It happens all the time, doesn’t it? Well it seems to for me: you’re walking down the street and you see it sitting there. It piques your interest. You look closer. What is it? A bag of clothes. Some dusty crockery. A saucepan, a box of glass jars, a pile of CDs. A chest of drawers. A wardrobe. A bed base.

I love finding and using things from the street. I love recycling and upcycling and sharing, a love I inherited from my mother, who was always picking furniture up off the side of the road. As a teen I was vaguely embarrassed by the fact that she’d pull over while driving and make me help her load whatever item she’d spotted into the back of the car. As an adult I’ve gotten over that, and these days I have to stop myself collecting everything I see, “just in case” I need it.

I’m naturally a bit of a hoarder, so it’s a struggle to reconcile my magpie-like instincts with the fact that I only have a limited amount of space and not all that much need for many of the items I find on the road. So, to fend off my inner hoarder, I go through a mental checklist before making off with my latest treasure:

• Is the timing right?

By this I mean that, quite often you’ll be heading to work, or walking home with the shopping, or on your way to an event when you come across an item. If it’s good enough to come back for, or to call someone to come with a car, that’s great. If not, you’ve saved yourself a lot of trouble.

• Is it in good condition?

It’s easy to overlook defects when things are offered to you free. But if it’s not in good repair, unless you are a skilled restorer, leave it.

• Do you have a use for it?

A hard one to answer honestly, if you’re a hoarder. It’s easy to persuade yourself that you “need” a seatless chair because you’re definitely going to restore it and sell it on Etsy. But the fact is – for most of us – you probably won’t, and you’ll just have a seatless chair kicking around. Be honest with yourself. Do you need it? Is it worth your time?

• Do you have a space for it?

The old adage “a place for everything, and everything in its place” is a useful rule of thumb here. Think about your home, your wardrobe, your cupboards, your outdoor spaces. Will that space be enhanced by this item? Is there room for it?

If you can [honestly!] answer yes to all four of these criteria, then congratulations, you have found treasure worth taking home with you. And I have found some fabulous items – from clothing to furniture to kitchenware – that have been really handy.

But if it fails on any of those counts, keeping walking – it’s no good to you. Trust me!

True story.

Dave and his wife Sue decided to go travelling. Their children were adults with homes of their own, and they were each ready for a break from their jobs. They rented out their four-bedroom house, fully-furnished, to Jane and Simon, a young couple with a baby and a toddler, and went away, asking a friend who lived over the road to keep an informal eye on the property.

After a wonderful year of adventures and relaxation, they began preparations for coming home, including giving notice to their tenants.

They were back in the UK a week or so before their home would be free, staying with friends, when Dave got a call from their friend and neighbour…

“I think you should come and have a look at your house. I’ve got a feeling there’s something wrong”.

So they called round.

As soon as they saw the house, they knew something was up. And when they knocked on the front door and looked through the front windows, they saw they were right.

The house was empty!

Everything was gone.

I mean everything.

Their furniture…

Their crockery, cutlery, kitchen equipment, teatowels…

Their light fittings…

Their curtains…

Their CARPETS!

Everything.

They let themselves in and walked around in stunned silence. Simon and Jane had gone, taking with them everything that wasn’t nailed down – and some things that were!

The comfortable home they had been ready to move back into was nothing but a shell.

Can you imagine their shock, upset, anger? It must have been awful.

Naturally, they reported the theft but the police said that they didn’t have any records against the names their tenants had given and, as the only address they had for Simon and Jane was their own (now empty) house, it was unlikely they would find them.

But the story doesn’t end there…

A week or so later, to their amazement, they saw Jane letting herself into a house on a street just round the corner from their home! They couldn’t believe their eyes! They’d assumed the family was long gone: not even in the same area anymore, let alone living just a few streets away.

So they followed her up the path and knocked on the door.

And this is where the story gets surreal.

Jane opened the door and looked surprised to see Dave and Sue. Not horrified, just surprised. And she calmly (perhaps a better word would be resignedly) invited them in.

In a state of shock, Sue and Dave stepped over the threshold into a house entirely furnished with their stuff. Simon offered them a cup of tea and they sat on their own three piece suite, drinking tea out of their own mugs, looking at their own carpet (which, by the way, had been cut to fit a different room).

Naturally, they asked Jane and Simon why they’d done it. What did they think they were playing at by taking all this stuff that didn’t belong to them?

“We needed it”.

“But that’s not the point! It’s ours, not yours!”

“You can buy new stuff. You’ve got loads of money. You’ve got that massive house, and you can afford to leave your jobs and go travelling. We’ve got nothing. I’ve just lost my job and we had to move out of your house into this place without any furniture and we didn’t have the money to buy any”.

