#178| Declutter Challenge Day 1: Setting Intentions & Micro-Decluttering: Overwhelm, Productivity, Time Management & People Pleasing

Does clutter feel like it’s not just in your home, but also in your mind, calendar, and inbox?

If you’re an overwhelmed working woman, clutter may be stealing more than just physical space—it’s quietly draining your energy, time, and sense of control. This episode kicks off the Declutter Challenge, starting with a simple yet powerful micro-declutter to lighten your load immediately.

By tuning in, you’ll discover:

• Why clutter impacts your mood, stress, and productivity far beyond a messy closet.
• How to identify the spot where clutter feels heaviest in your life right now.
• A step-by-step micro declutter method you can complete in just five minutes for instant relief.

Press play now to learn how one tiny declutter can help you feel calmer, lighter, and more in control today.

(Not signed up for the Challenge? Click the link below and join in!)

Featured on the podcast
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Ep #129: Why Your To-Do List Feels Endless— And How the Sunday Basket® Can Reduce Overwhelm

Wondering why you're overwhelmed? Take my "why am I overwhelmed" quiz to find out the source of your overwhelm, and what to do about it.

Send Me a Message - Have a question, comment, or just want to say hi? Message me here, I'd love to chat!

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Life can be overwhelming, but on this podcast, you'll discover practical strategies to overcome overwhelm, imposter syndrome, and negative self-talk, manage time effectively, set boundaries, and stay productive in high-stress jobs—all while learning how to say no and prioritize self-care on the Overwhelmed Worki...

Episode Transcript

Michelle Gauthier (00:00):
Clutter doesn't just take up space.
It takes your time and yourenergy and your peace of mind.
You're listening to OverwhelmedWorking Woman, the podcast that
helps you be more calm and moreproductive by doing less.
I'm your host, MichelleGauthier, a former Overwhelmed
Working Woman and current lifecoach.

(00:21):
On this show, we unpack thestress and pressure that today's
working woman experiences, andin each episode you'll get a
strategy to bring more calm,ease and relaxation to your life
.
Hey friend, welcome to day oneof the declutter challenge.
I'm so glad you're here.

(00:41):
Over the next five days, we'regoing to clear clutter from your
space, your schedule, yourdigital life and even your brain
, taking little steps every dayso you can feel lighter and
calmer and more in control.
And I just think it's fun thata bunch of people have signed up
and if you haven't yet, youstill have time to do that,
because then you know you'redoing it alongside all of the

(01:03):
internet people who are alsolistening to this podcast.
When you listen today, you'lllearn why clutter is a problem.
I know there's some realobvious reasons, but I'm going
to tell you more about that.
I'm going to ask you a fewquestions to consider for your
intention for the declutteringfor this week, and I'm going to
explain how to do a microdeclutter.
Doesn't calling it that make itsound so cute and fun Like, oh,

(01:26):
just a little micro declutter?
If you have not officiallyjoined the challenge, you can
still do it.
The link is in the show notesand when you join you'll get
automatic access to a beautifulworkbook with each day's summary
and journal questions and theinstructions for what to do for
that day.
You'll get a link to submitquestions and wins to me, so you

(01:46):
can either submit them viaemail or via a voice note.
I'm going to be sharing some ofthose on the podcast.
Every time you reply back with aquestion or a win, you get
entered to win a prize.
I have some really great prizes, including a label maker, which
I had to get for myself, youknow, just to test it out, and
I've been labeling everything.
My kids might or might notappreciate that.

(02:09):
I'm also giving away a coachingsession with me and a Sunday
Basket.
If you don't know what theSunday Basket is, there's an
episode on that.
It's a system used fororganizing paperwork etc.
And I had the woman whoinvented it and owns the company
on and it was a great episode.
So you can go back and listento that if you want to, but if

(02:29):
you want to win that, do thedeclutter challenge.
Okay.
So let's talk about why clutteris a problem.
So I think it's a problem justthe stuff, like if you think
about stuff on the floor orpiles on the counter.
That's just annoying and it'sinefficient to have stuff
everywhere.
But also if you think about theimpacts, like the trickle down

(02:50):
effects of clutter.
For example, if you have amessy closet, it makes your
mornings way more stressful.
You probably have clothes inthere that don't fit you anymore
or that are out of style andyou wouldn't wear anymore, and
it takes way longer to getdressed than it should.
And walking into a messy closetat least it makes me feel like
my whole life is out of control.

(03:11):
Or think about when your inboxis super full.
It just automatically gives youthat feeling of being behind.
Or an overflowing calendar.
When I used to look at minewhen I had my corporate job and
I'd be like triple booked duringsome of the hours, I'm like, oh
my gosh, I'm trapped, I cannot,I don't know what I can do with
this, and all that gives you acluttered mind, which probably

(03:32):
makes you feel anxious and oroverwhelmed and or stressed.
So clutter doesn't just take upspace, it takes your time and
your energy and your peace ofmind.
And you know, on this podcastwe are all about creating ways,
easy ways, to feel lessoverwhelmed and less stress, and
so decluttering is one of thoseways.
I don't want it to be like ahuge home makeover.

