Sometimes other people try to bring us down whenever we try to make some kind of improvement in our lifestyle. However, you may actually sabotage your own success at decluttering and organizing.
Here are 7 ways we sabotage ourselves as we try to get organized:
1. Cluttering your life with objects that have little real value to you. Do you really like that painting a friend gave you? Is that collection of hippos your idea or someone else’s?
2. Over commitment, filling each day with too many activities and appointments. You can never find time to declutter and organize; you have to make time!
3. Placing yourself in the role of victim, allowing other people’s habits and preferences to overrule your own. When you don’t respect your own boundaries, no one else will either.
4, Indecisiveness, including lack of vision, lack of purpose, and a secret desire to let others handle things for you. We all would like to be taken care of from time to time, but good relationships are those of mutual support and care.
5. Seeking support from the wrong people. Make sure you find a partner who is caring, not just critical.
6. Demanding that you achieve immediate results. Unless you hire a dumpster and a team to help you, you won’t get decluttered in a day!
7. Listening to your doubts and constantly reminding yourself of your past failures. Get off your own back! Think positive and act as though your new systems were already in place.
If you find yourself creating more clutter and chaos, take some time and evaluate what is happening in your life. Are you just in a stressful “season” right now; or do you have fears associated with being more in control of your time and space? Will decluttering cause you to focus on issues you’ve been avoiding? Take a good, objective look at your situation.
Do you have other ways of sabotaging your success? Post them in the comments section, it may help someone else!
Brenda Spandrio, The Declutter Lady
Hi Brenda! There are no words to express how grateful I am to have found your awesome blog! (I find it a bit funny that even words can sometimes “get in the way” of effectively expressing a message!) Anyway, in keeping with keeping it simple: THANK YOU! I appreciate your willingness to share your boundless, no-nonsense, and sincere guidance with those of us seeking a clearer and brighter way, day after day. This article is spot on: it seems these are ways in which we sabotage not only our progress in getting organized, but also in our approach to other applications, and especially in how we LIVE our life. It’s not the end of the world, but at the end of the day, our personal state of being is an “inside job” (aka: our own self-will), and there’s work to do, so let’s get EXCITED about LIVING!! ? Thanks again.
You are so right, Rebecca!
Many of us who tend toward disorganization think that “once we get the decluttering done,” THEN we can pursue our dreams. I certainly lived that way. Once I realized that I had to simply incorporate working at being organized into my daily life, I could do things that I really wanted to do in tandem with that.
Thanks for your kind comments!
The very first item on the list is so me. I keep so much JUNK when I know I need to get rid of it! It’s so hard to do and I have no idea why. Therapy table for one? LOL
Thanks! Typically we keep things out of fear: we are afraid we might need it, that someone might become angry with us, that we will make the wrong decision about it. Decluttering session — with the right help — can be very therapeutic!
Great list of seven here today. I find another activity people participate in that does not work for them is what I call “square peg in a round hole” syndrome. Just because a system or action works for your friends does not mean that it will work for you. Oftentimes, procrastination hits because we are trying to do something that just does not really match who we are! As you are evaluating and decluttering and getting things in order, be true to yourself. It is not about what you should do, it is about what you will do. 😉
Good point about being true to our own personalities and thinking about “will” instead of “should.” Thanks, Stephanie!
I especially relate to #6 and 7. I’ve been working on my self-talk and my expectations in these areas. #2 is good food for thought: our time can be just as cluttered as our space. 🙂
Thanks, Erin! Our clutter is usually rooted in time — either overbooking or underusing (aka wasting) it.
What a great reminder of the things I do to sabotage myself from truly decluttering! I do this all the time especially procrastination, or suddenly trying to do everything at once, to hanging on to things I don’t even like. Thanks for a great post!
Thanks, Emily! Slow and steady wins the race…
Thanks, Laurie! Accountability is a huge factor in circumventing procrastination. And you are right about small steps getting us to our goal.
Procrastination is one of the biggest ways I sabotage myself. I’m a writer and I love to write, but hate to edit. And if I don’t edit, I don’t get it published. Networking with other writers like myself helps a lot. And setting small, reasonable goals to accomplish the task makes it feasible and not seem so overwhelming.
I guess it’s that way with most things we do – take small steps and soon we’ll get to our goal.
I enjoyed your blog. Thanks for posting.
Thank you for the great insights, and it’s all SO true!
Thanks, Audrey!