When does limiting choice actually bring greater freedom? When your head is already full, too many choices or options can be incredibly overwhelming. Your capacity on any given day can be increased when you put some limits on your own choices. You might create a framework that you can overlay on decisions so you have a natural default and then you have the freedom to change, or you might create systems in your life to simplify decision making. This week think about how you already limit choices ...
Nov 05, 2023•16 min•Season 2Ep. 62
Today's episode is not about buying property, it's about where you keep items within your home. Location of where items are kept and stored is super important when you're setting up your home. Not all locations are created equal... even when they are equal in shape, size and capacity. Prime real estate in your home should be used for items you're accessing more often, and the location should be logical to where you will look for and use the item. Totally practical episode today which will make y...
Oct 29, 2023•22 min•Season 2Ep. 61
Do you have FOTO? Fear of Throwing Out... it's a real thing! How many digital storage devices/ old tech do you have in your home purely because you are not sure if there are important documents/ photos on them? Old laptop, old phone, old tablet that you totally don't need (and maybe can't even find the charger for)... make a decision today if it's worth investing the time to recover those files, or if you need to bite the bullet and send your device to a recycling depot. If you have memory cards...
Oct 22, 2023•21 min•Season 2Ep. 60
Outsourcing can be a bit daunting when your scope of what it means is that you need to be wealthy enough to employ someone to help you out. However today expand your mind about outsourcing in 3 different ways and think creatively about how you might be able to use the power of outsourcing in your life. Outsourcing within your household Outsourcing to independent contractors Commercial outsourcing If you live with anyone else, you might just call it 'sharing responsibilities' but if one person co...
Oct 15, 2023•26 min•Season 2Ep. 59
Do you need to declutter a space or room in your house so that an area in your life can bloom? Do you want space to pursue a creative project, engage in an activity that brings you joy or maybe you have a priority of health, business, study or foster care that requires room in order to bloom. Bring a fresh outlook to how you use your space and how you prioritise that which you want to bloom. Here are some areas you might like to bloom in that require room created for them exercise painting, sewi...
Oct 08, 2023•14 min•Season 2Ep. 58
When you're thinking about tackling an area in your home to declutter, you can use a broad or narrow approach (or a combination as is needed). Broad decluttering is about using a birds eye view and thinking in broad categories. This might look like working on some easy wins, large items that are rubbish or are to be decluttered. It might be about consolidating half full boxes of items so you can clear some space for future narrow decluttering. Broad might look like creating space by going throug...
Oct 01, 2023•16 min•Season 2Ep. 57
I would quite like to remove the word busy from my vocabulary. It doesn't actually reflect the way that I value my time, calendar, energy, schedule, finances and home. Busy implies rushed, frantic, distracted, unapproachable and like you are kind of living out of control. Explore what intention might look like. What lingering looks like and what being approachable and having space for people and things that you love looks like in your life. When you declutter your home, calendar and time you'll ...
Sep 24, 2023•14 min•Season 2Ep. 56
If you've been listening to this podcast for any length of time you've probably heard me talk about the 'returns box' in our house. Today I delve into what a Returns Box looks like, how we use it, what specifically is in it and how it might look in your home. No more borrowing something and forgetting to give it back or the embarrassment of losing something someone lent you. If you're stuck on where to put library books when you're ready to return them, where to put the casserole dish to give ba...
Sep 17, 2023•16 min•Season 2Ep. 55
Have you ever noticed that when you clear a space in your home, you instinctively want to fill it with something else? We call this the vacuum effect. A space will draw things into it unless you set an intention for the space you've created. Today I chat with Bonnie from Little Miss Organised about the Vacuum Effect as well as other areas of decluttering we can't help but discuss! Think of your kitchen table... you clear it off and then 24 hours later a new pile of random clutter has accumulated...
Sep 10, 2023•36 min•Season 2Ep. 54
Do you have one {or multiple} doom boxes around your home full of random clutter that you're not quite sure what to do with, where to put, or you're procrastinating making decisions about the items inside? You may be surprised to find that in some situations, a doom box can actually assist your decluttering success rather than be an organising 'no-no'. Need to have a place for decisions you need to check with someone else? Quick tidy up needed so you can prepare for guests or the cleaner? Pick u...