!

The argument wasn’t going anywhere so Sue and Dave left and phoned the police to tell them they’d found the culprits.

Simon and Jane were arrested and charged. A date was set for a court appearance. But Dave and Sue didn’t get their stuff back. Possession is nine tenths of the law and they would have to wait for the legal wheels to finish turning before that happened.

Meanwhile, Sue and Dave were living with the inconvenience of not having their stuff, the grief at losing it, and the hurt, frustration and anger of knowing that Simon and Jane were using it all just a few streets away.

What would you have done in this situation?

I’m not sure what I would have done. But I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have had the strength of character to do what Dave and Sue did.

They thought and talked about what they’d noticed when they’d met with Simon and Jane. How miserable they both looked. How worn down and desperate. How poorly dressed they and their children had been. How chilly it had been in the unheated house.

Sue and Dave called round to see Simon and Jane again and said this:

“We’ve decided to give you all this stuff. It’s yours. You can have it”.

Then they phoned the police and withdrew the charges.

The police told them they couldn’t do that but Dave and Sue explained that no crime had been committed as they’d given their stuff to Simon and Jane as a gift.

Dave told me that, as soon as he and Sue had done this, a weight was lifted off their shoulders. Instead of carrying around the burden of anger and blame towards Simon and Jane, and being encumbered by all that stuff, they went back to living with just what they needed day by day, as they had while travelling. They felt freer than they had in years.

This is a true story. I’ve changed the names but ‘Dave’ told me it himself.

What would you have done if this had happened to you? Can you imagine doing what Dave and Sue did? Can you understand why they did it? I’d love to hear your thoughts about it. Please comment below.

When my brother was studying Environmental Science in the 1980s, most people hadn’t heard of the subject. So, when asked at parties what he was studying, he used to say it was a branch of geography. The result was, that instead of being asked “What’s that?!”, he got asked “What’s the capital of…?”

So he made a point of learning the capitals of all the countries of the world.

When I tell people I’ve got a Psychology degree, they say “Ooh, better watch what I say around you! Bet you’ve psychoanalysed me already. I’m mad, I am!”

When my Mum tells people she used to teach Maths, they say “Wow, you must be really clever!” (She is, of course. Hello Mum!)

Most people have never met a Decluttering Coach. So when I tell people what I do, their responses reveal a number of misconceptions.

Let me dispel them for you now…

So is your home really minimalist then?

No. My home’s tidy. But I like what I use regularly to be easily accessible on worksurfaces.

It’s about what works for you. If you like minimalist, go for it. I don’t.

You’re not coming in my house! You’d make me throw all my stuff away.

I would never tell you what you ‘should’ get rid of. I can’t know what items are important to you. Only you know that. What I can do is train and support you to work out what you truly love and need, find the most eco-friendly ways to move on what you can live without, and organise your home or office so that it supports you to live the life you want to live.

So you go into people’s homes, do you?

Well yes, I do. But I also support people remotely. As well as providing on-site decluttering and organising support, I run a ten-module programme that takes you through exercises to help you work out why you personally have clutter, helps you define your goals for when you’re clutter-free, trains you in my quick and easy decluttering process, helps you declutter challenging types of clutter (sentimental items, clothes, books, paperwork, the clutter of people you live with…), and shows you how to stop clutter creeping back.

Are you wondering if it’s possible to help someone declutter without going to their home or office? You get telephone coaching, both one-on-one during your clutter-clearing sessions, and in groups. You get video coaching, audio coaching and real-life stories to inspire you. And it works.

This week, after chipping away at it week by week, the decluttering just seems to be taking off by itself and I’m feeling genuinely motivated. (Ms B in week 7)

Since undertaking Rachel’s Green and Tidy declutter programme [Clear Your Clutter, Stay Clutter-Free and Live the Life You Want], I have been engergised about the thorough way I have approached my nearest and dearest possessions. My wonderful life’s gatherings.

 How much better do I feel? I am enthused again, making schedules, doing my actions, getting fantastic & nurturing support, reducing my clutter and organising my lovely new home.

It means I can help you wherever you are in the world. And, if you’re feeling self-conscious about even letting a Professional Organiser see your home, you don’t have to!

My friend/Mum/Dad/etc really needs you

I bet you know at least one person who struggles to manage their stuff. Even if that person’s you, I bet you know at least one other. We all do.

Up to one in 20 of the population suffers from Hoarding Disorder and, according to the National Declutter Week survey I helped run recently, four out of five people think they have too much stuff.

