Welcome to Day 3 in our Clutter-Free Challenge.
Yesterday I wrote about how we have a powerhouse of help when it comes to having a clear focus. After seeking God’s help with this de-cluttering process, the next step on our Clutter-Free journey deals with minds. I’ll venture to say 75% or more of our clutter problems aren’t because we don’t work hard enough, or that our homes are too small or our children are messy. Most of our problems start because we can’t think through what needs to be done. We can’t get our minds under control. We can’t make decisions. We are on mental overload.
Do you know that feeling?
For years, I lived with an ongoing sense that I should be doing something all the time. It ate at me. Even when I was focused on something important, there was a latent unease about what else I should be doing. It was an underlying anxiety that hung around, even when there was no pressing deadline or responsibility. It caused stress and lack of sleep.
It wasn’t until I read David Allen’s book, Getting Things Done, that I discovered a reason for this tension. It seems our brains aren’t designed to store and manage all of the information, deadlines and demands that swirl around us at all times.
Allen writes, “The big problem is that your mind keeps reminding you of things when you can’t do anything about them. It has no sense of past or future. That means that as soon as you tell yourself that you need to do something, and store it in your RAM (your mind), there’s a part of you that thinks you should be doing that something all the time.”
It was a head-slapping moment when I read those words. That was it! Allen goes on to explain that the first step to finding a solution is to get everything out of your mind and store it somewhere safe. Not the “safe” place you stored an important document at home, and now can’t find. But somewhere close at hand.
I realized my mind was trying to manage more stuff than it could hold, and one to-do list wasn’t the answer because it wasn’t keeping things in safe places.
With that in mind, I’m going to ask you to do something painful. Not as painful as stepping on a scale, but close. I want you to take a personal assessment of all your responsibilities, projects, priorities and tasks. Everything. Get it out of your mind and onto one notepad or spiral notebook – this will likely take more than one page, and that’s okay. If you have multiple to-do lists somewhere, combine them into this one list. Leave this list where you can see it morning, noon and night for a few days.
On this list write down everything you need to get done. You might start with your home and add repairs, cleaning projects or laundry. Write down things you need to do for your family, such as make a dentist appointment, write a letter to a teacher or take clothes to the dry cleaning. Then move on to other areas of your life: church, community involvement, sports teams, etc. Include big projects and little things, like errands and emails that need to be sent. Nothing is too small to include.
You might want to dedicate one page for future projects, such as planning this summer’s vacation or researching colleges with your daughter. Another page might contain things you want to do years from now, but you don’t want to forget.
If you are employed, you might want to keep those responsibilities separate.
This process will take you days. If it helps, you can organize this list however you see fit now, or just write things down as they come to mind. It’s okay if there is no order to it. Actually trying to organize it now might hinder you if you are a perfectionist. You might not leave yourself enough room in a certain category and then you’ll be frustrated.
For now, capture it all on paper. Don’t be surprised if you feel a bit panicky at how much you have to do. Just take a deep breath and ask for God’s peace. You will feel a sense of relief soon. Even if you go no further in this Clutter-Free journey, I promise you will feel better after this step is done. You’ll feel lighter.
Hold on to that list. Add to it. We’ll get back to it in a few days when I tell you how to use this list to create a project management planner. I think that’s enough for one day, don’t you?
Tomorrow I’ve got a tip for helping to de-clutter your mind even more. I think you’ll be surprised at what I’ve discovered multi-tasking can do to your brain.
One more thing. I’d love to give away a copy of my book, I Used to Be So Organized. To enter, just leave me a comment today. For fun, include in your comment one thing you are putting on your list. Make it something random, odd or unusual if possible. Or just an everyday thing which needs to get done. I’ll pick someone at random and post the winner on Thursday morning.
Until then …
Grace & Peace,
Glynnis
Heavenly Father, thank You for giving me so much responsibility. It shows Your trust in me. Help me to be a good steward of the assignments You have given me. Help clear the clutter in my mind as I work through this exercise. Bring things to mind that You want me to remember. It feels overwhelming to me right now, but I know with Your help, I can manage this. In Jesus name, Amen.
I need to return a rental cello. It includes packing it appropriately and ahipping it back to the company. Add to that I can’t find the box it was shipped in. I have been dragging my feet. It also closes a chapter in that child’s life with the cello. :/
It is at the top of my list!
Oh and sign up my daughter for parent taught driver’s ed.
I need to decide and be praying about what Jr. high to send my daughter to!!! It is definitely filling my mind and thoughts!!!!
I will put on my list prayer to help me get focused again on making lists. Since I lost my dad(hero) in Oct I feel I am spinning out of control. Thanks so much for this!
Finish our house that we have been building for 17 years.
Glyniss,
It is as though you are speaking to my heart alone! I have been so down recently and feeling like my clutter, both mental and physical, is spiraling out of contol. I have been asking God for help and last night through your Encouragement For Today devotion He led me to your blog. Praise the Lord! I could not wait to read today’s post. First on my list is make this list! Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I so relate! RuthF
Master Drive had a 2day skills training for my teen boys. I believe it has saved their lives as well as the car more than once. Worth the price of a deductible. RuthF
Go thru frames and craft supplies
Hi Glynnis,
This is a subject after my own heart! I was retrenched in December and started a clean up of housekeeping and admin and I am now at the tail end of those activities. It feels sooooo good! The one thing I put on one of my list of things to do, is to make contact with an acquaintance I made a few years ago – Annie. She interviews you and then makes a CD of your life story especially for you to give to your children and/or grandchildren, as a legacy. It would mean a trip to a coastal town a few hours away by air, but I know it will be worth the trip!
I would love to win your book for my daughter.
Bless you Glynnis
Leonie
This comment just gave me something to put on my to-do list…become Annie! I would love to do that/scrapbooks for other people. If only it paid well!
As an OCD, Perfectionist, procrastinator…Bet that is an ironic combo..but all true of me. I can totally relate to a lot of what you wrote. My mind NEVER stops so I feel like I can’t stop…but I force myself to physically stop and sit…so I can get a breather and try to focus on what’s necessary..but my mind keeps spinning those wheels. One thing I’ve been wanting to do for days and I keep telling myself I will do, is to simply paint my finger nails and toenails. I don’t get pedicures and fancy pampering things done..so that’s one thing that helps me feel feminine..but I can’t seem to make the time to do it. So that is definitely on my list!
Thank you for blessing us with practical wisdom! Blessings!
I need to take care of myself. Exercise. Eat well. And convince myself that I am worthy of having a clean home and sound health.
What a wonderful place to start. I’m sure you can do it.
What a great thing to be doing, getting rid of the clutter that suffocates us. Thank you for this initiative. It is SO helpful. On my list is one job that is never pleasant…clearing up the dog mess in our back yard. Our 2 West Highland Terriers, McKinley and Monroe, are sweet and delightful, but boy do they produce a lot of poop! (Apologies for lowering the tone of your Blog!)
I need to wind the clocks.
I totally feel this way, with my constant to dos running in my head, even while making love to my husband! I can’t turn off my mind. The project I keep putting off is organizing years of pictures!
What a wonderful suggestion. I think that’s my problem and probably why I can’t sleep! My brain is swirling all the time – it never stops! Too many thoughts in, not enough getting OUT – kind of like my kids toys.
Ok – one thing I must do: Remove one sex-crazy snail from our fish tank – so they will stop procreating and leaving little tiny baby snails everywhere!! They don’t tell you that at Petsmart!!!
Hi Glynnis! Thank you so much for sharing this series. I need to finalize our tax returns…
Frame updated family pictures for our home
This series is great. Thank you for helping us. One of my most pressing needs is to organize the paperwork in my office. I know I keep way too much!
I love your blogposts and look forward to reading them each morning. I am going to start this busy day with reading some scriptures from the Bible and then am going to renew my nursing license, and mail a baby gift to an out-of-state friend. That is just the beginning followed by sending thank you cards, my daughter’s doctor apt, and unpacking from a trip. I love the wisdom you give and that many others feel the way i do…amazing. Thank you!
I looked for your book in our public library about 2 months ago. I so want to read it!
Simply trying to complete my nursing school assignments daily is overwhelming. If I also allow myself to think about how far behind that puts me at home, it can send me right over the edge. I try to remind myself I can do all things through Christ.
I need to clean out my closets and get rid of stuff I haven’t used/worn for 20 years!
I am enjoying reading through these posts. I look forward to reading your further posts on putting together a project management planner.
