Latest / Overwhelmed Working Woman: Boost Productivity, Master Time Management, Overcome Overwhelm & Stop People Pleasing / #179| Declutter Challenge Day 2: One Small Space
Transcript
- 0:04Michelle Gauthier: You're listening to Overwhelmed Working Woman, the podcast that helps you be more calm and more productive by doing less.
- 0:12Michelle Gauthier: I'm your host, Michelle Gauthier, a former Overwhelmed Working Woman and current life coach.
- 0:17Michelle Gauthier: On this show, we unpack the stress and pressure that today's working woman experiences and in each episode you'll get a strategy to bring more calm, ease and relaxation to your life.
- 0:31Michelle Gauthier: Hey friend, welcome to day two of the declutter challenge.
- 0:34Michelle Gauthier: Yesterday we set our intention and did a quick micro declutter.
- 0:38Michelle Gauthier: I've heard from some of you clearing out your wallet, say your nightstands or a car cup holder, and those really tiny wins do shift how you feel, don't they?
- 0:47Michelle Gauthier: That little hit of relief is proof that even small, tiny steps matter.
- 0:53Michelle Gauthier: I heard from a bunch of you yesterday which was awesome, just a reminder that when you send me your wins, either a voice note or reply back to my email, you will get entered to win a prize.
- 1:05Michelle Gauthier: And when you do that every time, each time, you'll get entered to win a prize, and when you do that, your wins might get shared on the podcast.
- 1:12Michelle Gauthier: I will just use your first name, by the way.
- 1:15Michelle Gauthier: Okay, so for today, we are going to go a little bit bigger than yesterday's micro declutter and we're going to stick with simplifying a physical space.
- 1:24Michelle Gauthier: So this is about choosing one area of your life that feels heavy and making some progress in that area.
- 1:34Michelle Gauthier: So maybe it's your office, maybe it's a room or a section in your house, maybe it's your car Sometimes my car really gets a little out of control.
- 1:43Michelle Gauthier: You could literally live in it at some point.
- 1:45Michelle Gauthier: So we have all the sports equipment, sweatshirts, water bottles, all the things you can imagine in there.
- 1:50Michelle Gauthier: So today I want you to think about the question what area of your home or a physical space that belongs to you feels the heaviest right now.
- 2:00Michelle Gauthier: Just ponder that for a second and if you have officially registered for the challenge, you will see this question in your workbook, along with several other questions to help you think about what to simplify for today.
- 2:15Michelle Gauthier: Again, if you haven't done that yet, it is absolutely not too late to join.
- 2:19Michelle Gauthier: Go to the link in the show notes and you will instantly get the workbook that goes along with this challenge when you think about that space for you.
- 2:26Michelle Gauthier: So I was just talking to a client who's feeling very uninspired by her office.
- 2:31Michelle Gauthier: She had a lot of paperwork there and it was just kind of blah and drab.
- 2:35Michelle Gauthier: So if that's you and let's just say it's your office, because today we're trying to make small progress and as part of this challenge, what I've promised you is that you have to listen to the podcast in the morning five, 10 minutes and then you can spend as much time as you want, but I'm imagining most people setting aside like 30 minutes to do their declutter.
- 2:55Michelle Gauthier: If you can do more than that, that's amazing.
- 2:58Michelle Gauthier: But take the space that you're thinking of and break it down so that if you just spent 30 minutes there, what could you declutter?
- 3:08Michelle Gauthier: So if we're talking about the office and you're a person who's feeling overwhelmed by your office, where could that 30 minutes be spent?
- 3:15Michelle Gauthier: Could it be spent on the top of your desk?
- 3:18Michelle Gauthier: Could it be spent on a closet in your office?
- 3:23Michelle Gauthier: Could it be spent on a bookshelf or a specific section?
- 3:27Michelle Gauthier: If you're thinking about your basement, is there like a little corner or an area that you could work on?
- 3:34Michelle Gauthier: If you're thinking about your bathroom, could you do like one of the drawers or two of the drawers?
