Hello, hello, hello. I thought today's podcast, it would be good to do a declutter podcast for twenty twenty five. So at the time of filming, it's the twentieth of December. So twenty twenty five isn't too far away. And decluttering is something I've done for the past few years. Effectively, I've had much more success the past few years and probably what I have had um prior to that and you know I mean you can do it any time of year some people kind of do it like as a spring clean um you know if you're wanting to start twenty twenty five a little bit different you know perhaps decluttering is something that you want to consider um and you know that can either be emotional baggage it could be people it could be physical things it whatever you need to declutter. It doesn't have to be when people think of it, it's like, I have to physically get rid of something. And it's not necessarily that at all. It can be emotional, you know, anything that you that's no longer serving you. So, twenty twenty five is, you know, could be a good year for you to declutter some things. And I'm not saying you have to go gung ho and declutter everything. You just might have, you know, there might be something that comes top of your mind and perhaps you want to start with that. So you can just start with one thing. You don't have to do all the things. So I'm just going to give you some tips today that you may want to use to declutter for things. When people think declutter, usually they just think of physical items. So probably likely you've accumulated a lot of things over the years and they may not necessarily serve you anymore if they had at all. Christmas time, we seem to get presents that we don't want I kind of stopped doing that because I'm like, well, if I want something, I'm probably going to go buy it myself. So there's nothing I physically want. Like I say, like I literally don't want anything because you're going to buy something for the sake of buying something and I'm not going to want to. Like I don't want it. It's going to be a waste of money. You know, just wish me a Merry Christmas or something like that. So consider maybe gift giving this year. It's probably a little bit late given Christmas is only a few days away. But, you know, for next time or for birthdays, You know, you might want to go, hey, you know, I want to give voucher to this place or I don't know, I want to go for the beach for the day for my birthday, whatever it is. So think of occasions. that so you're just not receiving things that you may not want to receive or if there's something that you really want maybe hey I really want this thing um it would be great if you can contribute towards it or buy it depending on what it is price who and all that stuff so um but having that especially if it's clutter it can stress you out and if you're starting your day with that so You know, if you wake up and you make a cup of tea and you're opening the cupboard and you're hoping for the best that all the mugs aren't going to come out because they're all piled in there, you're starting your day stressed already because you're trying to juggle the you know, the cup's not falling out of the cupboard to then grab one and then, you know, one smashes, you're probably going to have the shits for the whole day. I know I probably would. So think about just simple things like that, you know, like if, you know, your cup drawer, your mug drawer is not organized, maybe organize that. So you're starting your day happy it's like cool I can open this up yeah there's my mug done I don't have to you know worry about smashing something because you know there's fifty million mugs in this small cupboard so you know have you know think about something like that even that can make a really big difference in your day. And, yeah, like disorganisation is a big one. I'm definitely not perfect, but I'm better than what I am. And, you know, I'm that person who until recently, although I've got one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. So I now have sixteen tabs back on my Google Chrome. I was down to a couple the other day. I think my phone, I'm on like two hundred and something tabs because I have to go back to that at some point. Right. But I've actually started even decluttering So when I've been looking at my Google Chrome, I'm not so overwhelmed because there's not so many tabs and stuff open. Haven't ventured onto my phone yet. Hopefully I'll have time in the holidays to declutter those tabs. But I have like fifty million screenshots of stuff that I apparently want to get to at one stage as well. But I've actually started using like an online system to making that easier. So, you know, if it was a link, it's like, well, I need to go back to that link. Where's that link going to go? You don't want like a word document with a shit ton of links in there. So I started to use a program where I put the links on there. So that's made a really big difference. So it could be something simple like that. It might be keeping a diary. It might be like a, sorry, a calendar. It might be like a family calendar. So, you know, if you're sick of, you know, people making, you know, I don't know, things to do on like a, you know, day that you got a pile of sport, chocolate in the calendar. And I was like, hey, how about you check here before, you know, you commit us to other things. So, you know, family calendar might be something that's really