Hope to complete the project manager… But more than that- potty training my 2 year old!
Thank you so much for sharing your wealth of knowledge ! I am working on scanning old photos and getting rid of the paper! And it’s so fun to share them with the family. Blessings for a wonderful day!
There are so many – it’s hard to even find a place to start! Thank you for your gift of sharing your experiences – I feel like I know you
If I have to pick one thing – today it will need to be ‘the list’ and do it as things come to mind. If I don’t do it this way, I might spend the entire day trying to figure out a way to organize/catagorize the items somehow, get overwhelmed and risk not doing it at all.
Bless you.
Great post! I need/would like to organize all the kids art work/ special awards, etc.
Have it all in one place.
-Colleen G.
Our master bedroom has morphed into a storage or catch-all room! I keep looking at it and mentally throw my hands in the air. But reality is, I need to face it and make this retreat cozy again. All my daily plans to finally do this has (obviously) failed. I know it’s because it’s an intimidating task.
I thought multitasking must be biblical! You know the scripture about idle hands. I have been misled by the tempter himself! This will take some thought and slot of strong coffee.
I need to have eye exam!!! Mommies put themselves last, huh?
Organize all of my photos! 10 years of pictures in a box. I would love it if they were in albums.
What an amazing challenge! All of your words are so encouraging and leave me feeling excited and ready to conquer (clutter that is!) my big item ( or 2) on my list is to organize my receipts and start thinking about organizing my pictures!
Thank you for all the blessings and prayers you bring into this great world each day!
There’s so many things I need to do! One thing I need to as soon as possible is write a book review for Jill Savage’s new book No More Perfect Moms and get it on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and that other site whose name will come to me after I close this post. I’m on Jill’s launch team: her book is incredible. I would love to win your incredible book!
I need to calculate 2012 mileage for birth doula work. How I wish I had neatly tracked it all year!
I need to finish accounting and get taxes figured for my business. Uggh!!!
Today I need to complete our home-school lessons, organize printed recipes into a larger 3-ring binder, complete tax prep for my parent’s business and fix dinner. I also try to remember to be THANKFUL that my to-do list is full of things that are “ordinary” and not full of things such as devastating illnesses or loss, etc.
Thank you for your encouragement ! This is a wonderful series.
Blessings
Identify and set aside the items I am contributing for our Second Annual Girlfriends’ Swap Party. It’s a fun way to turn your “trash” (ie. Unused, ignored, no longer needed/wanted items) into “Treasures” in someone else’s life. We donate anything that goes unswapped!
Am loving this series. Thank you for leading us on this journey!
One thing on my list is to call and set up my annual doctor’s appointment.
Time to finish report cards for my students!
For the moment, however, I am enjoying this moment of quiet before the day with children begins!
I need to get the stacks of papers on my desk organized. I have it all in one “in” box… But they aren’t getting “out” as quickly as I know they should be.
Thanks for these posts, it is nice to focus on this huge, nagging area of my life.
Get the pictures from last summer’s vacation in an album…..before this summer’s vacation!
I really am enjoying this series. Thank you very much! I am one of those people who do not sit still–ever–I am trying to intentionally eliminate activities that God is not calling me to be involved with so I can focus more on what is important. I need to tackle the basement storage area!
I need to get a notebook to list all my to-dos. Taxes are on my mind already.
Resurface the breakfast table with chalkboard paint. I have 4 boys and they have all but destroyed the surface of the table by doing who knows what to it! Instead of buying a new table, I’m going to make it a chalkboard table and see if that can keep them entertained
!
What a great idea!!!
Thank you! My boys think that forks are for etching into the available wood (which happens to be the table) and fingers are for eating
. Trying to make chalk the new artistic medium… Do you thing they make edible chalk? 
. Adding that to my list…google edible chalk!
I am loving this series and hopes it helps me. I am totally frustrated with the clutter in my home. A few years ago I got a professional organizer to come into my home and help me, it didn’t help because I didn’t follow through on her suggestions. I can relate to your mind not stopping, mine is never turned off even while I am sleeping.
Closets are what I need to clean out, I have tons of clutter in clear plastic bins with stuff I haven’t used in forever. It needs to go!
Schedule some open houses for our families home business.
I need to organize my recipe book.
I need to make a dentist appointment for myself. I had to cancel my last one because my husband was having two brain surgeries.
Thank you Heavenly Father for giving me so much responsibility and for bringing Glynnis into my life.
Find a home for the raccoons. (Over the past years I have collected raccoon figurines, signs, and stuffed animals. I will consider keeping things that are not furry & fuzzy, which means I will need to find a home for them. They are currently residing in a large blue tub.)
I am a teacher and have a room in our basement that is filled with the school stuff that doesn’t fit in my classroom, including 2 full file cabinets. My teaching has changed so much in the last 20 years, I know there is a lot that I can get rid of. The project is so overwhelming that I never start it. I’d love to get it done!
Stay focused!
God Bless!
Thank you so much for this series!! Even this step seems overwhelming! I need to clear a table in our basement…it has become the drop spot for everything that needs to be stored somewhere, but I don’t know where!
Get all my dead relatives sorted in their proper notebooks….that’s one of my biggest challenges – the volume of paper one accumulates as the family historian.
Ever get to the place you just don’t want to work? Just tired and pull away from it all? That’s where I am at the present. I just want to play and do things I want to do. This is definitely not the usual me. I am always a goal setter. Could this be dealing with stress that I just don’t like to face? Maybe!!
Anyway I will honestly work on that laundry mountain today.
Finish taking down Christmas decorations!
I’m with you, Joyce
Oh, I’m glad I’m not the only one!!
BUY a PIE for the HIGH school PIE day
Thanks for your insight. I need to file my husband’s W2 and 941 forms!!!!!
One thing I need to do is make an appointment for a mammogram. I will do that today! Thank you so much for this study, Glynnis! God bless you!
I need to make an appointment to take my cat to a cat cardiologist
Change the rest of the gold doorknobs in my house to bronze. 7 down, 6 to go.
Today I need to get my work desk in order so I know what projects Ive buried and put them in categories of priority. We are going through a very tough new owner transition.
I truly understand that feeling of not being able to sit still and relax – always feeling like I need to be doing something. One of the many projects on my to-do list is to go through the box of my parents’ slides sitting in my living room, choosing ones to scan for a DVD.
I need to make bird feeders out of empty toilet paper rolls, peanut butter and birdseed!
I need to darn my son’s favourite sock
I need to finish getting and putting together the Mickey Message surprises for my 4 kids for our surprise Disney trip in a couple of weeks:)
I need to paint the laundry room – which I have put off for the last 8 yrs when we moved into our home!!! Every time I go in there, I am reminded of it…..
One of the things I’m adding to my “to-do” list,is to make a list of all of the restaurants near my house that have cheap meals and the day(s) of the week they serve these meals. This will help stretch my budget for eating out…
Thank you for this challenge! One thing I need to do is to take the greenery left from Christmas off my dining room chandelier. I just noticed yesterday that I’d forgot to take that down when I put away the Christmas decorations…
This is something that I already do actually, and is a terrific idea! My problem is I don’t get things crossed off very often because I put my list away and forget about it! One thing that is on my list is to purchase new curtains for my living and dining room! Hopefully one day soon, I will be able to do this…..
We started remodeling our bathroom by putting in a full size shower tub. Our stand up shower is now storage. Plan was to rip it out and make large linen closet. Thats going on my list to finish what we started.
I have a bathroom project we have been trying to do for 2 years now, along with other things.
Library books. I have had the books since before Christmas. I MEANT to renew them for the third time, but it slipped my mind . I would remember the books at times when I could do nothing about them. We are charged late fees and after a certain amount you cannot renew . I love the library! We could own a wing with all of the late fees we have paid! Very defeating. I am so encouraged by your post today. My mind is overloaded.
Oh Lord! I need to write thank you notes for an event that took place last September. : (
My first time posting. I got layed off from a job I worked at for over 6 years January 5th this year. Since then I have been in a bit of a whirlwind – getting my strength back from a Christmas bout with influenza and getting my bearings being a stay at home mom? wife? woman? What am I called now that my 2 grown children are moved, for the most part, out? My husband enjoys me being home but misses the income…we both do. At 51 sometimes I feel more of an it than a woman. I’m rambling on… sorry…did I mention I miss chatting with the other ladies? Anyway that was all a round-about way for me to excuse myself for my 1st item on my to-do list(s): remove remaining Christmas decorations from my home. Thanks for listening cyber space, Alliene.
