Why is that we feel we have to hold onto everything?

This stuff is suffocating our creativity and holding us back from what we are really supposed to be doing. It is so hard to clean house when you have clutter everywhere!

Anything can become clutter when you don't use it, don't love it, and you don't have a place for it. We collect things because we think we may need them one day. All this does is clog up our homes and our lives. That clutter becomes a stumbling block to our daily routines. It gets in the way of living. We become the caretaker of stuff instead of living our lives. We have a choice; our houses can become a museum, a landfill or a home!

Three times a year at my house we do a Super Fling Boogie. This is when we focus on getting rid of our clutter. You can fling any time you want to. You don't have to wait for our Super Fling Boogies. You can do a 27-Fling Boogie each day to gradually eliminate your clutter. This is a fun way of releasing your clutter.

Grab a grocery bag and run through your home and gather up 27 pieces of trash to throw away. Then put the bag in the trash can and don't look in it. Next grab a bag or box and run through your home searching for things to give away. The key word here is run. Do not think hard about this. When you think too long on clutter, it will convince you that it has to stay! After you have collected 27 items to give to a thrift store then go put the bag into your car to donate next time you are out.

You have messed in your clutter for years. It has dominated your every waking moment. You have tried to sort it, box it up, put it in plastic tubs, cram it into closets, fill up the garage and you have even rented rooms for your clutter! It has stolen your money, robbed you of your time and put your life in chaos! Why? All because you thought you might need it one day!

Then when you do need it; could you actually find it in all your pretty silk boxes, plastic tubs and filled-to-overflowing closets? We have all been at this point in our lives; looking for one item that we have put in a safe place. This is when all those boxes, tubs and closets throw up all over your cutesy organized clutter. We spend our lives looking for things in the mass of clutter.

Aren't you tired of these endless searches? If you learn nothing else from me, I hope that these words will stick with you. You can't organize clutter; you can only get rid of it. Spend a few minutes each day flinging your clutter. Join us three times a year for a Super Fling Boogie. Let go of your clutter and make room for more time for you!

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For more help getting rid of your CHAOS; check out: www.flylady.net. Also see Cilley's book, "Sink Reflections" and her new book, "Body Clutter." Copyright 2006 Marla Cilley Used by permission in this publication.