Want more simplicity? Get It With These De-cluttering Tips!

We all have some clutter in our lives – it sits in piles on our desk, it hangs in our closet, it stores up in our drawers and it sneakily accumulates in the corners of our home.

Perhaps a little clutter is OK, especially if it comes in the form of cluttered love.  But when there is too much clutter, it starts to bog us down, causing stress and lack of focus or clarity.   

So, what do we do about it?  How do we begin to tackle the overwhelming clutter?

I had the opportunity to ask two amazing women who are very experienced in tackling clutter and am going to share their tips and thoughts with you.

Bobbi Hosmer and Lynne Steel own and operate Sweet Home Cincinnati, a small business that helps seniors downsize.  They help their clients sort, organize, pack, donate, recycle, sell and move their items into a new home, where they help their client unpack and arrange the items they are keeping.

As you might imagine, folks in their 80s and 90s [and probably all of us] tend to have a lot of things – including many things they do not need.  Bobbi and Lynne have worked hard to navigate the process of sensitively helping their clients de-clutter.  For them, it’s about finding the balance in creating a clean, organized space, while also maintaining the warmth of a home.

Bobbi and Lynne can attest to the fact that our physical environment plays a large role in our health. 

“For many people, an orderly, clean physical environment allows them the freedom /space for work to be done without distractions. They feel a sense of calm and certainly less anxiety because they know where things are.”

But, downsizing and de-cluttering doesn’t come without some emotional impact.  Bobbi and Lynne have noticed that there is alway some grief when seniors part with their possessions.  And I think the same is true for non-seniors as they part with their favorite old pair of jeans or a wedding gift that they never use.

“The roller-coaster of grief as you sort through all the memories is very overwhelming.  It is also heart-breaking to some when the children don’t want some of the favorite things that have been in the family for a long while.”

To sensitively navigate this process, Bobbi and Lynne give their clients a space [and sounding board] to express the emotional impact of downsizing.

“We try to walk through the process with our clients.  We go at their pace, take the time to hear the stories of things and acknowledge their grief.  We try to encourage them to hold onto the memories, not the things.  And we remind them that they can bless others with the things that are special.”

Though the de-cluttering and downsizing process can be difficult, their clients are almost always very happy to have less things to take care of as “there is a sense of freedom that comes from having less stuff in a space, less things to take care of.”

I don’t know about you, but more freedom and less things to take care of sounds good to me.  Here’s how Bobbi and Lynne recommend getting started:

1. Start now, even if it’s just 10 minutes per day.  Begin with one small drawer.
2. Be decisive. There will be things you obviously want to keep, but otherwise decide whether you will donate, recycle or trash an item.  Designate a box for each of these categories.
3. Give yourself emotional space during the process.  Feeling sad to let go of an item is normal.  And that’s OK.  Adopt an attitude of loving to bless others with your things and keep in mind the freedom and clarity that you’ll have after de-cluttering.
4. Get help if you need it.  It can be very overwhelming to tackle the clutter by yourself.  There are all kinds of great businesses that help with organization and down-sizing.

Cheers to more freedom and simplicity in your space!

If you would like help from Sweet Home Cincinnati, you can contact Bobbi or Lynne at 513-478-4870 or 513-27-5651.