I need to clean out our playroom so my daughter can actually “play” in there!
I’m a stay at home wife again after 24 years of working. Found myself alone, unfocused and never having any fun. I put cleaning and cooking off cause there is so much to do and I don’t know where to start. One thing I’m going to do is to plan a girls weekend away. My husband goes away with his fishing buddies but I don’t do anything, but be at home and take care of my ailing mother. She has terminal cancer, and can’t do much. Also try to get my marriage back on track we don’t even talk to each other. Talk about a cluttered mind. Thanks for sharing.
I’m adding, replace the shower door in our guest bathroom! It’s one of those things that has been on my list for 3 1/2 years and it bothers me that it hasn’t gotten done yet!
I love to make lists of things I need to do today but I never thought about listing all me responsibilities! Today I will add to my list , getting my handicapped younger brother over to my house to shred papers for me. He LOVES to shred papers!
I volunteered to head the committee to supply 80 charity quilts to The Rowdy Ridge Club Scott Newman Foundation by July and I need to start asking for donations and figure out the best way to do that.
i have way too many things so the list will get them out of my brain! on my list and an ongoing project is to get “rid” of stuff by boxing it up for the church garage sale that is coming up. it will help them raise the money and get the stuff out of my home.
Thank you Glynnis, this challenge came to me with perfect timing. Thank You Lord for providing it thru Glynnis.
I so enjoy your blog! So many days you hit on what I really need to hear. I am in the middle of several projects right now so making a list~ and checking it twice ~will help me I’m sure. Thank you for your advice and challenges!
needed this reminder to get the list out of my head and on to paper…thank you!
–kris
hmmm, something random? mail dog tags to papua new guinea for a young man’s birthday.
My dog, Arrow, has been to the vet more than my previous 2 dogs combined. I need to buy health insurance for him.
Pay some medical bills I’m months behind in because when I went to pay them months late months ago I could not get anyone on the line to leave a message after waiting a very long time and can’t seem to find another very long time to wait again to see if I can find a way to pay them. It totally stresses me out to even remember this, and this is only one of the many things in my life in this insane state. Ug!
Find my bible study notebook, transfer the page from today’s writing to it, wake up 2 of our 3 children (1 is already up!), prepare for leading Alpha group at church tomorrow night (which includes watching video). Get us ready for school and out the door. Teach preschool, prepare dinner. Thank you for your advice, so much on my mind, it helps to get a little off and written down.
Thank-you ..this message is coming at the time I need it..my list will start with my sock drawer! You wouldn’t believe what gets crammed in there! It’s a place where I put everything so it’s in a “safe place!” Well that is a joke..there are no socks in there! Thank-you I love your blog!
I need to sell my large stack of diet books that have piled up over the years. I think I have finally figured out that diets don’t work for me and I can only lose weight with God’s help, not man’s.
put away Christmas….not kidding!!!
Thank you for this series. It’s very timely! I need to buy balloons and streamers for my daughters birthday.
I moved some papers from the computer desk to the dining room table to go through a week ago and they are still sitting there. Definitely need to go through them now! The table looks trashy.
Prepare for med school interview next Wednesday…. And get ready for colonoscopy this Friday :/ not cool…
I’m already freaking out just by starting the list out lol
Dentist appts to make. Find a new history & science curriculum
I was taking a quick break from a long overdue project when I read Day 3. Years of necklaces and bracelets exposed on a necklace hanger now being cleaned and sorted. Who knew I had all of these!
I need to find more things to sell to get out of debt!
I am both looking forward to and dreading making my loooonnng list! One thing that will go on it: Reserve a rental car for an upcoming trip in April. Another: Look into getting Glynnis’s book.
Are you in my head now? This de-cluttering is exactly what I need at this time in my life! I have been in a fog since Christmas, feeling overwhelmed, guilty, for all the things that need to be done or what I haven’t done yet. God is definitely using you your blog to speak to me! I get your blog on joy Facebook page, but to be honest I usually scan over my posts and then it is not everyday. When I saw yours on decluttering yesterday, I thought it was another “organizing” post, but as I read it, it was not ordinary, it was necessary for me. Thank you for letting the Lord use you in this way! What I am going to write down on the “to-do-list” is all that needs to be accomplished by September as our family is going to be part of a Church Plant in our hometown that our current church is starting. We are on the leadership team, and there is so much to do, so much uncertainty, but our God is Sovereign and we place all our faith in Him! Thanks again for your blog!
I need to clean out the filing cabinet and shred lots of old papers!
Great morning All,
The first to go on my to do list is to actually “Make a To Do List”!
Thanks, Glynnis!
Go through closets and donate so clothes!
I am looking forward to this challenge of putting all my tasks on paper. I can honestly tell you that I know that I am on overload. Both at home and at work. I have even noticed that I sometimes miss the important tasks ecspecially at work and my boss gets upset with me and then I get upset with myself and loose all persepective of what really is important and then it flows over into my home life and I struggle with maintaining a peace and orangized home. I feel like I am in a losing battle. I am going to start with my work tasks this morning and then when I get home I will start with the household tasks and family. I have a difficult time when people ask me what I want for my future because I can’t get past the present to be able to even think about the future. I need to clear my overloaded brain.
I would need to start my list with “Write a List”. I agree that the mental clutter is my biggest problem and the reason for all the clutter in my home.
Straighten and organize our home school room – throw things out/recycle.
I am so glad I am going through this de-cluttering process with you. It is surely a God send. One of my top priorities is go through the stacks of stuff scattered around our home. Just like you said today my brain is so full of stuff I need to do, that I don’t know where to start.
This challenge couldn’t have came at a better time. My son, daughter in law and 2 wonderful grandsons are leaving from Japan and will be staying with us until they find housing. I’m overwhelmed trying to get the house set up, emptying drawers and closets, trying to remove clutter, buying the right foods, rearranging and baby proofing the house. It’s been my husband and me and our little dog for several years, and we have settled into a routine that works for us, so I know it’s going to be a BIG adjustment for everyone. Lord help us all!! I would defintely love to have your book.
Years ago when I moved to a new place with my two children, we had a house fire. Since I lost various documents. I’m trying to retrace my steps to get a copy of my teaching credential. I have put this off too long.
I need a project management book! Great idea…
I need to take down the Christmas lights on the trees in the front yard.
I need to sort/price my son’s consignment clothes for the big sale coming up in a few weeks. I almost fell out of my chair when I saw that you said “just write things down as they come to mind. It’s okay if there is no order to it. Actually trying to organize it now might hinder you if you are a perfectionist. You might not leave yourself enough room in a certain category and then you’ll be frustrated.” THIS IS SO ME!!!!
Wow, I really needed this. I think I need to be doing something at all times. The odd part is that I am a SAHM (since 2007) to a 15 yo son, and I think I need to do something constantly even though I don’t have much to do and a lot of time. Perplexing?
Love the series !
Need to purge my purses – maybe even find a few lost items in there !
I need to stay focused on the Lord each day so I can do the things I need to accomplish and I pray making this list will help me.
I need to clean out my bedroom closet!
I need to plant parents 50th wedding anniversary in November, and I’m already thinking about it. Boy do I need to stay in today.
First of all, thank you for your updates! I really enjoy getting them through email but don’t always remember to go to websites. I used to be just like you, thinking I always had to be doing something. I would end up with three or four things on the go at once! Now I take time to just sit. I am starting Masters degree and what I need to do is finish the list you mentioned in today’s email so I can set up a schedule to ensure I have enough study time. AND…”mama needs a new pair of shoes.” (that’s code for I would REALLY like a copy of your book! lol)
There is a lot of things that I NEED to do but the one thing that should go on the top of my list is to return two Christmas presents. But, I would have to find the boxes that they went in and the receipts. Lord help me.
Lately I’ve been overwhelmed by all our house projects and getting my daughter ready for a semester abroad…this post couldn’t have come at a better time!
What a great idea! Things are constantly popping up in my mind.Right now I need a new garage door opener and that’s first on my list. It bothers me every time I come home or leave my house.
Hi,
I want to get the last few random lingering Christmas things put away!
I have a binder started to organize thoughts and “to do’s” but now LOL I have to actually complete it and use it! I’ll take up your challenge and look forward to a few days from now when I have jotted down more things to do, with an outlook of getting things done!