When someone tells me they know someone who ‘needs’ me, I ask “Are they unhappy about their home?”  Often the person I’m speaking with says “No, I don’t think they’re bothered”.

In which case, I say “So long as they’re happy with it, that’s OK, isn’t it?”

I don’t ask “What do you get out of judging them?” though I do wonder!

Of course, if they say that their friend or relative is unhappy with their stuff, I ask them to pass on my details. So long as the person seeks my help themselves, I’m delighted to work with them.

Do you work with people like the ones on the telly?

Sometimes. And sometimes I work with people who’ve just got temporarily into a mess. Or they’re moving house and want to get rid of stuff before they move. Or they want to declutter their loft so they can insulate it.

We’re all somewhere on the spectrum of clutter and you don’t have to be a hoarder to benefit from the support of a Professional Organiser and Decluttering Coach.

That’d never work for me. I’m creative/artistic and I need my stuff about.

See minimalism. Look, it’s about what works for you. If it helps your creative process to have some part-finished projects in sight and the materials you might use readily to hand, set your workspace up that way. But, if you’re so overwhelmed by the clutter in your studio that you haven’t got either the mental or the physical space to create, I can help.

I’d be embarassed to let you see my home

There’s no need to be. I’m not judgemental about other people’s homes. What’s important is that your home works for you (which includes it working for the people you care about), not that it conforms to anyone else’s idea of an ideal home. I work with people at a variety of places on the spectrum of clutter so the chances are that, even if your stuff’s got severely out of control, I’ve seen it all before.

And, if you can’t bear even to let a Decluttering Coach/Professional Organiser see the state of your home, check out my distance learning programme.

What’s the capital of Djibouti?

Oh, OK, I don’t get asked this. But, in case you do…it’s Djibouti City. Now lie back on that couch and tell me about your childhood.

If you’re not yet part of the Green and Tidy community, sign up here (and get a free decluttering masterclass as a bonus).

If you’re not yet part of the Green and Tidy community, sign up here (and get a free decluttering masterclass as a bonus).

Are you old enough to remember when the Internet was new? When we were just starting to use dial-up connections?

The last place I was employed before I set up my business 15 years ago had just one computer with an internet connection. This was in an office of about 15 people. I used to sneak onto it to email a friend in Australia, hoping that no-one would look over my shoulder and see I wasn’t using it for business.

How times have changed. I can’t imagine running my business without not just a broadband connection to my office, but wi-fi through my house and a smartphone in my pocket whenever I’m away from my desk.

This was brought back to me forcefully a couple of months ago when my smartphone had to be sent in for a repair, leaving me with a basic phone lent to me by my provider. No email on the move.

I’d like to tell you that I had a blissful, chilled-out time, free from the pressure constantly to be checking-checking-checking email, Facebook Twitter…

Each time I returned to my desk after an absence of several hours though, I was reminded why I find a smartphone so essential.

Dozens of combined business and personal emails to process. Shudder. But…

…it could have been so much worse….

…if I wasn’t so meticulous about setting up my email client to minimise the amount I have to do.

Here are my tips for decluttering your inbox to save time and stress

1.   Don’t just delete, unsubscribe

Faced with an inbox of hundreds of unread mails, it’s tempting to ‘Delete. Delete. Delete’ but…

…are you tackling the symptom rather than the cause?

Each time you go to delete an email without even reading it, consider…could you have prevented this email arriving in the first place?

Unsubscribe from mailing lists you’re not interested in. It takes micro-seconds and you’ll never have to deal with mails from them again.

Leave LinkedIn Groups you no longer find useful. Consider resetting your preferences for LinkedIn Groups and other online discussion groups to weekly rather than daily updates (or just check them occasionally on the website).

Turn off notifications that you don’t need to receive. I’ve turned Twitter notifications off relying instead on regularly checking Twitter itself. I find Twitter’s notifications unreliable anyway: sometimes it tells me someone’s mentioned me, sometimes it doesn’t.

The amount of time it takes to delete an unwanted, unread email is small yet the stress induced by confronting a bulging inbox is disproportionately large. So take the time to unsubscribe and you’ll save more than the time required to delete.

2.   Filter

Set up mail filters to sort your emails before you even look at them.

I filter Offer messages from Freegle and Freecycle into one folder and Wanted messages into another. (And I filter Received and Taken messages from Freegle/Freecycle straight into my Trash folder).

I have sub-folders for LinkedIn messages, Google Alerts, the automatic backup of my blog that I receive once a week…

Filtering these messages into sub-folders automatically sorts them so that I can go through all messages relating to a specific thing at the same time. It doesn’t take long to scan my Freecycle messages and then delete them when they’re all in one folder. Some, such as my backup emails, I don’t even need to read (so my mail rule also marks them as read as soon as they arrive).

