My clients love this powerful concept from theminimalists.com~

(paraphrashed) If you’re holding onto an item “just in case” but rarely use it, you can let it go if it can be replaced for less than $20 in under 20 minutes.

This doesn’t refer to heirlooms.  It refers to items you keep “in case they may be useful someday to someone,” even though they haven’t been useful to you yet.

This is about letting go of fear that keeps us holding onto things that don’t serve us.

TIP: Very simply, ask yourself “Am I keeping this item just in case?”

If you yearn to let go of something but haven’t, try this experiment:

Choose 1 low-stakes item. Ask + write:

• Attachment level (1–10)?
• How bad would letting go feel (0–10)?
• How long would it take to process that feeling?
• What’s worst outcome — how hard to recover if worst happened (0–10)?

Donate or toss it. Then ask + write:

• I feel ________
• Distress rating (0–10): ________
• What did I learn?
• How will I move forward?

Anticipation is usually worse than reality. In 20 years with clients, the more they practice wise discernment, the more freedom they experience.

• ASK: “How much money per square foot am I paying toward rent/mortgage just to store holiday boxes I either don’t use at all or only use 1 of 12 months? Are they worthy of my precious storage space?”

TIP: The more time that goes by that you don’t use an item, the less likely you are to use it in the future.

During organizing sessions, I ask clients the organization level they want to implement. It’s okay to want a high OR low level!

*Do you want socks neatly in a row OR is a pile good enough?
*Do you want matching containers OR is an assortment acceptable?
*Do you want printed file tabs OR are hand-written post its adequate?

TIP: Ask yourself: “Does high/low organization SAVE or COST me time/energy/money?”

It doesn’t matter what “experts” recommend.  You are the one who knows what’s sustainable and effective for YOU.

Zero in on your truthful answer and take action.

A majority of my clients struggle with task-completion because they are thinking/doing many things simultaneously.

Research shows “multi-tasking” is really “task-switching”. It can take 10-15 minutes to fully switch over to a new task.

TIP: Set a TimeTimer for 15–30-minute increments. Watching the red disk disappear as the timer counts down enables us to be intentional, as we grasp the reality of how long a task takes.

TIP: When single-tasking, jot on a notepad any “to-dos” that enter your mind, telling yourself “I will attend to that at a designated time. Now, my time is focused on THIS task.”