“Out with the old, in with the new”, remember that old saying? I think a lot of us have the in with the new part down, but have forgotten the out with the old part. Everyone enjoys new things, but remember the importance of releasing old, non useful items, before bringing in new functional pieces.

Items that are not used throughout your home become stagnant, causing you and your family to feel stagnant. If an item(s) are no longer functional or useful in your life, that is clutter.

Find a New Hobby Besides Shopping

This step of decision making will prevent you from filling your home with chaos and clutter. An addiction to impulse buying is a real thing. The items are not as important as the experience of shopping.

Shopping is an activity that gets you out of the house (or out of your head). Maybe instead of shopping, go to a local park, craft group, coffee shop, or movie theater.

Change your Routine

Giving your situation a little forethought allows you to take the right steps when the time comes to make a decision. It’s hard to know where you’re headed if you don’t stop and think about it every now and again.
The best thing you can do is map out your game plan before you start the game. If you know you will pick things up without a second thought at the neighborhood yard sale, but really don’t need a thing, go for a walk, watch a movie, call a friend.

Or, challenge yourself to not purchase a thing. Over acquiring is equivalent to overeating. It’s done without thought but causes stomach aches later.

If we can prevent the actions that cause us to have overwhelming clutter, we have, in fact, eliminated chaos. I challenge you next time you’re not feeling well and you want some “retail therapy” to be mindful in changing your routine. If your goal is to eliminate clutter in your life, then embrace it.

Transformation, according to my favorite trainer Jillian Michaels, is not a future event, it is a present activity. So what does that mean? It means the next time you’re feeling sad, lonely, happy, anxious, joyful, or any of the other emotions that cause you to make impulse decisions, make a conscious effort to not allow those impulses to take over.

Know that Anything is Possible

If you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right! A belief and a decision is all it takes to change your life. First believe it’s possible (decluttering, losing weight, becoming financially free) and make the decision to change and the universe does the rest. Just keep the belief alive on bad days. If you make a mistake, learn from it and move on. Plus, don’t forget to congratulate yourself when you do a good job.

Remember in with the new, positive habits, out with the old, clutter creating ones.