throw everything in a pile. You organize underwear, socks, pants, t-shirts and so on. This rule applies to everything. Photography gadgets, books, paperwork, candles, whatever it is, group it. This also helps you see that we live by the 80/20 rule. We use 20% of our stuff 80% of the time. The rest is just taking up valuable space physically and mentally. I think this is one of the reasons I kept forgetting things for classes/clients. Nothing was organized together. Now thanks to Wundermax I have a mobile office with their padfolio.

Give everything a home

Clutter happens when things don’t have a home. Since moving around my home office, I’m still feeling out where I want things to live. However without a home things get messy quick. It’s like kids toys. If they don’t have a toy box or bin, then you have a floor full of lego. Remember that America has a huge booming industry in storage. You don’t need more storage, you need less stuff. Throwing things into a storage bin, and stuffing it in the garage is NOT organizing.

Organize a mobile office with Wundermax Padfolio

Teaching yoga requires a lot of stuff if you’re trying to build a presence online and offline. Heading into classes I have my bag, my water, a mat, and another bag full of props. Invariably I forget something. Whether it’s my tablet for newsletter sign ups, business cards, payment dongle, paperwork, etc. Wundermax sent me their beautifully designed black vegan leather padfolio. Perfect for school, office or home this portfolio is perfect for interviews, presentations, or business meetings. Or if you’re like me, storing your home office on the go.

I’ve been trying to get more professional about my online business, and this portfolio case fits the bill. It’s super versatile for both right and left-handed people. Plus you you can keep pens, notebooks, A4/letter papers and tablets all in one zippered portfolio. You can easily get yours on Amazon!

All of my travel office essentials are stored in one place. With pockets galore I even had space to store my credit card dongle! I will never be without business cards again. My newsletter sign ups should be a breeze now as my tablet fits perfectly in the padded compartment. Securely fastened with a velcro strap.

Naturally I had to add a second notebook because I am an avid notetaker. I even have a spare dry erase marker should any at the yoga studio run out! One thing I realized is how perfect this would be for travel! Definitely coming with me on our next trip.

Questions

• Is physical/mental clutter a problem in your life?
• Do you feel mentally stuck when you’re surrounded by clutter?
• What area of your home/life could use the most organizational help?