3.   Archive

Now opinions differ about this. Some people say that, since you can easily search your inbox for any email, it’s not worth your time filing messages once you’ve dealt with them.

Personally, I find it stressful to see unread emails piling on top of read mails. And I find it quicker and easier to locate archived mails in folders than by searching.

So, whenever I check email, I file every message, leaving me with an empty inbox.

Don’t use your inbox as a ‘to do’ list. Don’t leave a read mail in your inbox to remind you to take action. Schedule the action and file the email. That way you won’t get a heart-sinking reminder that there’s something you’re procrastinating about every time you check your inbox. You won’t get overwhelmed by a sense that there’s loads you ‘should’ be doing that you’re not getting round to.

Plus you won’t ‘lose’ emails that slip off your radar as more arrive on top of them.

I’ve created a directory structure that divides personal and business mail, groups personal emails by who they’re from, and groups business mails according to the client or activity to which they relate. (Plus I’ve got a bucket folder for business emails I want to keep that don’t fit into any of my file categories).

I’ve also got a folder for mails I need to keep temporarily, such as confirmation that I’ve got a place at an event. Every now and then, I go through this folder and delete the mails that I no longer need. I don’t worry too much about it though. It doesn’t matter what old, redundant emails are in it because they’re not cluttering up my workspace, i.e. my inbox. I don’t see them most of the time and, when I do, it’s usually a recent mail I’m searching for.

4.   Don’t be part of the problem

Before sending an email, consider whether it would be better to pick up the phone. It’s often quicker and easier to resolve something by phone or face-to-face than through an email exchange. Just because someone’s emailed you doesn’t mean you have to respond the same way.

Don’t use email to avoid a difficult conversation. It’ll probably make things worse anyway since email lacks the nuances of vocal communication.

One of the causes of the deluge of emails we each receive is the ease of copying in and replying to all. There’s a temptation to copy in anyone and everyone to cover your back. Chances are most of your recipients aren’t reading your mail anyway though. Consider who really needs to receive the information.

Summarise long discussions, especially if you’re copying in someone new. Instead of forwarding a message string, forcing your recipients to scroll through multiple messages to understand what’s under discussion, could you summarise the key points?

The result of being conscientious about applying these simple approaches is that I have fewer mails to process, I can easily find any mail I need to access and, most importantly, my stress levels are lower!

I invite you to apply my recommendations and post below about the results you notice.

If you’re not yet part of the Green and Tidy community, sign up here (and get a free decluttering masterclass as a bonus).

In February, I shared five little secrets about being organised, one of which was that the more you do it, the more you’ll do it. When you clear a clutter mountain and completely sort out your space, you feel so energised and positive, your productivity levels go through the roof.

Next thing you know you’re powering through that to-do list, ticking stuff off faster than you dreamed possible. You can lay your hand on anything you need. You’ve got plenty of clear space to spread out the project you’re working on that moment. You’re not distracted by things lying around demanding your attention.

You’re getting stuff done: not just the stuff you need to do but the stuff you want to do too

And it’s automatic to put things away when you’re done with them.

You’re in a virtuous circle of decluttering and organising.

Unfortunately, it can go the other way too.

I recently worked with a female entrepreneur whose business isn’t making as much money as it once did. Times are tough. We’re in the deepest recession since the second world war and, despite the undoubted quality of her products, she’s struggling.

When you run your own business, it’s easy to take such setbacks personally: to feel that a downturn in your bottom line is a reflection of your worth as a human being.

I could see how low she felt about her business (and her life) in her posture and hear it in the tone of her voice. She felt like a failure and pessimistic about her chances of reviving her business.

Her home-office was a mess. We could hardly find her desk under the overlapping piles of paperwork (some of which related to her business, some to her personal life). In fact, we could hardly get to the desk through the piles of paperwork on the floor. Bulging files were spilling their contents. Boxes of index cards stood open, with cards turned upright and lying beside them. There was no room to cram any more papers in her stackable trays. She couldn’t shut her desk drawers. Dirty plates and cups lay under some of the papers and everything was covered in dust.

The environment she worked in was an external expression of her internal mental and emotional state.

We spent five hours decluttering and organising the space. We cleared the floor and desk, shredded and recycled bags of paper, filed what she needed to keep, creating new files as necessary, and re-homed various objects from her office to elsewhere in her house. Whenever we found something that needed action, we added the action to her to-do list and put the object away.