Thank you so much for doing this declutter challenge right now. It could not be more perfect timing for me. As for my to-do, I have a bag full of returns in my car for several stores, they have been there for over a month and with three young children in tow most of the time, man am I putting them off, such a time killer. Also, I am super over do for a hair appointment that is the first thing on today’s todo list, call salon!
Thank you again!
I Love the idea of de-cluttering my mind as well as my home. I have been working on closets and cupboards this week and its been going well, but at the top of my list, just for me, is to finally hang up the new art above my bed.
I already use a mini-binder to organize my life. But I like the idea of moving the “to do” list from my brain to paper. Way more reliable! Two things to add: return Sis. Asia’s cell phone charger that she left at my house two weeks ago and start the list of issues/concerns I’m having with a family member so I can pray about it before I talk about it. Otherwise, I might explode soon.
For Christmas I wanted a mitre saw so that I could put up some chair rail trim in our family room. A few days after Christmas, our 21 year old son told me, “I’m ready to cut the wood”. He was ready, I wasn’t. I had other chores on my list but I decided to capitalize on his energy and eagerness and we got the trimming done. Lesson learned (and to borrow from a well-known sports apparel company), I just need to do it. Many times, I put off doing things when #1) It’s an unfamiliar task (aka Fear of the unknown),
I would love to win the book~!
#2) I’m waiting until I FEEL like doing the task #3) The task is overwhelming in nature (aka (emotional) decisions have to be made)
I need to call a contractor to repair the water damage in my guest room.
Oh my gosh I have to pick just ONE thing on my list?? I guess it is putting the rest of the Christmas decorations away in the attic.
I love this series that you are doing, and the challenges that you are putting forth to us. It is much needed in my busy life, and I definitely know the feeling of being overwhelmed and sometimes I do not even know where to start. I need to write a letter to the Compassion child that I sponsor. I always have good intentions, but they never seem to become a reality. Putting that on my todo list for today! Thank you and God bless!
Finish organizing my mother’s homefiles and setting up new doctors’ appts. for her~
Wow – I definitely have mental overload. So much overload I can hardly limit my post to one “to do” list item! I feel like I can never focus therefore nothing gets finished. Thank you for the challenge. I need to download more than a year’s worth of pictures off of my camera.
Glynnis, Thank you, thank you, thank you. I look forward to your post each morning. Clutter is about to consume me. It just seems like it is so big of a problem I just don’t know where to start. Today I will begin my list. Perhaps that is why my mind is running scenes of things I haven’t done when I am trying to go to sleep. Thanks for sharing your wisdom on managing our world with less headaches.
One of the biggest areas I need to work is the PIGS (Projects In Grocery Sacks). They have taken over my sewing room. I’m great at gathering but no so great at finishing the gatherings.
I have piles in every room! I need to make my list and prioritize my piles to know where to start my “attack.” So glad to read your ideas every morning…thank you for sharing!
Thank you for your encouraging words! Sometimes getting started is the hardest part. I need to fill out and send in the rebate form for a mixer I received for Christmas. I have been putting it off because I am afraid the deadline is past….how crazy is that??
I’m one of those people who wants to jump in and “get ‘r done”. Never considered I needed to unclutter my mind. lol On my list of to do’s I want a reading corner just for me. A place I can meditate and be still in.
Water my half dead plants!
It helps to know so many other people are going through the same challenges that I am. I feel so overwhelmed all of the time and the title of your book really hit home… I used to be so organized!!! I hold myself to standards of perfection that I had before kids thirteen years ago. Now I work, manage 3 daughter’s activities, a husband’s needs, and the housework. Add 4 dogs to the picture, and life is crazy!! One thing I’ll be putting on my list is to set up the iallowance app that we just discovered, so that hopefully doing chores and helping around the house will be more “fun” for everyone; my kids will earn stars for chores to trade for things they want… I even told my husband I’ll give him stars for doing stars in exchange for things he wants…
Clean out the kitchen cabinets!
You are so right – my mind won’t stop when it’s on overload which of course affects sleep and attitude. I need to “restart” my to do list and keep it going. Work on taxes needs to be added to my list.
So glad you are doing this series again. I started it before but never finished it. I got overwhelmed with other things to do. One thing on my list is to clean and organize my desk at work. It is always covered with papers that need to have a home besides on my desk!
Plan vacations and time away for the year.
Thanks for all your encouragement and insights. Today’s post makes so much sense to me, I struggle with this feeling of my brain on overload all the time. I need this challenge right now as we prepare to move cross-country in a month.
My to-do list needs to include getting some food in the freezer for a houseful of guests next week.
Blessings! ~*
I love the way you approach getting organized. It’s like a lightbulb going off in my head when I read your posts, and then a ‘duh’ moment. I need to re-organize my craft cabinet. I did it last year, but it’s getting cluttered again.
I have an expired driver’s license! This is at the top of my list. I never make the time because it is such an ordeal, but the thought of it pops in to my head daily and stresses me out!
Kitchen counters–thanks for your insights.
Your posts are really speaking to me in a big way! I am guilty of being so overwhelmed by all that I have to do that I “check out” by going on the computer, watching a movie or reading rather than just working for a little bit. Just like you said in your post, I am on mental overload and can’t make decisions. It brings me to tears if I think about it too much. I want a peaceful home and feel this is the way to start. Clutter makes all of us anxious. I, too have read the books about decluttering, but I think you are right. First, I need to declutter my brain. Thanks for doing this blog, I sure need it!
One huge thing on my list is to find my kitchen counters. I have these great counters that I envisioned cooking on. Now I have one tiny space next to the stove I use because the rest is covered in clutter!!!!
We need to paint our family room…it’s been primed for almost a year now, because we just haven’t taken the time to choose a color!
Gotta write field trip check, order senior pics, review sr. ad, meet with contractor, review chapter for book study, write cards, hug my family, praise God, express gratitude to those around me, spread joy, practice generosity, flash a smile, text my mom and my son.
I think I should just print off all these comments and I’d have most of my list compiled (except for the cello and the dog poo, but I do have a cat)! I’m actually retiring from my job next week and going through this exercise is one of the top things on my list! I’m giving myself 6-9 months before I start looking for another job! One goal is to be able to put my car in the garage before next winter…..
My husband and I both need new glasses. We have insurance that pays in full for a new pair every two years for which we are eligible. I just need to call and make the appointment!
What a huge task before us today…just reading other people’s comments made my mind spark with other things I need to do…ugh…(a good ugh though).
Today I need to help my little ones write thank you cards to their grandparents for their Christmas gifts…
Thank you for your insights! I love to take pictures and I have MANY pictures from the “old days” when you had to have them deveoped (no digital cameras then). I have boxes full of those pictures from when my children were small (they are all grown up now) and have never put them in photo albums. I would love to put them in albums so they would be organized and easy to look at, and I wouldn’t have boxes of unorganized pictures cluttering up the closets.
Glynnis, You are a girl after my own heart! I thrive on organization but I am often overwhelmed by it…..Almost one year ago I began reading your blog. I was at a turning point then, completely overwhelmed and feeling like a mess! For this reason I had just made one of the biggest decisions of my life, giving up my (at home) business to focus on my 2 young children. With the help of your amazing tips and advice it has been an amazing year of change! De-cluttering my mind and schedule have been my biggest accomplishments. I even enjoyed my Christmas with almost no stress!
I am ready to start this year again to refine the de-cluttering process! One of my goals is to just get rid of STUFF! Thank you so much for your wisdom on organization and clutter!
I have to mail a “flat Stanley” bear to an out of state friend. It’s some SD boy’s school project.
Deep clean the office I am sitting in at this very moment. It has not been cleaned in years…it only gets partially(some parts covered in junk) vacuumed on occassion. The dust and clutter are overwhelming!! I just keep putting it off…………..
OMG! You totally got me today! Timing is everything- my brain goes 90 miles an hour and when i have a few minutes i do feel like i need to get moving. thanks for getting me more focused! have a rainbow colored day!
Thank you for these postings. It is such a great reminder that we are not alone!!! I need to clean the counter in the laundry room!!
I would just like to clean off the dining room table and have it stay that way. Luckily we eat at the bar.
I need to enroll my daughter in pre-k.
I have lost 70 pounds in the last year and really want to alter my favorite nighties.
I need to make a porcupine to use for a summer camp lesson. Already have a lamb promised, to show how God wants to “soften” our hearts.
There are so many birthdays in my family. I need to keep a list for each month and buy several boxes of cards to choose from. This way I won’t be running out of the house in a frenzy every time I forget to send a birthday card.
