Overcoming Decluttering Obstacles: Sticking to One Zone | Ep 435

Hey friends! 👋You know that feeling when you start cleaning out the kitchen drawer,  and end up in the laundry room, and somehow wind up overwhelmed in the garage?Yeah. That.We’re diving into the power of sticking to one zone at a time—whether it’s a drawer, a counter, or your closet floor—and how that focused approach can help you actually finish what you start (and feel amazing about it!).Plus, I’m sharing my go-to four-pile method, why emotional clutter is just as real as physical clutter, and how decluttering is a lot like managing debt or weight loss—it’s not about being perfect, it’s about being consistent.💡 Why you should listen:
If you’ve ever felt stuck in the cycle of starting and stopping your organizing projects, this episode will help you pause, refocus, and find momentum again. I’m giving you simple tools, real talk about the emotions behind clutter, and a gentle reminder that support is always a smart move—not a sign of weakness.Key Takeaways:

• Why “ping ponging” between projects keeps you stuck
  
  
• How to pick your first zone (and stick with it)
  
  
• The four-pile method that helps you sort smarter
  
  
• Emotional clutter is real—and valid
  
  
• Why building healthy habits is the secret to long-term change
  
  
• When to call in reinforcements (hint: it’s okay to ask for help!)
  
  

✨ Let’s stay connected!
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Subscribe to our newsletter for tips + encouragement: Sign up hereClutter Clinic: GaragesColor Guru- YourColorGuru.com

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, friends, if you're tired of stepping over piles of

(00:02):
stuff in your garage just to get through the house,
or digging through bins to find what you need, then
you have to join me for our next clutter clinic.
And this time, guys, we're talking all about garages. It's
happening live on Friday, May second, at twelve o'clock Eastern time.
And the best part is, if you can't make it live,
no worries. We're gonna be sending out a replay to

(00:24):
anybody who registers. During this one hour workshop, I'm going
to walk you through the practical strategies that I use
in my home to turn your garage into a space
that actually works for you. Whether that means that you
want to park your car in there, you just want
your kids to be able to access their toys and
put them away. We're going to cover all of it now.
Spots are limited, so please don't wait. Head on over

(00:45):
to simply be Organized dot com slash workshop, or click
on the link below wherever you're listening or watching to
grab your spot. Let's clear that clutter together. Happy that
you're here, brand new to our show, Welcome, I bring
brings out a lot of newbies. I always see our
numbers jump up at the beginning of the year and

(01:07):
springtime and back to school, right, So that's when I
think people get that the organizing decluttering bug and are
looking for any type of encouragement and support that they
can find. So if you have stumbled into our little ecosystem,
I'm so grateful that you're here, So thank you so much.
Whatever brought and here, we've got a ton of resources

(01:27):
to help you wherever you are in your journey. I'm
actually taking a pivot today from what I had originally
planned to record for this week's episode because I went
to kind of like a real life scenario with one
of my clients and it got me thinking that this

(01:47):
is actually a really important topic, and I know it's
something that she's struggling with, and I sincerely believe that
a lot of people are struggling with a similar topic.
So I have a bunch of notes that I drafted up.
So if you're watching star YouTube and you're going to
see them kind of looking down because I don't want

(02:09):
to miss it. There's a lot that I want to cover.
And the episode title, if you didn't already read it,
is why bouncing around keeps you stuck and what to
do about that? Because one of the biggest red flags
that I see from people is that stop and start

(02:31):
and we call it, or I call it the ping
Kong declutter, right, And so what that really means is
start organizing in one area, but then for whatever variety
of reasons, you either get distracted or you get bored,
or you get overwhelmed, you start moving to another area.

(02:55):
And it happens a lot and what happened with a
lot of people, it's like super common in and the
result of that is that you oftentimes have multiple spaces
that aren't half finished, and that actually can make your
home feel even more chao it than when you start it.

(03:19):
And on top of that, on top of like that
physical like things being in disarray, is there's this mental
load component that we struggle with that we don't often realize.
So you're switching tasks, going from one spot to another
without ever really having that like final completion to be

(03:42):
able to check that box and move onto the net.
And so what happens is we get tired, and we
get frustrated, and we start to feel like we're not
making any progress. And I know I've talked about it before,
but you know, I'm a huge kind of Dave Ramsey
fan when it comes to approaching debt, and when I
look at people who are struggling with debt and they

(04:07):
are trying to get themselves out of it, and it
can be very emotional and scary and overwhelming in all
the things, and without a clear plan, it's really hard
to get out of that and start making traction. And
it's a lot easier to stay in this cycle, this
perpetual cycle of debt, unless you have a clear plan. So,

(04:28):
like Dave Ramsey has the baby steps, and you follow
through them, and it's a very systematic approach, right, whether
you agree with it or not, is a very systematic
approach that allows you to get to this level, then
you move to the next one, and then you move
to the next one. And I like to approach organizing
the same way. And I think what happens for a
lot of people is they inadvertently use the bouncing around

(04:54):
thinking that they're making progress when essentially they're just staying
in this cycle because they're never really fully changing the behavior.
And they're also not like getting one clutter area fully
out of their life, so it's always hanging around and

(05:18):
when at first glance it appears that you it gives
you this like false sense of productivity because you're being busy.
But when you start to peel back the layers and
you really look at it, it really makes it more
difficult to see the progress. And when you don't see progress,

(05:38):
that's what leads to frustration, and that's when we start
to growing hands up. And I think about it all
the time when it comes to weight loss and exercise
and eating, when you're working really hard to try to
reach a goal. Maybe you're trying to lower your cholesterol,
maybe you're trying to lose weight on the scale, maybe
you're trying to just get down a pant size, whatever it.

(06:01):
Maybe you're running and you're trying to get up five
k and under thirty minutes or twenty five minutes or
whatever goal you're setting for yourself without a plan of
how you're going to get there, approach that we oftentimes
are just going through the motion. And when we look

(06:21):
up and we said that we've said X amount of
time trying to get to this goal and we haven't
gotten it. But we've been busy, and I'm air quoting.
It's like we do busy do trying but not being
effective with it. It makes you just want to be like,
forget it. I'm going to go eat the hot fudge Sunday,
or I'm going to go I don't know whatever. The

(06:44):
film in the blank is to fill that void and
like just ignore that sense of frustration that we're having.
So how do we fix this right? How do we
know that this is a problem and so many people
are excuse So what do we do? The first thing is,
and again it's nothing that I haven't said a million

(07:07):
dollars orfore, but we're going to say it again, is
pick one zone. It doesn't have to be a whole room.
It doesn't have to be a whole area. Pick one zone,
one area, and stick to that. So it could be
a counter, it could be a drawer, it could be
a closet, whatever that manageable space is. I want you

(07:30):
to identify that you're going to use that one space
and we are going to see that route to completion. Now,
if you're someone that gets easily distracted, set a timer,
give yourself that timeline to work on it. Within that
time frame. Have this is where my four pile system
comes in really handy. So this is a sort. The

(07:53):
sorting system that I use is the four pile method.
It's keep, donate, recycle, relocate. I'll say that again, eat
and that means we're keeping it in that same spot
that we are currently in. So we're working in the
home office and it's office supplies. It's going to live there.
That's key. Then we have donate. Donate is oh, we

(08:17):
have a bunch of extra pens and we don't use them.
I'm donating them all notebooks, we're donating them, so that's donate.
Then we have recycle. This is all the old paperwork
that we're having with. This is pens that no longer work.
Those are all the reload. Those are all the recycle items.
And then what goes and relocate relocate is, oh, I

(08:40):
had a lipstick in my office, but I don't I
don't do my makeup in the office, so I'm going
to relocate that to my purse or into back into
my makeup area of my back were So that is
the relocy, But don't take the relop heat stuff until
the end. And that means where a lot of people
go sideways is they start to quickly go to that

(09:03):
relocat and then they start digging them into that new space.
So just make those piles and have that systematic way
that you are working through your space so that you
see thought, so that you start to see fragments. Hey, friends,
LORI here and I want to share a little personal
story with you. A couple of years ago, I had

(09:23):
this come to Jesus moment where I realized that I
was spending way too much time and money on clothes
that didn't really work for me. The ones that look
amazing on the hangar or maybe on somebody else, but
when I would put them on, something felt just off.
I don't know if you can relate to that. And
then I was introduced to my friend Jeanie over at
your Color Guru, and let me tell you, it was

(09:45):
a game changer. Jeanie and her team of experts helped
me discover my own personal color palette. Shout out to
the warm autumns out there. So now I only buy
and keep clothes make me look and feel my best.
It stopped me from impuls buying or buying things that
sit in my closet that I wind up never wearing.

