Now, I'm sure you've been meaning to create order in your home for a while. Maybe it was one of your New Years' Resolutions that you didn't quite keep. Then, you figured, in honor of Spring Cleaning, you'd conquer the piles…but you never quite got it together then either. Don't worry-when it comes to decluttering, everyone procrastinates, and summer is another fresh-start opportunity.
You know what's great about summer? Time. The days are easier, the kids don't have homework, and the sun stays out till 9:00pm. Time slows down. We're more relaxed, have more energy and more time to spare.
This summer think about using the extra time on your hands to finally declutter -- to rid yourself of all the stuff weighing you down, getting in your way, and stealing your energy rather than fueling you when you try to relax at home.
This week-I'm going to lead Yahoo! Shine readers through a 5-day summer decluttering campaign, which I call SHED AND SHARE. What's great about this program is it's designed to help you overcome one the biggest hurdles to decluttering-feeling bad about waste. It's easier to part with things you don't use anymore when they are going to someone or something you care about-rather than ending up in a landfill. So I'm going to provide you with super-practical day by day guidelines to ensure you release what no longer serves you, while making sure it goes to a good and responsible home. Here's the 5-day program in a nutshell:
Day 2-Separate Treasure from Trash
Day 3-Share your goodies with friends, family and neighbors
Day 4-Donate items to a worthwhile charity
Day 5-Recycle the rest to save the earth
And, to provide an extra dose of motivation to overcome your procrastination, I'm giving away some amazing incentives to anyone who joins our program and purchases my book, SHED YOUR STUFF, CHANGE YOUR LIFE by Sunday June 21-the official first day of summer. (click here to view the prizes and learn how to enter)
SHED is a practical process for decluttering your life to make room for change. And, unless you've been living under a rock, you know that we're in the midst of an era of change. The economic crisis is forcing us all to streamline our lives, re-define what's important, tap into our inner resilience, and find a way to adapt.
SHED can help you clear out the old in your life to make room for the new. It is an acronym for the steps to letting things go:
Separate the Treasures,
Heave the Rest,
Embrace Your Identity and
Drive Yourself Forward
SHEDing the clutter will help you to:
- Create a calm, welcoming home environment, where you can recharge and ready yourself for the challenges outside your door.
- Unearth treasures you forgot you had that could save you money now.
- Make room for some of your new lifestyle needs-spending more evenings in than out, getting back to home cooking or carving out a space to work from home.
So come on. Join us! Kick off your summer by clearning some space, and putting your excess back into the world for use. Decluttering is a great, tangible way to make room for the changes you need to make, get re-centered and see your way to a better future.
Join the conversation: How long have you been planning to declutter? What is your motivation for finally getting rid of what you no longer use? What changes in your lifestyle are prompting your need to declutter? How do you imagine your life will be different when the old stuff is cleared out?
CLICK HERE to start with Day #1!
Julie Morgenstern is an organizing and time management expert, corporate trainer and the New York Times bestselling author of five books, including her latest paperback, SHED Your Stuff, Change Your Life. For more information, visitwww.juliemorgenstern.com or follow her on Twitter using the handle @juliemorganizer.
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