Sep 03, 2023•18 min•Season 2Ep. 53
How do you decide where items should live in your home? Do you put things where you think everyone else would put them? Do you put them in what you think is the 'right' place? If you're struggling to work out the home for an item, where it should live, ask yourself, "where would I go to look for this item?" That might give you a good indication of where to store it. When you have to search for something in your home, don't put it back where you found it, put it back where you first looked. Count...
Aug 27, 2023•13 min•Season 2Ep. 52
When my kids were little we had a zoo membership and used to try to visit every few weeks. The challenge was the zoo was too big for us to see everything, every time. So we created themes for each visit. Australian animals... animals that are bigger than we are... animals that live in water... white animals. It made an otherwise potentially overwhelming zoo visit into a fun themed visit. In your decluttering you might play this game on your own, or with your kids... "let's see if we can declutte...
Aug 20, 2023•11 min•Season 2Ep. 51
"Murphey's Law says as soon as I declutter this thing, I'm going to need it" "I knew it would happen that I needed this once I got rid of it, that's why I keep everything" Confirmation bias is processing information by looking for, or interpreting information consistent with your beliefs. So even though you got rid of 100 items in your big declutter and you haven't needed 99 of them, the one that you could have used a week later is the one you focus on and confirms what you've always believed, w...
Aug 13, 2023•13 min•Season 2Ep. 50
Last week I attended the funeral of a client who had become a friend. I had the privilege of visiting with her in palliative care in her final days and during our short time together she shared some reflections on her relationship with her 'stuff'. After a lifetime of struggle with severe clutter, what she shared with me was so insightful and I believe will be helpful for many others. An episode you don't want to miss! You may also like to listen to these episodes: Consumerism Values Obligation ...
Aug 06, 2023•15 min•Season 2Ep. 49
There’s no doubt the digital revolution has changed we way we store, keep and access information in our homes. If you think about all the physical ways we kept information only 30 years ago, so many have been replaced digitally… but have you also decluttered the outdated physical items in your home? Today explore some things in your home that have been replaced by technology and be challenged to declutter the physical items which are no longer needed because you're now using an app or device for...
Jul 30, 2023•18 min•Season 2Ep. 48
Whether you've lived in your home for 4 months or 40 years, stepping back and seeing your home with fresh eyes will help you make decluttering decisions from a new perspective Have you ever decided to list your house for sale then all of a sudden started to see your home with fresh eyes? You may start to notice all the things you’ve happily lived with for years: the grout in the bathroom is dirty, the gutters need replacing and the concrete driveway is falling apart. It’s the reason so many peop...
Jul 23, 2023•18 min•Season 2Ep. 47
How full is your garage? Are you running out of floor space? Do you feel like the garage walls are closing in on you? Is it hard to find items in your garage? If you answered yes to any of these questions, it might be time to declutter your garage. The garage is a space that can easily attract clutter. Sometimes it’s easier to put things away in a place where we don’t spend much time. But over time, items pile up, making it impossible to access your space, let alone move around without knocking ...
Jul 16, 2023•23 min•Season 2Ep. 46
Ever been struck by the complete opulence of consumerism? Like smacked in the face by it to the point where it makes you feel sick in the stomach? Consumerism is "a social and economic order that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts". Consuming and purchasing things you don't need in compounding quantities... will not make you happy or satisfied or fulfilled. It will cause you stress as you have to earn the money to pay for these things, then store them in ...
Jul 09, 2023•18 min•Season 2Ep. 45
This week marks 6 years of The Art of Decluttering podcast!! To celebrate we use the traditional gift of iron (the metal, not the home appliance) to learn more about decluttering. Iron has 5 primary properties, each allows insight into the world of Professional Decluttering and Organising. Lustrous " reflecting light evenly and efficiently without glitter or sparkle " At The Art of Decluttering we serving all clients equally without judgement. We don't aim to bring glittery perfection, but pract...
Jul 02, 2023•15 min•Season 2Ep. 44
Do you sometimes pick up your kids from childcare or kinder and wonder how the educators managed to get 32 three year olds to tidy up, clean their own plates and put the blocks away before moving on to playing with something else? Today I chat with one of my team Freya, who as well as being an exceptional decluttering and organising expert is an early childhood educator. Freya shares the tricks of the trade that you can implement at home or in your own childcare setting. Freya has run a family d...