Then we vacuumed the floor, dusted the surfaces and had a well-deserved cuppa.

By the end of the day, though we were both tired, her posture was more upright, her face was brighter and I could hear in her voice that she felt ready to tackle her work again.

Rather than piles of clutter competing for her attention, she had a simple to-do list, which she could prioritise by urgency and importance. She’d moved from feeling overwhelmed to knowing exactly what actions she needed to take and when she would take them.

She felt positive and inspired and had come up with new ideas for ways to promote her products and win new business.

By working on her external space, we’d transformed her internal space.

Which came first, the disempowerment or the clutter?

Had her home-office become cluttered because she felt disempowered about her work, or did she feel disempowered about her work because she’d got cluttered? Did she get her power back by decluttering or did she feel able to declutter because she’d already begun the process of empowering herself?

Sometimes, the trigger that shifts you from a virtuous circle of decluttering, organising and empowerment to a vicious circle of clutter, disorganisation and disempowerment, or back the other way, can be external.

Something goes wrong at work or you feel upset by something that a friend or your partner says or does, you can’t be bothered to put stuff away at the end of the day and the clutter starts to build up. You get recognition for something at work, or simply have a positive conversation with someone, you’re motivated to put away some stuff that’s been glaring at you for weeks and your home looks great.

You’re not the kind of person who lets their circumstances dictate their mood, much less their productivity though, are you?

Wouldn’t you rather take charge of your own destiny and choose for yourself how your life is going to go?

Treat any room getting messy as a wake-up call. Notice how you’re feeling about the area of your life that rooms relates to. Consider why you don’t feel motivated to keep it clear. And look for actions you could take to tackle any disempowerment you’re experiencing.

If you can’t immediately put your finger on what’s going on psychologically, just start decluttering and organising. As you do, watch out for items that make your heart sink. Which are the ones you’re least motivated to tidy away? What action do they require? Are you nervous about taking this action? Why? What are you telling yourself about it?

What can you do to shift the way you feel about that action? Could you get help with it? Could you break it down into smaller steps? Is there something you could do right away to make progress around it?

Pushing yourself to declutter and organise ensures you address the things you’ve been hiding from. You circumvent your subconscious desire to avoid actions that scare you. You make a decision about every item lying about.

It’s by going beyond your comfort zone to deal head-on with even the scary stuff that you get to live the life you choose.
Are you currently in a vicious cycle of clutter and disempowerment or a virtuous circle of decluttering, organising and empowerment?

If you’ve recently shifted from a vicious to a virtuous circle, how did you make it happen? Comment below.

If you’re not yet part of the Green and Tidy community, sign up here (and get a free decluttering masterclass as a bonus).

If you’re not yet part of the Green and Tidy community, sign up here (and get a free decluttering masterclass as a bonus).

In 2001, Jim* moved from Bristol to Brighton to be nearer some good friends and his sister, who was ill.

As he drove down the M4 with all his belongings in a hired lorry, ready to move into the place he’d been doing up, he noticed smoke coming from the front of the van, so he pulled onto the hard shoulder and got out.

A couple of minutes later the cabin where he’d been sitting was full of smoke and flames.

The keys to the back of the lorry were in the cabin and, despite bashing at the doors, he was unable to open the lorry to pull anything out. Within a few minutes, the police arrived and told him to move away and, seemingly no time later, the whole lorry was engulfed in 60 foot flames. The M4 was closed in the direction he was travelling, as was one lane of the opposite carriageway.

In shock and not fully processing what was going on, Jim found himself “almost smiling at the situation. It seemed insane”.

Having been dropped off at the nearest tube station by the police, Jim headed for his new home with little more than the clothes on his back, his phone and the money in his pockets. He didn’t even have a front door key, though luckily he’d given one to a friend.

Over the next few days and weeks, his initial ‘crazy anger’ was compounded by the discovery that his insurance policy didn’t cover him because his belongings hadn’t been in either of his properties when they were destroyed.

Though his insurance company eventually recovered a proportion of the value of his goods from the van hire company,  for many months Jim didn’t know whether he would receive any compensation.

He had to face life with almost no possessions.

To his surprise, his fury quickly faded to being ‘pissed off’ and then gradually disappeared until, only a month later, he began to feel ‘cleansed and freed up’.

Suddenly, all the physical ties to his past had disappeared. ‘All those drawers of photos and letters that you open, see and are suddenly drawn back into the past, are gone. And then you can only move forward. You’re no longer pulled back into the past’.

We accumulate stuff as we move through life and it can be hard to part with it, even though it can weigh us down. The fire took the decision-making process out of Jim’s hands.

In an instant, he was free of physical attachments to his past.