Thank you for this challenge!!
I need to pick a paint color! My walls have so many samples on them. Usually I try to stay organized but this seems to be paralyzing me and I can’t seem to get anything else done until the last moment. Ugh!
I need to finish going through my desk! I’m getting closer to the finish line.
Bleach my teeth. I always put things for me at the end of my list and this week i noticed they make me look old. I should also back up files and download photos. So glad you mentioned we dont have to organize the list today- i keep thinking of more items and would be frustrated if i ran out of room in each category!
I am looking forward to start working on the project manager list! I really need a day with 3-4 hours of uninterrupted time to clean out and organize my home office. Maybe then I could find some of my missing files!
Finish a book I wanted to compete before Christmas.
Thank you for the challenge
Repair the trim that our new puppy has chewed!
Thank you for this! I need to go thru my standing jewelry box and get rid of everything I don’t wear.
I have to confess, I’m not sure I want to see it all written down in front of my face. It seems as though actually seeing it all will make me feel even more overwhelmed because it will be so “real” and not something I can push aside.
I consider myself fairly organized, and I spent the months from Sept. to Nov. cleaning out our garage and basement. Still, there is so much more I know I could get rid of so today’s list will have to include that.
My mental cleaning out is harder to pin down. I’m not fully aware yet what thoughts need to go and what need to stay. I’m guessing this study is going to help me with that?
Why does it seem so scary to start this list?!
One thing I must do today, a little quirky, is brush the dog. It takes over an hour!
I need to clean out ALL my purses and totes of ALL the loose change and junk at the bottom of them UNLESS of course I decide to use them for weight lifting which would be another thing to add to my list!
I am thankful for your ideas and support in this troubling area of my life. I am a gatherer and keeper so I NEED this. I need to gather up some of the things I’ve been keeping and give them to others to enjoy as much as I have.
I know that feeling all too well – I constantly think about what else I need to be doing! There are so many things on my “to get done” list, but one in particular is to figure out which elementary school I should enroll my daughter in for next year. I can’t wait to get all the others out on paper so they can stop swirling around in my head! My husband will probably thank you for telling me how to de-clutter my brain!
Your book would be a life-saver!!
I need to go buy chicken wire for my fence, so my puppy stops running out. Yesterday I had to run after him in a robe and old “but very comfy” socks. Sure hope the neighbors did not see me hopping my fence and run like a crazy woman after a fluffy dog.
I skipped this “task” last year when I plugged in to the 15 days! I’m a good list maker for today’s tasks but not everything. This year I really need to do this. I am still working on my home but making progress which is a good feeling. Thank you soooooo much for offering this again!
‘Morning,
I’m a 72 year old grammie of 12, retired military wife who has follwed my husband around the world with five children…27 moves. Am a professional artist with a nice sized studio and also a professional framer with a framing set up in the attic.
Love yard work, reading and I volunteer for the court system. Of course, my first love is anything to to do with our Lord. Am overwhelmed with my stuff! I’m not bragging just setting the stage for my decluttering….a huge stage! I’m counting on you!
My thing to get deone right way….my to do lists
Thank you for this idea! I defiantly need to get some things out on paper, my problem is I remember to do things at the wrong time! And I am very visual so if I see everything written down I think that will motivate me to get them done! Plus I feel so much better at the end of the day knowing I accomplished something! Like finally making a dentist appointment…. or finalizing on what school my daughter will go to for kindergarten …
So timely! I have running lists in 2 steno books tucked in my nursing bag, post-it notes on my wall calendar and my weekly to-do notebook on the coffee table. Not much has been checked off! My brain is on overload. I did get a new steering wheel cover for Christmas which is still sitting in the back of my Jeep. Need to put that on.
PUT UP A POST IT NOTE TO MAKE A MASTER TO DO LIST…..THEN TAKE A NAP!
I knew that this help with organizing was going to be different when I read about starting with aligning my thoughts with God’s thoughts and ways! I agree that our command center is our minds. I need to think about what I am thinking about. He gives me peace and direction when I surrender my mind to Him. I totally agree with the scriptures you gave in James, 1 Cor., and John. When I start with the Lord instead of striving on my own, He directs my ways (even the endless to do lists)!
Thank you so much for your wonderful e-mails for the Clutter-Free Challenge! I know because of how you started, that they will be the best help I’ve received yet.
We have had a lot of health issues with our children and thus a lot of doctor’s appointments. I have felt a heaviness, so in order to get through it, this week I have made one call a day to deal with doctors. Today I have to find a dentist for my son (who has had orthodontic work for 4 years so far) in his college town which is far away from us. I feel much better each time after I am finished doing the hard things! Isaiah 65:24
I need to sort through all the old family papers from my grandparents and parents to either scan or toss. There is a lot of family history in the pages that I would like to learn about.
Thank you for the reminder that with God in control we can get organized. I tend to forget that He wants to be involved in every part of my life, not just the big things.
WOW. I have never thought about doing something like this. It does sound overwhelming but I am to give it a try. Your email came at a perfect time. My father passed away 10 days ago and I have so much more to do because of this. I pray that God will give me the peace that I need right now.
Thank you for your blog and emails. They are very helpful.
I need to reorganize the pantry. Would love to have the book. Thanks for today’s post. It is very helpful.
Find my sweater sleeve that I put somewhere safe after I blocked it. Then I can sew it together and wear it.
Thank you so much! What a relief I know I am not the only Mother and Wifw that struggles with the mental and physical clutter! It feels not enough time in the day to do everything that has to be done: ( blog today was such an in site. Started my list and as much as there is to be done it is relieving to see in paper instead of swimming around in my head! I need to go through all of my children’s artwork, keepsakes, and etc that has piled in corner of our home office to be filed away or put on scrapbooks.
WEll, other than being able to relate to all the previous posts, I think my first on the to-do list will be “DO MY LIST”. I have a tendancy to harp and nag on my husband when his shoes or hats, whatever it is that is HIS, is laying around to put them away in their place. I, on the other hand, have a real knack for not seeng my clutter that’s littering the kitchen…such as the box of Christmas stuff that has been sitting there since the weekend and needs to go to the basement. I just walk around it. But, his hat that is sitting on the end of the table, just sends me over the edge! I also see HIS things as being a source of my irritation when in actuality, I just need to put my own junk away!!! So, my action plan is to “Just Do It”!
Hello Glynnis
I thought I was the only one with the mindset of always having to do something. Even when I am resting, l am always thinking that I have to do something. My friends say that I don’t how to rest and after years, it’s only now that I am agreeing with them.
I guess I have to get started on my list.
God bless you for allowing Him to use you as a vessel.
Thank you for this challenge! Today, I need to take my vitamins.
Overwhelmed!
The thing that boggles my mind the most is the mess of photographs I have. Photo boxes full of them, albums, negatives, slides computer files. (I have 10 grandkids, 3 grands and
pictures are a way of life in our family.) Organizing 50 years worth seems insurmountable.
I need to sell five, yes five brand new electric guitars that have been sitting in my office closet for 5, yes, 5 years. I’d really LOVE to win your book! It’s the right time for me to get organized.
God Bless you!!
Thanks for helping us declutter our minds so we can declutter our homes. I need to go through our kids closets and give away thing that are too small.
Thanks!
I need to find out if there is a date I have to be finished teaching my daughter how to drive. We started teaching quite a while back but there has been so much to do, we haven’t had time to finish it. I just need to pull out the paperwork and check!
I am going to unplug my outside Christmas lights!
I am going to put my Christmas stuff in the attic!
I am currently working on orgainizing my utility room and junk drawers, next I will move to my closet. You were right on the mark with the mental overload, thank you for your post, and I would love to read your book!
WOW this is quite the job.. making a list
) Random need to do… buy and install new toilet seats and shower heads… never lived any one place long enough until now to realize these break down! ;o)
Adding to my list: see if my vacumme even works…
Thank you for this. One of many thiings I need to do is start on our personal and farm taxes.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who is saying “Put away Christmas”. So sad, but true. We have three trees, which are all still standing and two of them still have a couple decorations on them. We own two businesses and just bought a commercial building, so it’s been kinda busy round these parts
BUT no excuse! Need to get that list going!
Thanks so much for this series. So glad I found it!
Bookwork in order and tax stuff ready
I’ve kept written lists in color coded spiral notebooks. Red for home, blue for work. It really helps to get everything written down, then getting to see the progress of “checking it off.”
On my list: strip my floors….ugh.
