By Dionetta Hudzinski & Teresa Shaffer
Use a post-it note and write 4 things that you will do today. This will help keep your daily to-do list manageable without over-doing.
- Post it on your refrigerator as an easy reminder
- Cross off each item after it is completed
- Throw things out or donate items before you start trying to do a deep clean or organize. It is so much easier to clean, put away and organize with less things hanging around and in your way.
- Hint: If you have not worn something in the past 2 years, it’s time to let someone else enjoy it.
- Make quick decisions to minimize the pain of parting. The longer you agonize over de-clutter decisions, the more likely you are to keep the item in question.
- Have a donate box ready at all times.
- Pick one room – then spend 15 minutes a day working on that room. Before you know it that room will be clean.
- Break down your rooms into small sections. Work on one section at a time.
- While sitting and watching television you can sort through old newspapers, bills, flyers.
- Open mail over the recycling bin or garbage can and toss all unnecessary mail and inserts immediately.
- When cleaning around the house set a timer for 15 minutes. Once the timer goes off, take a 15 minute break and then began again.
- You will find that you are able to accomplish so much more because you are being kind to your body.
- Listen to music or an audio book. The time will pass a lot more quickly if you have an enjoyable atmosphere.
- Celebrate and reward yourself when you accomplish your goal.
Have a cleaning kit;
- Dust rags
- Garbage bags
- Window cleaner
- Spray cleaner
De-clutter Kit;
- Donation box
- Trash can with Plastic bag liner
- Keep box/bin
- Recycle box for recyclable non confidential paper
- Paper Shredder for confidential papers or box to take to community shredder
- Sharpie pen and post it notes
If you clean or de-clutter for 15 minutes a day, every day, you can avoid elevating your pain levels:
- You may not notice much difference at first– in either time spent or results
- In one week, with just 15 minutes of de-cluttering or cleaning daily, you would have spent one hour and 45 minutes
- In 30 days, you will have spent seven and a half hours =one full day of de-cluttering or cleaning without causing more pain!