Ahhhh… A New Year. It feels good, doesn’t it? That seems to be the consensus I hear in the entrepreneurial world, at least!
People are feeling energized, excited, renewed, and hopeful about the year ahead.
I also am hearing a lot of people who have the goal or resolution of simplifying this year. If you’ve been around here for any length of time, you know I talk about simplifying a lot. It’s one of my three principles of getting organized:
- Simplify
- Let Go of Perfectionism
- Find Systems that Work for You
A lot of people charge full speed ahead into the New Year with gusto, ready to get organized once and for all but they miss step number one which is… simplify.
Most of the people I’ve helped want to skip straight to step number three and get those systems in place. But we need to begin with simplifying - removing what we no longer need and what no longer serves us PRIOR to setting the right systems in place.
Start with Simplifying First
Simplifying looks different for everyone - as we all have different areas in which our lives are cluttered or over-complicated.
So, where can you begin when you are ready to simplify YOUR life in 2022? In this blog, I share five areas of your life you might want to consider and how to get started in each!
Declutter Your Physical Stuff
The environment you live and work in affects how you feel and how productive you are. An overly cluttered home results in wasted time looking for things you can’t find, overwhelm, and often is a source of financial stress as well.
Conversely, a clean organized space creates lightness, feelings of prosperity, and abundance (less really is MORE!). You will be more productive as you’re able to work faster and more efficiently and get out of the house faster without scrambling to find everything you misplaced.
Fewer items lead to less stress. Here are some of my favorite places to start:
- Declutter your loose papers
- Get rid of what no longer serves you in bedroom drawers and closets
- Purge junk drawers
- Cleanse yourself of unused and excess stuff
You can throw away, donate, or bring excess clutter to the recycling center and work your way through room by room, drawer by drawer.
I all but guarantee that when you’re done you’ll have MORE energy to take care of everything you’ve chosen to keep and you will start to feel better right away!
Declutter Your Mental Stuff
I’m not talking about brainwashing here and we most certainly want the good stuff to stick around. What I am suggesting you might consider decluttering is all of the negative emotions, hurtful self-talk, and resentments that are weighing you down.
Get rid of limiting beliefs that get in your way of believing in yourself and moving forward.
Ask yourself where you experience, ruminate on, and feel:
- Jealousy
- Resentment
- Comparison
- Anger
- Unforgiveness
- Hate
Journal on it, share with a therapist or trusted confidante, and allow yourself to let these things go. The only person these thoughts and emotions are hurting is you.
Declutter Your Relationships
This can be a touchy subject for many but it’s essential to your peace, wellbeing, and happiness. It is hard to thrive when you have others in your life fueling negativity into your daily life.
Recognize if there are any people in your life that are causing you hard and put distance in place between you and them. Sometimes this is a matter of setting internal boundaries and not allowing their cloudy day to intrude on your sunshine, and sometimes it’s a matter of walking away entirely or creating definite and explicit boundaries.
Don’t allow yourself to be pulled in when they try to bring you back into their drama, crisis, or chaos. And the best remedy for avoiding toxicity is to surround yourself with more positive people!!
The more folks you have in your life filling your cup, the less time you will have for those who drain you and zap your joy!
Declutter Your Time
This is where so many of us get tripped up in our quest for productivity and simplified lives. We fill our days from beginning to end with commitments: work, home, kids, and community.
If you get quiet and honest with yourself and take a look at everything you’re committed to, where can you declutter and simplify a bit? What can you release that is not aligned with your values or where you want to be going in your life?
It’s OK to let these things go and it goes hand in hand with giving up the reigns of perfectionism.
What does it look like and feel like to regain control of some of your time? You might find that it also saves you in other areas too such as money and excess stuff!
Declutter Your Finances
Here is another area where I see people find joy from decluttering in so many ways! First, there is getting their finances in order by taking an inventory of what they have, where their money is going, and getting a solid grasp on where all of the many moving parts and pieces are.
Then there is taking an honest look at where spending is frivolous, out of control, or just perhaps ignored. Are there streaming services you’re not using that you’re paying for unnecessarily? Are you a shop-a-holic who uses your credit card a little too flippantly on Amazon? Are you still paying for interest on something you could’ve easily paid off by now?
Where are the leaks and gaps and where can you find areas to live more simply and save money?
One concept I love is simply taking a moment prior to making a purchase to ask yourself whether or not you really need it, or if you can substitute the new purchase with something you already own. Intentional purchasing will always make you more satisfied than spending without rhyme or reason and it will result in less stuff and clutter overall.
Are you ready to find freedom, balance, prosperity, joy, peace, and increased productivity this New Year? Which of these areas will you start simplifying in that will help you live more simply right away?
Looking for more accountability and support? Not sure where to get started? Join me in my Sensibly Organized flexible membership where you can get all your questions about organizing home, business and life answered. You can even opt for the Group-Access or VIP option to get group coaching and accountability where we focus on YOU living more simply through tangible, practical action steps.
Click HERE to learn more: https://joannkrall.com/membership