I need to take care of our pets.
Thanks for this Clutter-Free Challenge opportunity! One thing on my list is to do our business’s quarterly taxes. I look forward to reading more hints tomorrow!
i am one of the biggest list makers that i know of. i make a list every day that i have at home and include laundry, taking out the trash, and making supper as well as errands and chores that dont come along every day. it helps me stay focused and on task and is easier to see how to multi-task. in the middle of the night, when i think about something that iforgot to do, or needs to be done, i find that writing it down takes away that anxiety that i will forget and affords me a better nights sleep. i keep a notepad by my bed and it helps so much. we cant forget to put spending time with God on our lists……and lots of prayer.
As some others have stated, I am so very overwhelmed! Looking forward to this challenge, with God’s help.
Need to write Thank you notes for Christmas gifts that were sent to the family.
Thanks for this great article and for all the postings, it is as many have said – I can see myself in many of their comments!!! This may be the one time that there really isn’t a lot of comfort in numbers! My list is long but if I have to choose for today it would be to put my son and daughter in love’s Christmas package together to ship to them, it is amazing how each week goes by after Christmas and it still is sitting in my bedroom.
Good morning All….
Outside of my thoughts being consumed by my pending divorce, I guess the most stressful thing that clogs my mind is that I desire to spend time with my oldest daughter so that we can make a plan to research colleges and set up dates for campus visits. However, since she is intrigued by going back to Michigan for college…uuggh another worry-out of state tuition…. it may mean also planning around a summer vacation.
I am excited about the task that you have given us to do. I am continually mulling things around in my head that I need to do and I don’t seem to get to any of them. I bought a Dave Ramsey DVD set to learn how to budget about 4 months ago and I haven’t even take it out of the box.
Making lists works great — for a few days. Re-starting this process will be a gret help as I have so much on my plate (work and home) that it seems to be a great abyss of stuff I can’t remember. First on my list is to make returns . . . from Christmas. A little late, but still do-able.
I need to sew/fix a bag for my daughter that she asked me to do several months ago. It has been hanging over my head ever since.
I need to write an I’m thinking of you card to a friend and send it. This has been on my mental to do list for months now… Today it will get done!
I say it all the time! I used to be so organized! How did I do it when there were toddlers & diapers? Sewing clothes & slipcovers, spring cleaning 2x a year (yes, windows too!), sports & room mother… You know how it is! Now after moving twice, the kids are older & doing their own laundry but my home is a mess! Unfinished projects, items to be fixed because they’re too good to throw out (!) & piles of paper to be filed – what happened?!
I tried starting this journey last year, was really motivated but life interrupts!
I NEED the book as a reference tool! Thank you so much Glynnis for introducing this topic again! I’d live to read some posts from people who have succeeded!
Heather
I’m away from home for 5 more weeks and am filing these to use when I return. I actually taught a class on de-cluttering and organization a few years ago at church, but now am sinking again.
One item on my list: Finish transferring all my home movies to DVDs.
God bless you for sharing this with all of us.
research airfare for our family of 6 to Alaska!
Things are piling up and need lots of de-cluttering, house and mind. Great ideas and hopefully can follow thru with it. I have tried many times to organize, but also need the help from family members to do it also.
Item on list: need to make our Church Women’s Ministry Calendar for the year!
I have lots of important things I need to handle that have become overwhelming! One of the most pressing is settling my father’s estate. He went to be with Jesus May 3, 2011 almost 2 years ago. I have fear that there might be penalties & I have shame that my sweet daddy entrusted me to do this & I haven’t honored him. I just have a hard time getting started so I procrastinate & that just makes things worse!
I wept as I prayed the words, “Lord, thank you for giving me so many things to be responsible for”…but I prayed it anyway. I believe. Lord help my unbelief.
I love the list idea, and thanks for telling me it’s ok, it does not have to be in order!
Busy working on getting rid of extra’stuff’ ready to blend families later in the year.
I am going to get a 3 subject notebook to make my list!! I might can fill the whole notebook! Day 3 I am still excited to be clutter free!!
I’d actually rather get on a scale and see how much weight I STILL need to lose than to confront the overwhelming anxiety I feel when I even glance at all things that need my attention!
But…. “Going through our damaged belongings in the basement after the flood” will be on my list.
Ouch.
Hi Glynnis,
After raising 7 kids for 31 years my house is a disaster! I have been working with a wellness coach on de-stressing my life, and I have discovered that clutter causes stress. With this in mind, I have started working towards the goal of completely de-cluttering my house. The challenge is that I still have 4 teens at home, but they are not objecting, as long as I don’t get rid of their video games or favorite clothes. This 15 day approach is very timely for me! Thank you!
Plan the next Cub Scout Den Meeting! Oh my….
The idea of this list scares me but I’m excited to do it with the hope that getting it out of my brain will help! The word the Lord brought to my mind this year is different. I want to live life differently. Get out of the rut. In everything I do differently I want Christ to be the center. De-cluttering my home is definitely something different. Especially since I started this challenge last year and quit on todays devotion. I never got the list started. This year I’m doing it! Different than last year, see? The most pressing thing I need to do is get our budget working so we’re not running in the red each month (Single income, stay at home mom, special needs kid on a teachers salary). That alone will bring great relief.
Rhonda,
Great, Great, Great!! You can do it! Look how strong you’ve already proven yourself to be (because you have Him in you)!! Keep going! I’d love to help keep you encouraged along the way!!
v/r, Kim
Good for you! You can do this:) Phil 4:13
Send out thank you notes for Christmas gifts!
Since I’ve semi-cleaned my sewing studio, I can go right to the blank notebook. First on my list is to send out the rest of the Christmas cards. Yes, on January 23rd.
I can’t even imagine how long my list is going to be. One of the things I’m going to put on my list is to go through all the little piles of papers all over the house that I’ve set aside to read or do something with later. They’ve been bugging me for quite a while. Thanks for the chance to win your book, as well as this organizing series!
I need to take an online test by tomorrow evening for my communications class.
Thank you so much for posting this series again. I received this series via email last year but I wasn’t in a place where I was mentally ready to start on this. I feel that now I am ready and the timing couldn’t be better! Right before I read this post this morning I had just finished scribbling a quick list for things I need to accomplish today at work. As soon as I finished my list I read this post! Yay!! I’m on the right track!!
I need to remember to pay the bills! They won’t seem to go away on their own
Thank you so much for this series. This is my 2nd year joining you and I look forward to reading it everyday.
I can’t even tell you how many of these comments I can relate to… Christmas, my master bedroom, photos, etc. However right now it’s all taking a back seat to learning how to help manage the care givers that my wonderful in-laws now need. It is a whole new world of to-do list topics! I do think that feeling like I can take control of some of the other stuff will make it easier for me to handle not being so comfortable with all the things you have to think about when people you love need care givers to be able to stay in their home. Thanks for wonderful timing for this series!
All you your Anti-clutter post so hit home for me!! I’m looking forward to getting a hold of my whole household…cleaning, organizing and raising four kids!
At the top of my list is sorting through my two daughters clothes and my own. Keeping up with laundry is a constant battle (they are too young to do their own). I want to totally streamline all of our clothes so there is less to deal with. I know several other single moms that we will pass stuff on to. It’s a big task and I have been doing a great job of avoiding it but your blog has motivated me to get in hear and tackle it. Thanks!
I am sooo excited about getting my list together! My husband is not going to know what to do with me! I am such a procrastinator! So my list is very long! One main thing I want to get done is organizing my sewing things. I have fabrics and other items just thrown behind a chair in the bedroom and I really need to get that organized! Thanks so much for all of your encouragement!!
I need to take my daughter to visit a college campus or two. I do store a lot in my brain and can see how this would help
One thing I need to get to is to contact the air conditioner company that services our a/c to come and do the annual check on it…for LAST year. *sigh*
I need to RELAX and enjoy my children…they will only be little once.
We are gearing up for a move, so there is SOOO much on my list right now. The most embarrassing one is probably to finish taking down the Christmas tree and decorations. This is the latest I’ve left them up.
Make 2 baby quilts by March…
Thank you for your candor in sharing…I relate on every level to the anxiety and jumbled-mind you described! I never realized my “need” to constantly be doing something until you articulated it in this post. I’m looking forward to learning how to replace that feeling His peace!
One thing on my to-do list is to find time to write/blog about the everyday lessons God is revealing to me as a wife and mommy. I have such moments of clarity of what needs to be shared with other women, but I can’t seem to buckle down and commit to writing regularly!
finish scrapbooks from our trip in 2011!!
