How to Stop Clutter in it’s Tracks

Hello lovelies! No, I didn’t forget about our organizing challenge– life got busy BUT I’m still doing at least one of the 15 minute decluttering tasks each day and it feels so darn good to organize and see the donation pile grow bigger and bigger. However, there’s a scary truth however that’s been nagging at me as I dig through our outgrown clothes and unused kitchen items. Why is there so much stuff to begin with? I try not to spend frivolously, and yet our house is bursting at the seams. How? Whyyyyyyyy?

There are some things out of my control: gifts are one, kids’ clothing is another (these kids! finally growing like weeds!) I give myself a pass on those. But why do I have 12 scarves and 3 pairs of gloves? Why are my craft bins overflowing? As I crawled through a billion LEGOS and infinity Thomas trains (approximately) in our playroom I wondered: where did all this come from? How can I stop it?

here’s a hint where some of it came from… could someone take away my Amazon Prime, please? (okay, so most of that was from Christmas. BUT STILL.)

The hard truth is I need to put myself on a spending freeze. Just like the Whole30 clean eating program I’m on this month, I’ve found it’s best to stop things cold turkey. Rip off the bandaid. Screech to a halt. Sure, the first few days are hard but once you get used to a new lifestyle you find freedom in saying no! Right now I can’t eat sugar ’cause of Whole30, so there’s no wondering ‘should I eat this Swedish Fish?’ The answer is NO. No Swedish Fish for me, or any other kind of sugar. After 10 days of detoxing, I don’t even want it and my body isn’t craving it any more. Shopping and spending are the same. When you allow yourself to say NO, you’re giving yourself freedom to say YES to less clutter and more money in your pocket.

Therefore, I’m putting myself on a spending freeze this month. I’m not allowed to buy anything outside of items that are needed (such as groceries, bills, etc.) Instead of creating MORE clutter, I’m stopping it in it’s tracks. I’m hoping this will allow me the freedom to pass up sales and JUST SAY NO to bringing items into our home today that will be tomorrow’s clutter.

A few ground rules. Here’s a list of 3 things I’m allowing myself to purchase, you may need to make a few exceptions too:

• organizational items: like bins, baggies, and label tape (always ORGANIZE first, BUY second so you know exactly what you need!)

• Gymboree Gymbucks: these coupons start mid-month and are burning a hole in my pocket. I’ve been saving them to stock up on some much needed basics for the kids, and since this is part of my strategy to get cute kids clothes for practically free I’m allowing myself to use them on a small list of items they really do need. MUST. RESIST. CUTE. SWEATERS.

• business expenses: Between freelancing, creating projects for the blog, and my Young Living business I’ll most likely have some business expenses. Since they’re important for growing my blog and business, it’s allowed and necessary!

Who’s with me? Not only are we decluttering and organizing everything, we’re freezing spending this month to give ourselves the FREEDOM to say NO to clutter!

Hop on over to Facebook and take the ‘no spending’ pledge with me– leave a comment over there declaring it a spend-free month so we can support each other! It’s all part of the Declutter and Organizing EVERYTHING Challenge, after all. WE CAN DO THIS.

This post is sponsored by my Young Living business! You can make this an exception to your spending freeze. Check out my essential oils page for more information on how you can get these amazing oils in your hands too along with helpful freebies, a gift from me, and tons of support: