Small Steps to Lasting Change- Living Clutter Free

12/03/20 • 17 min

Welcome to the third episode of the series, small steps to lasting change. This has been such a fun series so far and I’m so honored you’re listening in this week. If you haven’t listened to the first two episodes in this series, make sure to check them out after you listen to this one about making small steps towards living clutter free.

In the first episode we talked about mindset and shopping. Then we talked about small steps in your daily tasks.

Today we’re talking about making small steps that will have a lasting impact on your clutter so you can live clutter free.

Have you ever spent weeks, months, or even longer decluttering and then looked around and felt like you haven’t made any progress? This is so common, especially in the beginning of your clutter free journey. And even if you’re a seasoned declutterer (I know that's not a real word!), you probably still have these moments.

What I want is for you to get to a place where you declutter just to maintain and not to find your sanity!

Small steps you can start today to live clutter free.

These are not in order so you can do whatever works for you.

Stop getting distracted
Put it on your calendar
Stop bringing stuff in
Make decisions

We go into detail about each one of these steps in this episode of The Simple Home Podcast. Putting these small steps into practice will keep you from decluttering every couple months so you can live in your house and not just manage your stuff.

Links from this episode

Now it’s time to go and do! Remember if you have questions or need support with anything we talk about on this show you can always DM me on IG, I’m @jennaarvidson or come join my FB group. It’s full of like minded people who are working hard to simplify their lives too! This work is easier done in community than by yourself so come over and join us!

If this episode inspired you in some way, please take a minute to leave a rating and review on itunes. Use this link, click the 5 starts, and write a short review of the show!

In the first episode we talked about mindset and shopping. Then we talked about small steps in your daily tasks.

Today we’re talking about making small steps that will have a lasting impact on your clutter so you can live clutter free.

What I want is for you to get to a place where you declutter just to maintain and not to find your sanity!

Small steps you can start today to live clutter free.

These are not in order so you can do whatever works for you.

Stop getting distracted
Put it on your calendar
Stop bringing stuff in
Make decisions

Links from this episode

If this episode inspired you in some way, please take a minute to leave a rating and review on itunes. Use this link, click the 5 starts, and write a short review of the show!

Previous Episode

075- Small Steps to Lasting Change Series- Simplify Your Daily Tasks

This episode is the second in a series I’m doing called small steps to lasting change. Hopefully each of the topics we talk about will help you cement these small steps into your life so you feel the changes you’re making.

If you didn’t listen to the first episode, they don’t necessarily go in order so listen to this one first, but make sure to go back to episode 74 because we talk about mindset and shopping. With the holidays coming, this is an important one to think about!

Today we’re talking about simplify daily tasks which can have a huge impact on how you feel each day.

These are the things that have to be done continuously or you quickly feel like you’re drowning. Things like cleaning, cooking, laundry, paying bills, and getting yourself and your kids ready for the day. I know there’s more, but these are the ones I hear about most. The steps we talk about today can be applied to any other task you’re struggling with.

Sometimes I look around the house and just thinking about all the things I need to do just to keep my family alive and keep the house running, makes me feel tired and it’s not even 7am.

The only way I’ve found to minimize this overwhelming feeling is to set up systems and make daily tasks more automatic. Rather than being in reactive mode, running around at 5:30, trying to figure out what to cook for dinner. Or looking for your favorite pair of jeans only to realize they’re in the mound of laundry on the washer, I want you to live in proactive mode.

That’s exactly what we’re going to change today as we talk about small steps you can take to go from reactive to proactive.

Step 1- write down the tasks that cause you stress and how much time they take.
Step 2- write down how often you need to do them, daily, weekly, etc.
Step 3- decide when you’ll do the task and be specific.
Step 4- stay consistent until it becomes automatic.

There were several things I talked about in this episode that I could have kept talking about for hours.

If you’d like to hear more about my systems or more detail on how to set them up, I have several other episodes you may want to listen to.

Links from this Episode

Now it’s time to go and do! Remember if you have questions or need support with anything we talk about on this show you can always DM me on IG, I’m @jennaarvidson or come join my FB group.

Next Episode

077: Small Steps to Lasting Change- Simplify Your Family Budget and Spending

This episode is the 4th in a series I’m calling, small steps to lasting change and today we’ll talk about small steps you can make when it comes to your family budget that will have a lasting impact and hopefully simplify some things for you too.

Alright, let’s get right to it! These steps are not in order so take what works for you and start wherever will have the biggest impact on your family budget right now.

I want you to know a few things about me and my relationship with money before we get started. I used to be a spender. Like a major spender.

As a teenager, I worked at Walmart and every time I was at work, I’d make a mental list of all the things I wanted to purchase. Then, as soon as I got my paycheck, I’d cash it at the service counter and buy the things I wanted.

I went into my marriage with a large chunk of student debt and a car loan. My husband on the other hand didn’t have any debt. This motivated me to pay everything off quickly. We rented a tiny house, shared a car, and lived on one income even though we both worked. During this time, I realized just how little we could live on and still be completely fulfilled. I found that knowing exactly how much money we were bringing and where we were spending it was empowering. We set goals and continually tried to beat our savings.

Throughout the years, we’ve had moments where we got more relaxed, like right now, which is part of the reason I’m doing this episode. I know I need to re-evaluate our habits and focus on our financial goals for a bit and I’m hoping what I’ve learned over the past decade or so of us becoming debt free will empower you to meet your financial goals too!

You may not be able to change the amount of money you’re currently bringing in, at least not immediately, but you can take control of what you spend and be in charge of your money rather than letting your money be in charge of you.

Here’s a few small steps you can put in place for your family budget.

Small step one- know your numbers- where do you spend your money?
Small step two- check in with yourself every day.
Small step three- set goals.
Small step four- make it a competition with yourself.
Small step five- only shop with a list.

In this episode of The Simple Home Podcast, we’ll talk through each of the above steps so you can make lasting change in the way you spend and budget your money.

Links from this episode:

Money is a hard topic to talk about because we’re all in different positions financially and many of us have “money baggage” or negative emotions associated with money. I don’t want this episode to make you feel bad in any way, or cause you to freeze up and not do anything to change your current position. I want you to remember that most people are living paycheck to paycheck (like 80% of people), and most of the people who look like they have their finances in order are drowning in debt. If you want to live differently, no matter where you're starting from, you have to make changes and live within your means. Choose one small step you can do for your family budget and take action.