SIMPLY PUT DO THE LIST. DON’T DO LISTS EXCEPT GROCERY LISTS. GOD BLESS YOU AND YOURS HAVE A BLESSED DAY KAY
Everyone continuously tells me how organized I am! But the funny thing is, I don’t feel that way at all. I just keep plugging, and it’s blogs like yours that keep me constantly improving! Thanks so much for this already valuable information – and we’re only on day 2!!
From my to-do list: Pray for Derrick!
Finally just sit down and ask my husband some simple questions about a couple of trips planned for this year. When we are talking I always seem to forget these same two questions. Over and over I forget. I feel like my mind is going in too many directions. Loved your blog today! Making my list now……if I don’t forget why I went and got the paper and pencil. Thanks!!
Great advice! Thanks.
One thing I want to remember to do every day but have a hard time remembering is to show my husband that I love him each day. Would be good to get that on paper!
Hem some pants I’ve had for months!
Love this challenge!
WOW!!! What you wrote about today completely describes my struggle! Over the years I have done what I call a “brain dump” every now and then to completely clear my mind. I find peace and progress in doing that. The difficulty I have had is to come up with a system for actually dealing with everything that comes out of my brain. I have so often felt so overwhelmed and therefore find it difficult to rest … my mind is always in gear.
The unique thing I have on my list is to complete finding host families near me for my son’s college baseball team when they host a tournament near where we live, as well as to help pull together a spaghetti dinner for all of the players, coaches and family memebers for that same weekend.
Thanks so much for all of your wise words of encouragement … they are a blessing!
I need to get my kitchen de-cluttered and ready to start refinishing my cabinets. I also need to clean the filthy baked on caked on x large doggy door that has scum and dirt from my 2 large dogs.
I need to clean up 3 rooom in our house! 2 of them used to be our kids’ room! Now that we, my husband & I, are the Only ones living in this house, we need to get a smaller house someday BUT we must clean this one up first to sell it!!
Finally be willing to “let it go” and not be in fear of needing those particular items sometime in the future. I probably already have three of them because I couldn’t find them the first two times I needed them.
Thank you so much for rerunning this topic!
Nice to hear other still have Christmas stuff up! One thing I really want done is getting books that were returned or were my grandparents up on the shelf, but since I can’t do that myself (step stool) will go with going though tissue & packing paper, folding & putting away what can be used again & tossing the rest. Really want to get my room organized (moved in with Daddy almost 4 year ago & still haven’t dealt with some boxed & have other things that have accumulated since my physical activity was greatly restricted) figure even 15 minutes a day will make a big difference (started out good then got sick).
I need to organize business tax recepits and make an appt. with the accountant. This is a task I continually put off each year and it causes me stress just thinking about it – hence the procrastination!
Wow, so many of us are spinning our mental wheels! I pray this challenge will leave us refreshed and encouraged, that the Lord will show Himself in a mighty way and give us peace! Today I will be exchanging a gift and playing with my daughters!
Thanks for your thoughts! On that list I need to put faxing a copy of the Power of Attorney to my mom’s life insurance company and copies of medical records to a physician’s office. We don’t have a fax machine, so it has to be done else where.
organize papers:)
I hardly ever reply, but I have to tell you that I feel compelled to take this journey with you. Reducing storage is on mine and my husbands list (and no we didn’t know what each of us were putting down). Thanks for guiding us;)
I need to begin to sort thru the 100+ boxes in my basement that have been there for the past 8 years since we moved to this house. There is so much to do that I think I have been unable to face it. Hopefully listing this will help.
Wow! can I relate! Sometimes it seems so overwhelming that I just avoid it. I’ve done a few boxes and de-cluttered my Christmas stuff, but have a long way to go as my son has moved into the basement and needs more space. I am going to try this journey. Thanks for posting as I don’t feel so alone in this.
Your suggestions are wonderful and now I must start putting down my “to do” items so my poor, tired brain will not be overwhelmed.
I have many photos that I want to use in scrapbooking. My desire is to start going through numerous photos to select ones I can feature in the scrapbook, do some titles and preserve memories of my precious grandchildren. Short term I need to go through my book shelves and de-clutter with books already read and can be recycled.
I have been putting on my list – repot plants – since the fall. Today is THE coldest day of the year so far – minus 40 degrees with wind-chill. I could do it in our garage, but likely it will be put off AGAIN! There are things I do on my list, like reading
You are reading me with a spot light! You have lots of amazing insight. I can’t wait to continue de-cluttering my mind and home. My “different” to-do is for health…do a candida cleanse, yay!
Take the donations to Goodwill that I have been hauling around for 3 weeks:)
I am so very excited to have found your blog! As I was reading through todays and came to where you said tip tomorrow on multitasking I thought I really need it now. On my list is to find somewhere to recycle our christmas tree since I missed the dates the city parks collected them for free.
Thanks Gylnnis, I was just feeling over whelmed with “am I doing enough?” and I took a break and read your posting.
Thanks for the encouragement. First on my list is to find time to make the list. More importantly, to prioritize everything on my plate, which is a lot, so I won’t get as stressed as I was when I had a TIA last November.
I would like to collect a Master List of key scriptures I use to pray for myself and others with. Receiving your book to read would be a big help to best ways of decluttering and organizing this supply. Thanks for your ministries!
I have a couple of boxes that were under my bed that contain who knows what? Some things were just put in a box to “put away” for the holidays. you know what happened- Out of sight, out of mind until they were removed because I decided I did not want anything under the bed anymore- much easier to vacuum there! I have been seeking the Lord’s wisdom to go through these so I know what needs to be thrown out, given away, or kept and where to put.
Thanks for your emails, Glynnis
Thank you for this! I am currently trying to lose weight too, and it seems the battle is in the mind for that as well! Your column has helped me understand better how we allow the devil a foothold…and that slows down our effectiveness as Christians by overwhelming us in various areas of our lives through lack of self-control. Wonder how much more I will be able to get done in a day when I lose this extra weight AND lose the clutter in my mind, allowing God to be my focus instead of these negative things!?
I know He has much better things in mind for me! One thing I need to do today is to finish a journal post I should have done last week…a short task to accomplish that gets pushed aside like everything else!
I need to take off the Christmas magnets from the fridge!
Get my poor doggies nails clipped. They look like dangerous weapons.
Buy fishing line to re-string my daughter’s “magic worm”.
What a great series! I can’t wait to see what we’re to do with that massive list!
I try to do this, but then end up with multiple lists everywhere that I can’t find when I need it! My mind is always on “Go” to be busy, which is exhausting, then when I don’t get it all accomplished, I feel guilty 
I hope to make progress on sorting through & cleaning out several closets & junk drawers!
Before God blessed me with a special needs child, I was organized. Having my blessing from God has reorganized me and I can’t seem to get back to what it needs to be.
I need to pain the hallway and the living room.
I need to finish the sewing projects I have started and see if my embroidery software is compatible with my new laptop!
Baby books!! For ALL three of my children,
the oldest being SEVEN!
8AM appointment tomorrow with the Allergist to assess how well my allergy shots are working…
Taking a timeout for lots of hugs and kisses with my kiddos. After all, they’re only young once!
Thank you so much for sharing! I need this so much. I am sick and tired of thinking about what I have to do. It’s overwhelming!!! I am glad to know that with God this is the yr it will change!
This post totally resonates with me. A wacky, but fun thing on my to do list is to create some garden art from some ceramic dishes I found. However, that won’t get done until all the more pressing work, home, volunteer items get done – they all seem to be screaming at once!
I need to organize my recipes so I can efficiently plan out my meals.
I am trying to get alot of my clutter together to give to Big Brothers and Sisters. I just found out about them. They pick up and that makes it soooo much easier than loading my car and taking to Goodwill. I can go on line and schedule my pickups.
Now between them and this 15 day mind clearing, I really have big hopes.
Thank you
I am realizing how cluttered my brain is! I can’t go two steps in my house without remembering something I need to do… just around my house. And whenever I am reminded I feel overwhelmed! It’s like this constant tape going… “I gotta do that! When can I do that?”!!!!!!
How simple, just to use a notebook. If I collected all the “to do” lists I’ve created over the last few years I would have enough to wallpaper an entire room ! I’ve been “kicking” myself by saying that I feel like such a “scatter brain”; and now I know why. Thank you for this insight. One of the things that’s going on my list is to start sewing again, I have a sewing machine that I have not touched in years and the Lord has given me a great idea on how I can supplement my income when I retire from my 9 – 5 job. Thank you Glyniss and God Bless You !