(10:08):
I can't tell you the amount of time and money
that I saved from just knowing what works for me.
And here's the best part. If you are ready to
find your perfect colors, stop wasting money and time. You
can use my code tol to get ten percent off
of your first color analysis. Trust me, this is one
decision that you will not regret and it makes for

(10:30):
a great gift too, Like I'm thinking Mother's day birthdays.
These are a fun, great gift and you can even
grab a bunch of friends together and do it together.
So head on over to your color guru and start
loving what's in your closet today, and don't forget use
code tool at checkout for ten percent off. There's also
the emotional sides of the clutter, and I think a

(10:52):
lot of people will also move around because it's a
tactic of avoid. And if you're somebody who's an avoid
or talk about think about other areas of your life.
We look at relationships, attachment styles, personality types. There are
people fight or flight right. There are people who are avoids,

(11:12):
people who are procrastinators, people who will distract themselves from
the hard, uncomfortable things. And if you are somebody that
does that in other areas, of your life, it would
make sense that you are going to follow that a
similar pattern when it comes to declutter, because so much

(11:35):
of our clutter, so much of our clutter is emotional,
so much of it is a result of other things
that are going on in our lives. Because clutter is
the result of byponder of something else that's going on.
So you have clutter that is building up, it's usually
because something else in your life went sidelights. And so

(11:55):
if that is you having that hard look in the
mirror to make those decisions is uncomfortable, and working through
that by first even admitting it and addressing it is
step one. Just admitting this is really hard for me,
This is emotional, This is making me feel and I'm

(12:18):
I'm making this up, but this is making me feel
like I'm shameful, or I feel like a failure, or
this is reminding me of a really uncomfortable period of
my life. You know, maybe you were going through a
divorce for a health issue, or somebody a death, or
something was going on in your life and you, as

(12:39):
a result, all this clutter started becumulaving. And now you're
coming up from air. The fog is lifting, and you're
ready to address it because you've had enough of the
physical clutter. But just the thought of that, dealing with
that physical clutter is bringing you back to that really
uncomfortable period of your life. And so for many of us,

(13:02):
that got instinct is to run away. And that's when
we have to sit in the heart and that's really
that's tough, and that's when it's helpful to bring in reinforcements,
whether that's a friend or a professional, to help you
navigate that because the reality of it is decluttering is
not a quick fix, is not an overnight fix. I

(13:24):
say this all the time. Your clutter did not accumulate overnight.
It is not going to go away in the like
of an eye. Even if you were to bring in
a professional organizer with a team of people, the majority
of things you're going to have to fIF through them.
We're not just here talking about like a full home
clean out. Right. That's a different that's a different type

(13:48):
of a job. Right, that's a different thing. But if
you are saying, listen, my life has gone like off
the rails the last couple of years. I need to
get back on track. I need to start creating some systems.
We need to work through that systematically, and that takes time.
We want to not be hasty, we don't want to

(14:09):
rush things, and at this point, the goal isn't about
the perfection. It's about being consistent and not seeing that
consistent progress. That progression happens, and it's normal if you're frustrated,
and it's normal to want to get it all done.
That's human nature. We especially whenever we want something, we're like,

(14:30):
we want it now. We're at that point where you're like, Okay,
I've had enough of this. I'm at my breaking point.
And being able to recognize that and fit in the
uncomfortable is a huge part of the full cycle. And
so it really becomes this mindset shift of changing it
from how fast can I get this done? To how

(14:54):
can I start building healthy habits? What can I change
to make sure that we don't repeat this from happening?
How do we undo some of the things that maybe
have been done to get us here? And we can
only learn from it, and once we're aware of it,
it's hard to unsee it, and so we just need
to work through it until we get to the point

(15:15):
where you feel good about it, and then we're building
new habits because that's really what we're talking about it.
We're not just talking about removing the clutter. We're talking
about removing the bad habits that lent us to the clutter.
And again, understandably, sometimes there are things that are that
take up bigger priority than filing your stock or getting