- 3:39Michelle Gauthier: If you really want to go through all of your clothes, could you just do the hanging clothes in one section today?
- 3:45Michelle Gauthier: So think about what space feels the worst to you, and then how to make that space smaller and do just like you did yesterday, where you set a timer for 30 minutes and then you take the three simple steps, which are to take it all out, take out every single item.
- 4:02Michelle Gauthier: This step, by the way, always makes my children feel panicked.
- 4:06Michelle Gauthier: They always know when I've taken everything out that I've like had it with something.
- 4:10Michelle Gauthier: Don't worry if your family panics, it's normal.
- 4:13Michelle Gauthier: It's normal, okay.
- 4:14Michelle Gauthier: Sort it into three piles Keep, throw away, give away and by throw away you can also mean recycle.
- 4:20Michelle Gauthier: Be a little brutal in this section.
- 4:22Michelle Gauthier: Okay, we tend to overkeep stuff.
- 4:24Michelle Gauthier: There is really no reason to keep more than one of essentially anything, unless you like have backup tubes of toothpaste that you've purchased on purpose.
- 4:33Michelle Gauthier: But, for example, kitchen utensils, do you really need like five spatulas or do you really need?
- 4:39Michelle Gauthier: Actually, I have two ones for the grill and ones for not the grill.
- 4:42Michelle Gauthier: So think about how many of each one of these things that you really need.
- 4:46Michelle Gauthier: Think about if you've used or worn this item in, like the past year, even if you're like, oh, I might need this for that one time.
- 4:54Michelle Gauthier: Really, will you or will you feel better having that space in your life and then put back only the keep pile and then everything else gets discarded or donated.
- 5:03Michelle Gauthier: If you're following along this week, you might just want to get like a big trash bag or something and start making your giveaway pile so you don't have to run to Goodwill or wherever you donate things every day.
- 5:14Michelle Gauthier: And once you have it all back in, take a picture, send me the picture and notice how you feel.
- 5:21Michelle Gauthier: So when you finish that, take a second to notice the difference and see how the space feels compared to before, and what difference do you notice in yourself when you walk into or spend time in that space?
- 5:34Michelle Gauthier: Now, I was talking earlier about my car and how sometimes it looks like we could live in there.
- 5:38Michelle Gauthier: When I get it cleaned like take it through a car wash and then get all the junk out of it and put it back where it belongs, like where the water bottles go and where all the sweatshirts go, etc.
- 5:49Michelle Gauthier: I seriously feel like the thought that I have is I have my life together when my car is clean.
- 5:55Michelle Gauthier: I feel like I have my life together when it's messy.
- 5:56Michelle Gauthier: I do not.
- 5:57Michelle Gauthier: So notice the difference in yourself before and after you do that Declutter.
- 6:02Michelle Gauthier: Okay, great job, friend.
- 6:04Michelle Gauthier: I would love to hear your wins.
- 6:05Michelle Gauthier: Reply to your daily email.
- 6:07Michelle Gauthier: If you're registered for the declutter challenge, you will get an email from me every morning so you already have one from today.
- 6:14Michelle Gauthier: Or leave me a quick voice memo the link is in the show notes for that.
- 6:18Michelle Gauthier: Every time you share, you'll be entered to win a prize.
- 6:21Michelle Gauthier: That's it for day two.
- 6:22Michelle Gauthier: Pick your small spot, follow the steps and celebrate your progress.
- 6:25Michelle Gauthier: Tomorrow we're going to move into digital clutter and clear some space in your inbox or apps or photos.
- 6:32Michelle Gauthier: Have a great day.
- 6:34Michelle Gauthier: See you tomorrow.
- 6:34Michelle Gauthier: Box or apps or photos.
- 6:37Michelle Gauthier: Have a great day, see you tomorrow.
- 6:39Michelle Gauthier: Thank you for listening to the Overwhelmed Working Woman podcast.
- 6:45Michelle Gauthier: If you want to learn more about my work, head over to my website at michellegauthier.
- 6:48Michelle Gauthier: com.
- 6:48Michelle Gauthier: See you next week.