I need to start organizing our next Urban Chicken Expo! We have some great, but very busy, gals helping to put it on… but it takes a LOT of organization, attention to detail, and thinking things through. I feel overwhelmed this year!
Thanks for this incredibly simple, but I can already see, amazingly effective way to get started on getting a handle on everything: just write it all DOWN!!!
Thanks for the tips! I totally agree that my mind is on over drive? One thing on my list is to find the top of my desk.
I need to organize a lot since moving into a new house. I like to start doing that after the first of the year but I haven’t gotten around to that chore yet!! Help!!
Thanks for the suggestions, I really need to clear my mind. Since before the holidays everything at home has been stressed, stepson was suspended from school, then my grandchildren and son and daughter-in-law visited from California, taking down Christmas decorations, however not put away as my husband needs to figure out what he is going to do to keep the bats from flying down our chimney and getting into the house, and my Mom having a mini-stroke and traveling to Florida, now I feel so stressed that my eye has been twitching for weeks and I think I just need to relax and get calm and forget about everything for a few days.
WoW!!! what a wonderful amount of responses today!!!
I do not know how many times I have said , “if only I could DELETE things from my mind…things that i NEED to forget, WANT to forget, SHOULD forget, but just CAN’T forget…you know like a computer…..DELETE!!!” If only we could delete all those unnecessary bits from our memory bank….or at least backspace a lot of them!
I want to add a comment here about some additional help I needed. I started taking tyrosine and 5HTP and other things to support my adrenals after consulting with a nutritionist. She recommended “Healing ADD” by Dr Amen. He has other books too and I know the suggestions have helped quiet the background noise in my head a LOT. I spent a lot of time with the Lord working on controlling my thoughts, but still my flesh sabotaged me. I am on the road to healed. Amen! Several years ago I decided to stop obsessing over things so I wouldn’t forget them, knowing that the mail and the Lord would help me remember. I figure if it is too important to forget that someone will remind me!
Then I had a stroke and remembering got a bit more difficult. But with God’s help we are managing pretty well. (I am 42.) I need to remember on paper more of the things I want to put in my girls’ scrapbooks, as that is what I am most concerned about forgetting. I pray the Lord will remind me of those things when time allows me to preserve the memories.
Glynnis, thanks for doing this again. I so need your counsel and suggestions. I’m sitting at a table that certainly needs decluttering. Guess that will be first on my list, which will be about a “mile” long! Ha!
Thanks for doing this again! I wasn’t able to do as much last year because I had just had a baby, so I’m excited to be able to go through it this year! One thing I put on my list is cut my daughter’s toenails…I just keep forgetting since they’re always in socks this time of year!
I need to plan healthy meals for my family.
I need to put together my homeschooled 11th graders transcript.
This explains why I have trouble falling asleep at night. Thank you! I will start my list tomorrow. First thing: sort the laundry in my laundry room
I have tons of things that I have to do but the one that I was putting away for 2 years is to fill out and submit my citizenship application! It is on my list for this January
Just finding time to spend quality time with each of my two girls and husband to get to know them better again
Thank you for repeating this challenge again. Somehow when I came across this challenge it was almost over. So i’m glad for the oppourtnity to do it from start ot finish.
Also after reading everyone’s action items to get done has reminded me of some that I have totally forgotten and need to get done.
I came across your blog on day 1 of the de-clutter series and am planning to check out all 15 days. My house is always cluttered and often feels overwhelming. My to-do item is to buy a deep freeze in preparation for planting a large garden with my mom this summer.
I need to crack the walnuts that have been sitting on my counter for over 2 months!! I can completely relate to your post and am so excited to have a similar revelation that my brain is cluttered, not just my life and home:) Thank you!!
I need to train my brain to be a “strainer”. Strain out all the “yuck” and unimportant stuff and retain the important things (memorize Scripture, let God be the central focus. establish priorities, organize my day).
I need to take down my Christmas tree!
I am so grateful for this clutter free adventure. I really do need to de-clutter my mind – it seems like it never turns off but I also feel like I’m just spinning my wheels and never make any progress. I love the list idea – and am anxious to start that both at home and at work! I have been wanting to de-clutter my house and make it a quiet, peaceful sanctuary – maybe I’ll start with my husbands and my bedroom! Thank you Glynnis for leading us on this journey!
enjoying your blog! i need to take our dog to the vet!
I need yo reprint my back door but have to find the color note in my home purchase file ….somewhere.
Prepare spending plan.
Read GTD and Glynnis’ book.
Well. Here it is 11:52 pm. Barely had time to read this today. Must find a way to not be so busy! Lol
Clean out bedroom closets & drawers so bedroom can be more of a haven, not a catchall for everything we don’t want other people to see out in the living areas
Sorry I missed this to be included in the giveaway but I have gained a lot reading a lot of the comments posted. I can relate to so many different ladies. I have started in the past year getting rid of a lot of stuff and have made a lot of progress. I do have so much I could do/should do but I also tend to procrastinate. I hope by getting it all on paper I can focus on just doing it. One thing to go on my list is donating the books in my car,they have been there over a week.
I am still applying the clutter free tips from last year and progressing, baby steps
mind decluttering is very good, I will start putting pending tasks and plans on paper. This is challenging in itself for me because I do a lot of mind mapping but I should learn to ‘park some of them in a safe place’. My husband writes most if not everything he thinks he needs/should in his diary and ticks them as it gets done. Is this why he doesn’t stress and always cool as a cucumber?
I need to make plans for an upcoming family trip.
God spoke to me yesterday as I was shopping at TJMaxx. Stop buying “stuff” and go home and donate items not being used
I put my items back and went home.
Picking a plan for my 4 year old son. Whether that be kindergarten or another year of preschool…
Make changes to my two daughters insulin pumps to regulate blood sugars.
I praise God for your ministry…yes, I am grateful that someone like you took the time to minister to this very important subject in the life of a woman. I learned that tasks at home can never get done completely, so prioritizing is the most important thing to consider. I need to spend quality time with God first, before I start to look around and do household chores. Reading His Word, studying, meditating and praying has to be the first in my list. Next is prepare breakfast, take my medications and do all the other stuffs like, cooking, tidying up, washing dishes, exercising and many other things to take care about. Thank you for giving me some beneficial tips how to be able to do all of these.
My list definitely needs to be in a notebook, it is so long! There are so many things and this is a wonderful idea! I need to finish so many on-going projects! Scrapbooks, sewing quilts and a dress, paint the interior of our home and clip the dogs nails!
I did this challenge last year and lived it! My binder is organized and I’ve made headway. But, I was surprised that more didn’t get done while I was on maternity leave with #3, lol! One of my to-do items still on my list from last April is to paint the trim around our windows (you can still see the wood putty we used to fill holes 3 years ago)-ack!
I just read Day 3. WOW! I’m excited and overwhelmed at the same time. Being diagnosed with severe ADD at age 42 had all but immoblized me. Never realized I had it until after having children at 38 and 41. Multi tasking is something I’m horrible at. This is the most original “Decluttering” plan I’ve found. Jumping in this with both feet and finally beginning to realize I’m not in this alone, God wants to go thru this with me and won’t leave my side!!!
I am reading and writing… so much wonderful, helpful information! Thank you – finally someone who “gets” it… someone who understands that this problem is in my HEAD, not laziness or lack of interest.
My list is already soooo long.
One major thing on my list is figuring out if/when it is ok to discard paperwork… things like past employment documents that have amazing information, adoption paperwork from our now adult child… I could go on and on…
THANK YOU! I really believe this is going to be the breakthrough that I need.
I need to ebay or give away: ink jet cartridges for an old printer that I already gave away; along with that “category” are wireless keyboards, “mice” and an oversized screen I used to use with a laptop (I gave away)…gotta move this “inventory”–I haven’t used it–so it needs to move!
I need to make an ob/gyn appt to confirm my suspected pregnancy. I’ve been putting this off. The day after thanksgiving I had called and made an appointment for the same reason and the following week lost twins I was carrying. The thought of being pregnant again so soon and the possibility of another miscarriage is a little overwhelming.
I have read David’s book . That’s such an inspiration. Thanks for sharing and motivating us with your thoughts.
How can I get an email from you for Day 1 and Day 2? Tell me where to go to find them. Thank you Ellen