(15:35):
rid of things. I totally get it. So whatever your
reason is for getting there, just recognize that it's a
process to be able to get through it. And sometimes
we want to just hit the pause button and just
not deal with it. And I think it's okay if
we have to reevaluate and shift focus. But setting some

(15:56):
very specific guidelines, full and benchmarks is going to allow
you to work room those hard times, right when you're
like I can't see the farest through the trees. I
just want to quick saying no, let's ship the focus.
Let's set some ground rules. What are some fair men abouts,

(16:17):
what are some things that you can do on your own?
What are some things that you can do that you
can outsource, and really saying how can I incorporate this
into my life in a healthy way? And sometimes that
means doing a fresh reset. Maybe you're going to do
a thirty day reset and say Okay, I'm doing this
for thirty days and then I'm going to reevaluate and

(16:38):
see where you are. Maybe it means you're saying, okay,
I'm going to when I get to the risk point,
I'm going to consider this done for now. Breaking things.
I'm a big fan of breaking things into phases, so
it's okay, phase one might be we're going to declutter,
and then we're going to stop and we're going to
move into something else. Maybe you're are going to come

(17:00):
back and create the organizing system after. But really having
a sense of where is our where's our temporary finish line,
as opposed to saying Okay, I've had enough, i can't
deal with it anymore and I'm going to pingpong somewhere else,
because that is where people get stuck. That is where

(17:22):
people get custer from. And I understand that these are
normal feelings. I see it all the time. I see
it with my client right now. And working through that
and just re establishing what our bar is, why we're
here in the first place, and what our goals are
is just as much my job at the boats as

(17:45):
much as it is sitting there and sorting through the
stuff right being that cheerleader, being that champion for your
friend or your spouse, for your client, if you're a
professional organizer, and you'll listen to that. You know, when
we start to feel demotivating in our own lives about something,
having somebody that's going to encourage you think about that's

(18:07):
why people when people are running a race and it's
people in this sideline, you got it, one.

Speaker 2 (18:11):
More mile or you're almost there, it's those little words
of encouragement that have so much weight, and that's what
allows you to dig deep when the going gets tied
and be that for somebody.

Speaker 1 (18:26):
Right and if you are somebody that needs somebody to
dig deep for you, get that person. It's okay saying hey,
I'm at a bottleneck, I'm at a roadblock. I need
some help and I need whether it's accountability, whether it's
tough love, whether it's nurturing, whatever it is, get that
other person that can be that support for you. Because

(18:50):
it's hard. It's hard mentally, it's hard physically depending on
where you're de cluttering. And sometimes you're de cluttering a
spaces in like a basement or garage. You're lifting stuff,
you're caring stuff, you're moving stuff, and it's exhausting, and
so give yourself some grace and space on that, but
also don't be afraid to say, hey, I need some

(19:14):
help getting to that fish slot and you help it.
And so again, I know that this episode might be
a little all over the place. Like I said, it
was very impromptu, but I just I felt the need
to share this with you because I know the frustration

(19:35):
that I feel for my client, and I know that
there's probably someone out there listening. Maybe it's you, maybe
it's a friend of yours that really needs to hear us.
And so if that is somebody in your world, we've
shared the episode with them. It really it helps us
to all feel like we're not alone in this butter

(19:57):
is so many people's dirty little secret and doesn't have
to be. We all go through tough things. We all
use different coping strategy and sometimes it's shutting down and
some winds it's shopping, and sometimes it's avoiding, and for
some of us it's decluttering and organizing. But if you
are in a spot where you're finding yourself overwhelmed and

(20:19):
you don't know where to start, please encourage you. And
as was the help of somebody else who can help
you map out a clear and consistent plan so that
you don't wind up ping ponging back and forth, because
you and your time are work more than that. So anyway,

(20:39):
I hope you've found this episode helpful and useful, and
I am here championing you every step of the way.
So I'm Lord Plow and until next week, please out.
Thanks for tuning in. If you like this episode, please
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(21:00):
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dot com, which is filled with tons of resources, including

(21:22):
free downloads, checklists, links to our amazing organizing partners, and
all of our digital offerings. I'll see you next week
for another episode of This Organized Life