Clockwork: The Clutter Fairy Guide to Time Issues in Organizing

To people who struggle with clutter, it can feel as if Time is an insurmountable obstacle. At the March 2019 meeting of the Houston Clutter Coaching Meetup Group, Gayle Goddard, professional organizer and owner of The Clutter Fairy in Houston Texas, talked about the time crunches in which we find ourselves as we strive to declutter our lives and spaces. Gayle discussed procrastination, estimating the time to accomplish big projects, budgeting time for ongoing maintenance, and other areas where organizing intersects with our perception and management of time.

Links mentioned in the video:

[mechkitten]

Audio time increments are awesome. Church bells that tell time are fantastic. I more time aware whenever in a house nearby that kind of bell tower.

[CM-whhn]

Your section on perfection was great, and reminded me of this famous quote " Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." - Winston Churchill. All the info in your whole lecture clarified so much for me personally. Thank you!
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[sw]

You are one of my favorite voices! So wise and so kind!! Thanks for being awesome on YouTube!

[kaydixie]

After watching almost EVERY organizing video on YouTube, I've FINALLY found the BEST organizer of all. YAY -!! Thank you Clutter Fairy!

[grannyjan]

I needed this! I have a 12 weeks class starting next week and I’m trying to get clutter gone. Hobbies I no longer do are a bye bye. You give me courage. Thank you. 💗🌷

[shuen]

Tq Ed and Gayle! I love all your podcasts and look forward to new ones ALL THE TIME!

[kathleenmay]

Can I just say that you have really inspired me and I’m in love with you and your channel! I listen to you more than my husband of 22 years 😂😂😂❤️❤️❤️

[amyzimmerman]

Thank you, thank you, thank you! This was EXACTLY what I I’m taking notes! : ). Thanks for taking the time to prepare such great information, I appreciate it, and you don’t even know the HUGE impact you just made in my life. Thanks again!

[vlee]

Judging yourself is the enemy to (overcoming) procrastination...thank you!

[thefaelix]

i tidy while watching tv sometimes. watch tv. and tidy during the ads. :) a perfect short timeframe with a reward.
repeatedly. an hour long tv show has 20 minutes of ads.

[iamjane]

I am an organized person. Yet, I always learn something from each of your videos, Gayle. Thank you !

[cherihendrix]

Thank you for addressing this topic. I use the timer method and once I get going I usually do three 15 min rounds with the timer, stopping at the end of each round to get a drink. I fall into the “perfect” ideology and it keeps me from even starting so the timer has helped me with that in a small way.

[ArtyAntics]

It’s so true to look at the backlog and the current together. I missed that when I was working on my craft room. When I stopped the backlog to look around it was all current project and new supplies that were cluttering my desk. Now I’m going to try a reset routine after a ‘sitting’ of decluttering or creative project, thank you 😊

[miriamendres]

Hello, Gayle, from Darwin, Australia. I know that I am an everything out organiser. Over the last few years I have begun to cut back on the non essentials and buying quality items. The medium term outlook is for us to move to another area of Australia for lifestyle reasons. I need to sell the place where we are living in now to make the move. I have divided the unit in half and on the first weekend of the month I do a deep clean, windows, walls of that area average around 5 hours including a standard clean of the unit (surfaces, bathroom, sweep and mop one and a half hours done weekly). During that month I go through some of the stuff and decide to keep or toss. This is mainly over the weekends. One of my sayings is "Start somewhere, and finish at the end." Though there is no real end. I have no children, so why keep x item for my kids? It is getting dealt with by me. I am now subscribed.

[janiceestes]

I do the OHIO plan. Which stands for only handle it one. I am a neat and very organized person. But I still like to learn from you. I shred all my paper as it comes into my home. I then clean out my shredder afterwards too. I cannot stand clutter and I think twice before I buy now. If I don't have a use for the item or a place in my home I don't buy. Thank you for all you do.

[angelwaldrop]

Love your new glasses! Funky and yet so you!

[DianaRehfield]

Great information and advice. Thank you Gayle! (maintenance? who knew! I didn't think of that :-) )

[deeanndavis]

It's as if this talk is specifically for me and my husband! Haha. If you have any specific advice for an expectant mom, I would be grateful. We're trying to keep baby items minimalistic but I'm not sure if that will be respected by others once baby is here. And we're trying to clean up our own crap before they arrive in 3 months! Again, this talk although should be common sense, I think is a problem of ours and why it seems we've hardly gotten anywhere in months! Thank you!!

[IrresistibleWitch]

In my family when we are doing a big clean up job we always listen to music. Turn the tv off and put on an album. After each song or each album take a break or move on to a different part of cleaning.

[jamesbriggs]

My husband CAN stay focused longer. But he doesn't even go to the bathroom. But it's only on computer work or problem solving. He basically finishes the task.
Kathy B