(03:55):
If you get inspired to do thatby doing this declutter
challenge, that's great, butthis week is really just about
taking small, doable actionsthat create space and relief,
physically and mentally, and bythe end of the week you'll have
some real wins, even if the winsare small and momentum, and you
can make a great plan to keepgoing on that.

(04:15):
One thing I recommend that youdo is reach out to a friend and
see if a friend wants to do thischallenge with you or maybe you
know a friend who has alreadysigned up with this and help
hold each other accountable.
It's so much more fun to dothings.
So let's dig in with today'sspecific topic.
The question that I want you toask yourself, and if you've got

(04:36):
the workbook.
This is in your workbook, andthen there are several more
additional questions in there toconsider.
But what I want you to thinkabout today is where does
clutter feel the heaviest inyour life right now?
Is it in your home?
Is it in your inbox?
Is it in your calendar?
Is it your mind?
If it is in your house, whereis it specifically?

(04:57):
I don't know about you, but Ican literally feel clutter Like
I'm sitting in my office rightnow and I can close my eyes and
I can picture the spots in myhouse that feel cluttered to me.
There's that hallway closet.
There is the basement storageroom which, by the way, I just
cleaned out last winter, butit's somehow has stuff back in
it again and I can literallyfeel the pressure of that

(05:20):
clutter, and those are both inplaces that I rarely look and
don't need to go to often.
So when you think about wherein your life is there clutter
that's weighing on your mind,jot that down and think about
what the effect is of thatclutter.
Just one small example for me Ido a lot of interviews for the

(05:40):
podcast and I sometimes do themfar in advance of when they
actually are out.
So I just had a bunch ofinterviews on my computer backed
up but on my computer and Ididn't know when they were
supposed to be scheduled and Ineed to do some work before I
can send them over to Kari to doediting.
So I just spent about an hourand I scheduled all of them and

(06:01):
I put them on our podcastcalendar and I noted where I
still need to record an intro orwhere it was done and I just
felt so much better knowing thatthey were all reviewed and
taken care of.
So just think about that, foryou Could be something in your
house, could be somethingdigital, like I just talked
about, and then consider alsohow that clutter makes you feel

(06:22):
today and how you'd like to feelby the end of this week.
All right, today's action.
I think this is a fun one, thecute little micro declutter.
So let's get into your firstone.
Today I want you to spend likefive or ten minutes clearing one
tiny area.
Don't overthink it.
Here's some ideas just to getyou started.
You could do your wallet, yourbathroom counter, your car cup

(06:45):
holders or your glove box, thetop of your nightstand, the door
of your refrigerator, where allthe expired sauces live, if you
are in my house, one pocket ofyour backpack or your work bag,
the top of your refrigeratorwhere all the expired sauces
live, if you are in my house,one pocket of your backpack or
your work bag, the top of yourdesk, your phone's home screen,
a drunk drawer, your makeup bagyou get the idea.
Just pick one of those areas,set a timer for five minutes and

(07:09):
if you're not finished afterfive minutes and you want to do
five more, amazing and just gofor it.
So remember, the steps fordecluttering are always the same
.
It's take everything out, sortthem into piles of, keep, give
away, throw away or recycle.
Give away the giveaways, throwaway the throwaways and neatly
put the rest back into whereveryou took them out of in the

(07:32):
first place.
After you finish, just noticehow you feel.
What I notice is, let's justsay, I clean out my purse, which
I actually need to do.
Maybe that will be my microdeclutter for the day, but when
I do, I find myself looking init all the time.
Or if I clean out a cabinet,I'll just like open it and look
in there and be impressed withmyself.
So how does it make you feelwhen you've done just that one

(07:53):
small declutter, and are thereother people in your house who
could do a small declutter too?
Kids actually thrive inorganized environments.
Even though my kids alwaysresist it.
When they do it they feel somuch better.
Okay, now, don't forget, I wantto hear from you so you can
either reply to the daily emailyou get from me.
If you've signed up for thechallenge, you will have gotten

(08:13):
an email from me this morningand you're going to get one
every morning, so you can replyback and you can tell me any of
the answers that I asked today.
Where is the clutter feeling soheavy for you?
How does it make you feel?
How do you want to feel by theend of the week?
You can show me a win.
I love when people send mepictures of your decluttered

(08:34):
wallet or fridge door or junkdrawer or whatever you clean out
.
You can just tell me about yourwin any of those things.
If you send me a message, avoice memo, there's a chance
that I'm going to share it onthe podcast tomorrow.
So if you want to get a shoutout for your wins, or if you
have a question that you thinkother people might also want the
answer to, which is probablythe case.

(08:58):
If question that you think otherpeople might also want the
answer to, which is probably thecase, if you have a question,
somebody else probably does too,so be sure to send me a message
and when you do, you'll beentered to win one of our prizes
.
All right, that's it for dayone.
Enjoy your micro declutter andget ready for tomorrow when we
talk about simplifying aslightly bigger space in your
home.
Thank you for listening to theOver working woman podcast.
If you want to learn more aboutmy work, head over to my

(09:20):
website at michellegauthier.
com.
See you next week.