Entrepreneurs: Declutter for Positive Energy

“Spring Cleaning” is a dirty term; any time of the year is the perfect time to declutter and reorganize, especially for freelancers and entrepreneurs who are working from home!

Clutter can easily build up anywhere, whether it’s your office, co-working space, or your home workspace. All of these possessions weigh down your spirit and have the power to distract you from what’s important: accomplishing those tasks you need to get done for your business.

Let’s learn how to declutter for positive energy in your entrepreneurial endeavors.

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The Mindset for Decluttering Your Workspace

In order to get started, you need to get in the right mindset to be able to get rid of things. While sentimentality is important, there really is no reason to get all mushy over certain items that are just taking up room and are visually busy, especially if you didn't even remember you owned said thing.

A clean, minimal workspace will give you a distraction-free zone to get stuff done and maximize your creativity. Everything should have its own place, and be put-away-able at the end of every day. If you’re like me and your home office is in a corner of your bedroom, it’s great to be able to shove everything (neatly) in a drawer at the end of the day so you can rest easy at night.

Also, the less you have to work with, the more creative you'll end up being. Just ask artist Phil Hansen, who experienced his most creative moments when he limited himself.

How to Purge Your Belongings

Here are some tips to help you make quick decisions when decluttering.

If you haven't used it in a year, you won't use it next year.

Be honest with yourself here. When cleaning out closets and drawers, I tend to go with the 6 month rule. If I haven't used it in the past 6 months and I don't plan on using it in the next 6 months, it's just taking up space. Time to let it go.

If you didn't remember you owned it, get rid of it. 

So you own Monopoly and play it once every year on vacation? Great! But in digging through things, you find that you also own Metallica Monopoly and Hello Kitty Monopoly, both of which you haven't touched since you got them from your Uncle Ted during the holidays—years ago. Get rid of it.

Pare down to avoid being stuck in a rut.

Your stuff may be putting you in a rut. Less is more. Too many choices can actually be paralyzing. This goes for your fountain pen collection the same as it does for your child’s toy selection. When there are too many things to choose from, you may end up only using 1 or 2 of those things regularly.

On the other hand, owning less belongings can feel liberating, and may encourage you to rotate through your choices.

If it makes you feel shitty, time to donate it.

I suppose this is like the dark side of Marie Kondo’s approach, when asking if your item “sparks joy.” Ok, so hold your item. Look at it. Experience it deeply.

If it makes you feel like shit, let’s toss it. Get it the eff out of your house and into the local donation center. I’m looking at you, weird but strangely expensive gift from the ex-boyfriend from hell.

After Decluttering, Make Room for the Best

After you do a major declutter, you can still buy or acquire things. I’m not saying you have to sit in a concrete-floor room and stare at the blank, white walls for all of eternity.

Here’s the trick though. After you refine your space by purging unwanted or unused belongings, you’re making room for the best. There are so many products and things to buy these days. Many of us are on the constant search for the perfect whatever-the-eff-fill-in-the-blank.

So whether you've found the perfect item or whether you're still looking, your ultimate goal may be to have a small collection of the absolute best. Choose quality over quantity. While you're at it, look for items that are multipurpose, too!

Dump It: Digitize, Sell, Recycle, or Donate

Time to dump your junk. You can digitize, sell, recycle, or donate.

I know people have a hard time with throwing things away, and I don't blame them. Contributing to a landfill doesn't give you a very warm and fuzzy feeling. You can digitize a lot of sentimental things. Scan old photo albums, posters—whatever. Take pictures of the stacks of kitschy crafts your son brought home and make a digital album.

Sell items that are valuable to others; this will put some cash in your pocket. Just remember that the logistics of selling items on Facebook Marketplace or Nextdoor or Craigslist is a lot. Ebay is nice, but is a pain in the ass. Do what works for you.

Donate items to those in need or give them away to friends who will enjoy your stuff more. There may be a local Facebook swap group you can join to make sure your items go to a good home instead of dropping your bags off to the never-never land of Goodwill.

Responsibly recycle or trash the rest.

Boom! Your home is decluttered. As a result, your home office is also streamlined and is ready for you to kick butt in the entrepreneurial world. Time to bring on that positive energy!

Tell me below: What are your hurdles for keeping a tidy workspace for your creative business?

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