Strangely, the fire happened at a time in Jim’s life when he was already on an emotional and spiritual journey. Personal relationships and his work were changing and he’d been studying meditation and Tai Chi, and bringing stillness into his life.

He laughs at the language he still uses to describe the fire. “I always say ‘I lost everything’. No I didn’t! I lost nothing. I lost the smallest, least important things in life. They were just possessions. I realised I don’t actually need anything. We’ve all got everything we need”.

Jim says that, before the fire, his life was restricted by him being a ‘disorganised, messy hoarder’. With everything lying around anyhow, he couldn’t be productive.

While he has accumulated stuff since (particularly since he had children!), he didn’t seek to replace everything and is more organised now. He’s picky about what he acquires. “I’ll only buy something if I really like it and I’m never tempted to spend for the sake of it”.

He’s always happy to get rid of things. He and his family, particularly his seven year old, love to do car boot sales. Of his current possessions, the only thing he’d feel desperate to save from a fire would be the family photos stored on his laptop though he also thinks, “We all take too many photos anyway”.

When he reflects on what he lost, he can think of only four items he misses: cine film his parents took of him and his siblings when they were young; a chair of his father’s; some photographs; and a painting by his Granny. It’s the cine film he regrets losing most because, “It wasn’t mine to lose and I feel sad for my family. We used to enjoy watching it when we met up once a year and now our children won’t have that experience”.

The thought of losing all his stuff again doesn’t fill him with dread. “If you lose everything, so what?” In fact, he finds the idea liberating. “Suddenly you’re no longer responsible for all that stuff. It’s brilliant. Genius. Everyone should get rid of everything every ten years. Or maybe there should be a limit on the number of possessions each person can own,” he laughs. “If you hold onto something for years and then chuck it out, you can guarantee you’ll need it the following week. Better to get rid of it sooner and forget about it”.

Even despite losing the precious family cine film, he says that overall he’s delighted it happened. “I was lucky”.

(*Jim is a pseudonym. This blog post is based on an interview undertaken on Friday 10th February 2012).

How would you feel if this happened to you?

Maybe something simliar has – how did you feel?

Comment below.

If you’re not yet part of the Green and Tidy community, sign up here (and get a free decluttering masterclass as a bonus).

“Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo Da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein”.
H Jackson Brown, Jr American author of Life’s Little Instruction Book

A couple of years ago, I noticed I was expending a lot of energy worrying that I didn’t have enough time to do everything. I would get stressed and anxious, not to mention grumpy and irritable. This despite the fact that, based on past experience, I knew that the chances were that I would get everything done. So why was I always in such a state of anxious overwhelm?

I was so determined to tackle this that I specifically took the issue on through personal development work. I signed up to coach on a full-on 14 week programme. On top of my already busy working life, I travelled 2 hours each way for weekly 3-hour evening sessions and three full Saturdays, provided telephone coaching for four people and ran a project in my local community.

For the first couple of months, I thought I might explode! I was constantly wired and on edge and took it out on everyone around me. And then one day I found myself claiming that I didn’t have time to have a challenging conversation that I needed to have.

And that’s when I finally got it. I wasn’t stressed about time. I was using time as an excuse to avoid stuff.

There was no reason to stress about time. The reality was that I’d made commitments (to myself or others) to do a certain amount of stuff, and I’d got a certain amount of time to do it in. Either the stuff I’d committed to do could be done in that time, or it couldn’t.

If it could, great. Nothing to stress about.

If it couldn’t, it couldn’t. And there was some action to take. I could tell someone I wouldn’t be doing something after all. I could ask someone else to take something on. I could reschedule something. I could think of a quicker way to do something. I could find a way to combine two activities.

I realised that, when I seemed to be worrying about time, what was really happening was that I was afraid of failing.

I was afraid that I wasn’t up to at least one thing I’d committed to do. I was afraid that I was going to mess up, make a fool of myself, be revealed as a charlatan…Everyone would know I was stupid and inadequate.

Seeing this gave me power over it. Now, whenever I notice myself stressing about time, I know to look deeper. There is always something I’ve committed to doing of which, for some reason, I’m afraid. Usually because my demons are telling me I’m not capable.

That gives me my power back. I can thank my demons for sharing and get on with what there is to do. Often I do the thing I’m most scared of straight away. Or get in touch with someone who can help me with it.

Then I get on with my day in a state of serenity, instead of anxiety.

Phew!

If you worry about having enough time to get everything done, is that what you’re really afraid of? I’d love to know if what I’ve shared above resonates with you.

