The Love It Or Lose It Principle To Being Clutter Free

One Simple Key to Living Clutter Free Forever

You’ve tried a hundred times to get rid of clutter and prevent the boomerang effect of clutter comeback. It wasn’t long ago that you spent an entire weekend “decluttering” – and now you are expecting guests in two days, and the guestroom is full of “stuff” again! According to a study by the U.S. Department of Energy, 25% of people with two-car garages didn’t park any cars in them and 32% parked only one. When it came to three-car garages, only 13% parked three cars. You probably don’t have to think very hard to figure out that most of them are filled with clutter instead of cars! If you’re looking for a solution that is simple and sustainable, you’re not alone.

Whether you have fifteen people coming to a family dinner this weekend, or you are in a long-term project of preparing to sell your house for maximum value, whether you need to produce immediate results, or patiently recognize that you are wrestling with more complex issues, here’s a bedrock principle that has helped thousands of people and may help you too. This principle can help you triumph over the clutter in your home, your workplace, or your heart. It’s the key to being clutter free.

That principle is: Love It Or Lose It.

Every item around you represents a choice you made. You either went out and selected it, or it came to you, and you accepted it. And you continue to allow it space in your life. Whether it’s your toaster that works OK except when the handle falls off and you burn your hands, or the vase from Aunt Agnes that reminds you of an unhappy family situation, or the desk that isn’t quite big enough for the computer and all its extensions, each item around you has an effect on your day.

Look at that item now with fresh eyes. Do you know it’s useful? Is it beautiful? Do you love it? If the answer to all three questions is “No!” – then it’s time to get rid of it. In other words, LOVE IT OR LOSE IT. Undoubtedly there’s someone else in the world who would love it, so send it on its way – you’ll have less clutter, you’ll be helping someone else — and you can probably take a tax deduction for your good deed!

Love what nourishes your dreams and directions, lose what drains or distracts you. This principle will help you discover new focus and freedom, new simplicity and serenity, new energy and enlightenment in your day. As you let go of anything around you that drains your energy or joy, you can again discover that it is only by choosing what to let go of, that you know more clearly what to hold on to.

One client had a closet full of expensive clothes too small for her to wear – and no place to put the ones she was wearing. After years of feeling guilty for not losing the weight and not wearing the clothes, she decided to give them away. Now, several years later, her closet is functional again – and she’s lost the weight – but her lifestyle has changed dramatically from the early days of the expensive clothes, and she wouldn’t wear them if she had kept them!

One client nicknamed the boost of extra energy he got when he started living clutter-free. He took the initials of the phrase, “Love It Or Lose It,” and called his new feeling the LILI factor. So, plant a LILI in your life and let it bloom