Jun 25, 2023•31 min•Season 2Ep. 43
A bit of a philosophical episode today - when we purchase things are they for our engagement or our entertainment? How can we be intentional in choosing engagement or entertainment to meet our needs and align with our values? Engagement requires thought, encourages intention, is purposeful, sparks creativity, creates memories Entertainment is often single-use, requires your passive attention, is done for you, and requires someone else's creativity There is a season for both, today be encouraged ...
Jun 18, 2023•13 min•Season 2Ep. 42
Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget developed Object Permanence theory. Object permanence, put simply, is the ability to understand that an object continues to exist, even though it can no longer be seen, heard or touched. Think of it like out of sight, out of mind. When you forget something because you can no longer see it... like the glasses on top of your head, the phone you put down on the bench, or the gifts you bought for the kids and forgot about because you hid them in the top of the wardrobe...
Jun 11, 2023•21 min•Season 2Ep. 41
Today is the final episode of our ADHD and decluttering/ organising series. And today, Amy shares her reflections on the series and shares some things she's learned over the last few months as we've deep-dived into ADHD. If you've found this series to be helpful or you're had an ah-ha moment, please take a minute to leave a review on your podcast app , in our Facebook community or share it with a friend. This is the best way for others to find the show and it's super encouraging for us to read y...
Jun 08, 2023•12 min•Season 2Ep. 40
In true ADHD style, this week we'll be dropping mini episodes into your feed of things our guests forgot to say in their main episode!! Today Jess shares her PS hacks of things she does that makes her life just that bit easier. Keeping a pack of hair ties in the car/ nappy bag/ handbag so she doesn't spend time searching for them when she needs them when out and about Instead of signing and having school forms sent back to school, Jess scans and emails them as she's signing them so they don't ge...
Jun 07, 2023•18 min•Season 2Ep. 39
In true ADHD style, this week we'll be dropping mini episodes into your feed of things our guests forgot to say in their main episode!! Today Carly shares how routines and supports in her childhood helped her cope with the affects of her (then undiagnosed) ADHD. She credits her mum who has strong executive functioning skills for providing the scaffolding to support her in her early years. She also shares about the importance of accepting help! Another ADHD/ Decluttering/ Organising episode that ...
Jun 06, 2023•13 min•Season 2Ep. 38
In true ADHD style, this week we'll be dropping mini episodes into your feed of things our guests forgot to say in their main episode!! Today Sylvia shares her PS thoughts. How when people say to 'just' do something it feels like it's meant to be easy, but it just isn't Some examples of lazy vs efficient Divorcing the thinking from the doing Being your own declutter fairy and giving yourself the gift of action and some hacks their family have tried over the years to engage the kids in declutteri...
Jun 05, 2023•27 min•Season 2Ep. 37
In true ADHD style, this week we'll be dropping mini episodes into your feed of things our guests forgot to say in their main episode!! Today Jodie shares her ADHD hacks in a few areas: Meal prep - what she prepares in bulk ahead of time and how she does meal prep over time rather than when it's the push to get dinner ready Pantry organisation - how Jodie has changed the way she organises her pantry from categories like the supermarket, to keeping items that are used together, together. Instead ...
Jun 04, 2023•22 min•Season 2Ep. 36
Lisa Woodruff is the Founder and Owner of Organize 365, in this episode she brings all her enthusiasm and energy for sharing about the intersection of ADHD and organising. Lisa is even doing her PHD on the topic (did I mention she's amazing!). We chat about executive functioning in relation to organisation, specifically around working memory, planning and monitoring... all of which are essential parts of achieving and maintaining an organised home.... which is MUCH easier said than done for thos...
May 28, 2023•47 min•Season 2Ep. 35
Sylvia Campbell is a friend of the show, she's also a chemical engineer working in the water industry as a process improvement lead. She was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult and in this episode we hear how her amazing mind works in terms of engineering, problem solving, process improvement, home optimisation and developing efficiency. Learn some strategies for identifying what the actual problem is when trying to improve an area in your home so you can maximise your results. Ask questions like, "...
May 21, 2023•1 hr•Season 2Ep. 34
Today is a super quick bonus episode for you... I've got covid and I'm isolating from my family so I don't make them sick. I've got a pretty mild case this time round which is a huge relief... and I've had the energy to do a few things during the day as well as doing lots of resting and sleeping. So here are 15 things I've been doing in isolation. You may not have covid, but you may have an injury, be recovering from surgery or just find that you need an idea of things to do when you've got some...
May 17, 2023•14 min•Season 2Ep. 33