If you’re not yet part of the Green and Tidy community, sign up here (and get a free decluttering masterclass as a bonus).

So, OK, we all know how wonderful it is to be in a tidy, organised space, right? We know that decluttering and organising saves you time, saves you money, gives you peace of mind, protects your physical health, improves your mental health and reduces your environmental impact.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, that’s all very well, isn’t it? But you’re too flipping busy to spend time decluttering and organising. Jeez!

Hmm…you sure about that?

Here’s a few little secrets about decluttering and being organised.

1 We’ve all got time for what we want to do

“Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo Da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein”.
H Jackson Brown, Jr American author of Life’s Little Instruction Book

Ever asked someone to do something for you, only to be told they haven’t got enough time…

…and then noticed that they’ve uploaded a bunch of photos to Facebook?

How come they had time to do that and not what you asked them to do?!

Same reason that you’ve got time for all the stuff you do.

We’ve all got time for what we want to do.

It’s about motivation, baby.

So what’s yours (as a method actor might say)?

Mentally beating yourself up for your messy surfaces won’t move you forward.

Getting in touch with your vision for your life will.

Get clear about how you want your life to be, and then take a look around and assess whether your home is in line with that commitment.

“You will never find time for anything. If you want time you must make it.”
Charles Roberts Buxton (English brewer, philanthropist, writer and Member of Parliament 1823-1871

2 You’re never stressed about time

Uh-uh. No you’re not.

I know it feels like it.

I speak from experience. I go there constantly. I frequently feel anxious that I haven’t got enough time to do what I’ve got to do.

So much so that I specifically took the issue on through personal development work. I signed up to coach on a full-on 14 week programme. On top of my already busy working life, I travelled 60 miles each way for weekly evening sessions and three full Saturdays, provided telephone coaching for four people and ran a project in my local community.

I thought I might explode until I finally got that…

…there’s no reason to stress about time. The reality is that I’ve made commitments (to myself or others) to do a certain amount of stuff, and I’ve got a certain amount of time to do it in. Either the stuff I’ve committed to do can be done in that time, or it can’t.

If it can, great. Nothing to stress about.

If it can’t, it can’t. And there’s some action to take. I could tell someone I won’t be doing something after all. I could ask someone else to take something on. I could reschedule something. I could think of a quicker way to do something. I could find a way to combine two activities.

Still, nothing to stress about.

All my anxiety is about something else.

Maybe I’m attaching some meaning to cancelling, delegating, rescheduling or reworking something (‘I’m a failure. I should be able to do this’).

Maybe I’m afraid of the meaning I think others will attach to it (‘They’ll think I’m useless. They’ll hate me’).

Once I’ve worked out what meaning I’m attaching, I can see that it’s just a story I’ve made up and not the truth.

And that, even if what I’m afraid of does happen, it doesn’t mean what I’m making it mean either.

Then I can remind myself that there’s nothing wrong and deal calmly with reality.

3 You get the time back

Sure decluttering and organising takes time, especially if you’ve got a backlog of clutter to clear and lots of piles of stuff to sort out.

Thing is, you get all that time back…and then some.

In a decluttered and organised home, you can lay your hand on whatever you need quickly and easily. You no longer waste time searching through piles of stuff for the one thing you need.

Not only that, your thought processes are lighter and clearer. You’re more productive because you’re not distracted by the clutter around you, You’re not brought down emotionally by feeling guilty about the mess you’re in.

All of which enables you to enjoy yourself. Doing what you love in a clear, uncluttered space is bliss.

4 Staying organised is easy

Once you’ve invested the initial time involved in decluttering and organising a backlog, it takes milliseconds longer to put things away in their designated place than it does to leave them lying around.

Once you’re using lists and schedules as reminders, rather than leaving things lying about to remind you, it takes a matter of seconds to add something to a list or schedule and put the associated item away.

5 The more you do it, the more you’ll do it

Staying decluttered and organised is a matter of building up your organisational muscles.

Just like when you start a new fitness regime and begin building up your physical muscles, the biggest breakthrough comes when you get started.

You see results straightaway, and that’s so satisfying that you want to keep it up.

Eventually, staying organised becomes a habit and you find yourself not only sticking to the systems you’ve already devised, but developing more.

You know why? Because it’s all about motivation, baby.

And I do believe that brings us full circle.

How are your organisational muscles? Honed and toned or flabby and shabby? Comment below.

If you’re not yet part of the Green and Tidy community, sign up here (and get a free decluttering masterclass as a bonus).

Ah, the bliss of a clear desk. All that gorgeous, empty space! Plenty of room for me to grab scrap paper from the drawer beside me, and scribble notes. No distracting piles of ‘things to do’. Somehow that clear physical space on my desk also enables my mind to roam free.

