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Thread: Setting A Decluttering Goal in Units of Time Using Flylady's Timer Method - July 2018

  1. #1
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    Setting A Decluttering Goal in Units of Time Using Flylady's Timer Method - July 2018

    Hi All,

    I'm a teacher who is on a reduced schedule for about two months mid-December through mid-February and mid-June through mid-August. I also have a REALLY cluttered home. In the past, I've had some success with setting myself a goal of doing a certain number of hours of decluttering during my periods of reduced work. I set one overall goal (last winter and summer, it was 40 hours), then chip away at it in smaller increments of time. Some days I aim for an hour; others for four hours (with breaks!). I basically use flylady's timer method described here, but with longer periods of time than 15 minutes:

    http://www.flylady.net/d/getting-sta...ng-15-minutes/

    It's also helped me a lot to keep track of progress towards my goal here, so here I am setting up a new goal: to complete another 40 hours of decluttering in my house by Sunday, August 19.

    If anybody else wants to join in with a decluttering goal of their own for a certain number of hours, I would love company!
    Last edited by ejchase; 7-12-18 at 9:33am.

  2. #2
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    I did my first hour yesterday. It was mostly unpacking from my trip and going through mail but since delaying these tasks often leads to the accumulation of clutter, I'm counting them.

  3. #3
    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
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    Interesting that small chunks of time work better for some people. I do better when I use big chunks of time. It doesn’t really matter as long as it gets done. We are home on Sunday from a month of traveling so will need to rest for awhile. Then I will see if I can find more stuff to get rid of. Being in many people’s homes this month made me realize how little I have compared to many others. Not a minimalistic but have done a good job of paring down. Good luck on decluttering!

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    Teacher Terry, I think I'm realizing one reason I have such big clutter issues is because whenever I have moved into a new place, I have never taken the time necessary to figure out a place for everything right from the start. And then over the years, things accumulate because I don't have designated spots or systems for dealing with them.

    So decluttering at my house takes a lot of thought because I have to figure out how to solve problems I've put off solving for a long time, and for me, knowing I have 1-2 hours to set up new systems or reorganize existing systems really helps. 15 minute timer sessions are too short for that type of thing.

  5. #5
    Geila
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    I'm really trying to motivate myself to tackle my office and garage and not having much luck. I'd like to join in here and see if this helps. I usually prefer to do big chunks of time but I can't even get myself started.

    Let me set a goal of 20 minutes per day and see if that helps.

  6. #6
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    I find setting the timer does help me focus. I'm amazed at how much I can get done in the 15 minutes. Of course, then I sit for the rest of the day!!! sometimes I just keep resetting the timer if I'm doing very well and am not too tired.

  7. #7
    Senior Member KayLR's Avatar
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    I think I'd like to try this. Fifteen min. at first....see if I'm successful, then maybe 20.
    My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far today, I have finished two bags of M&Ms and a chocolate cake. I feel better already!

  8. #8
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    Welcome Geila, nswef, and KayLR!

    Nice to have others trying the idea out with me!

  9. #9
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    I did another hour yesterday, so my new total is 2.

  10. #10
    Senior Member iris lilies's Avatar
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    I am waiting for DH to leave on several short trips to tackle

    1) plastic contaners and lids in our kitchen
    2) bottom shelf of our Victorian cabinet full of his stuff not used in 3 years,
    I will whittle down but not eliminate completely
    3) plastic pots

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