The more I can relate to my client’s situation, the more effectively I can coach them, so I love working with female entrepreneurs. And a common frustration women running their own businesses share with me is the challenge of keeping their desk clear.

When you step into your office for a day’s work, does it support you to be creative, innovative and productive? Or are you faced with piles of stuff everywhere you look? Are you unable to get started until you’ve cleared a space?

And, when you do get started, are you constantly distracted as you spot something on your desk which needs to be dealt with urgently. Or which isn’t urgent but will only take a second so you might as well get it done for the benefit of getting at least one thing off the desk?

Do you find yourself sneezing at your desk? Is your office a haven for dust? When did you last clean it thoroughly, rather than scoot the end of the vacuum hose around the piles of papers (trying to avoid vacuuming up your bluetooth headset, paper clips and that rubber pad that you’ve been meaning for ages to glue back to the bottom of the printer)?

If you work from home, do you find that non-work-related items creep their way into your office, taking up residence beside your computer and demanding attention when you’re supposed to be working?

When your space works for you, it enables you to be productive. Without you even noticing it, it’s the foundation that supports you to work to your highest potential. It provides you with peace of mind so you’re free to create.

Here are five ways to ensure your office supports your productivity.

1. Notice what works for you

There’s no right way to arrange your home or workspace. What one person would call tidy, another would call cluttered. It’s about what works for you. I help people to develop a vision for their homes and workspaces, and to take actions that are consistent with that vision.

What balance between order and disorder best supports your productivity?

Do you work best with a clear desk, perhaps containing just a desk tidy with some pens and stationery in it, so you can walk in and get straight to work, laying your hand immediately on anything you want to use?

Do you flourish in a space where several part-completed projects are laid out, ready for you to work on as the inspiration takes you?

Does a certain degree of disorder stimulate your creative juices? Are you inspired by coming across things unexpectedly?

Do you ease yourself into a working session by organising and tidying your workspace?

Observe which model works best for you. And, when you’ve worked it out, continue to be mindful of how you manage your workspace. The small amount of effort needed to maintain it in the state that most inspires you and facilitates you to work most effectively, could pay huge dividends in terms of your productivity.

2. Set up a filing system

Create a file for each live project and keep it in an accessible place. I use a combination of lever arch files, ring binders and magazine files, which I keep on shelves on the wall above my desk.

For my other business, Papworth Research & Consultancy Ltd, I keep a single file of papers related to jobs I’m bidding for and create individual files for the jobs only if/when I’m commissioned.

Use less accessible places, such as filing cabinets, for papers you need to reference less often, and the least accessible places (a box under the desk?) for papers you rarely or never have to access yet do have to keep (financial records for example).

3. Use lists as reminders, not stacks of paper

In 1999, a rail crash at Ladbroke Grove killed 31 people and injured 227. The subsequent inquiry found that train drivers had become so accustomed to cancelling the alarms that flashed and sounded when they approached red signals (and therefore the automatic braking systems that would be triggered if they didn’t slow down) that they no longer noticed them. They were cancelling them automatically without taking the necessary actions to ensure safety.

Leaving things lying around is not a reliable way to remind you take action. You become accustomed to the sight of them so they cease to work as reminders.

Besides, if you have too many such physical reminders lying around, you’ll end up piling things on top until you can no longer see each ‘reminder’ which, again, will stop it being effective.

Create lists of things to do and put the related paperwork and other items away.

I have several lists at any one time. As I write this, beside me is my ‘things to do’ list for today. Under that is a piece of paper containing ‘things to do’ lists for the next three working days. Under that is a list of less urgent things that need attention. I haven’t yet decided on what day I’m going to do them. I review that list every few days, removing things from it and transferring them to my schedule.

4. Include your office in your decluttering schedule

If you’ve ever completed one of my programmes, you’ll have a decluttering schedule that ensures that you regularly declutter every area of your home. Include your office in your schedule to make sure that you sort through every pile of paper, file and shelf on a regular cycle.

Keep index boxes, printer trays, drawers etc closed so they don’t collect dust.

5. End your working day by tidying up

Allow five or ten minutes at the end of each working day to tidy away what you’ve been working on and set your workspace up for the next day.

Use this time to review your ‘things to do’ list for the next day. Add to it if necessary. Reschedule things if you haven’t got enough time to get everything done.

Not only does this enable you to start the next day energised and focused, it’s a great way to wind down and give yourself ‘closure’ each day.

I invite you to take on whichever of the above inspire you, and comment below to share the difference they make to your productivity.