simple. It's pretty easy to set up on an iPhone. I'm assuming like a Samsung is probably very similar. So yeah, think about that. Just tackle an area at a time. As I said, like if you're getting a coffee in the morning or a cup of tea and that, you know, the mug cupboard stresses you out, fix it. Or maybe the night before, get your mug out and have it on the bench so it's ready to go the next day. If you're desperately trying to find... clothes to wear so I will generally pick up my clothes the night before so when I wake up I don't have to think about what I'm going to wear I just have breakfast or more I don't eat breakfast but like I'll have a shower or whatever I'll get ready my clothes are done and then I'm out the door so something like that might be really helpful as well um sorting your cupboard into like personal like work as well that might make difference um you know if you know if you you know just chuck your clothes anywhere you might want to sort it by you know personal clothes and like what you wear to work that's another idea um and you'll feel so much lighter when you start to do it so it honestly feels so much better because then you don't have that clutter you don't have that disorganization and it just makes your day flow so much easier. A few years ago, well, actually like the home edit. So if you have, I think it's on Netflix, the home edit is a really good show. If you kind of like want organizing ideas, Marie Kondo, you can take her approach. That's a spark joy. So you might have something. Yep. Cool. It does this spark joy, not get rid of it, donate it. whatever it might be. So, you know, if it doesn't spark your joy, you might want to consider, you know, donating it or, you know, re-gifting it or something like that, depending on what it is. Yeah. And I've mentioned the digital side. So like your emails, I do my best to have minimal emails. It's difficult because I do get a lot of emails per day. But, you know, starting your day off with minimal unread emails can make a difference. Unsubscribe from things. If you're constantly going into your email account and just deleting stuff because you've subscribed to something, if you don't want it, just unsubscribe. So that's going to help you declutter what's in your inbox as well or block things, whatever it is that you need to do. Yeah, so delete apps from your phone. If there's apps that you're not using, you know, maybe delete them. You can pop them back on anyway, if you decide to change your mind or organizing your app. So I actually have folders. So I'm partly organized with things and other things are not, but actually have folders in my phone for various things. So I know that if I need to find something. Like, you know, I know what folder to go in or you can set them up as widgets as well. There's probably a pile of other things iPhone does. I probably should ask my kids because they seem to know more than me. But, you know, setting up stuff on your phone could make a really big difference as well. I know I've started to declutter. So when I do the pays for the businesses each week, there's a pile of like, um, people on there that I haven't had anything to do with for like forever that I've had to like, you know, X staff members or, you know, I've had to pay for something in the past and I've saved it as like a favorite or something. I've even started to declutter from that. So when I go to pay somebody, it's just the people that I usually pay. It's not some random from like nine years ago. So, um, that's, um, it can be pretty satisfying as the whole thing can be pretty satisfying actually. Um, so that's kind of the physical thing. decluttering people. So this is something I've done pretty well successful for the past few years, I think, and not everybody will probably agree with it and that's completely fine, but I have decluttered people. So I have broken up with clients who think that they're entitled and can't be bothered saying thank you or hi or anything like that, you know, they're really not appreciating the work that we do. Everything has to be dropped for them. They're the only client in the world. Like, it was really draining. And, you know, I'd kind of confront them, hey, like, once again, you're, you know, trying to make us... pull miracles out of a hat, like, you know, last minute, or each year we'll have like the same people contact us. Hey, like I need to get that done. I'm like, we spoke to you last Christmas. Like we're closing today. Like we have the same conversations each year. So things like that. So I have decluttered clients that no longer service who don't appreciate myself and my team. So that's felt really good. And I'm in a position to be able to do that. So perhaps, um, you're not um but you know we're pretty good with our clients you know if our gut says no we don't act for them but we definitely put up with people who think they're entitled and they're unappreciative and it's like you know what you're like zapping my energy you're not sparking my joy we'll finish what we've got and then you need to find somebody else so um that conversation um I've gotten a lot better at having so you know I don't want to lose team members over you know a client that I don't know, that speaks to them poorly. So clients is one thing. Friends or acquaintances. I've had a massive declutter on Instagram and Facebook. I was like a thousand or something, I think, on Facebook. And now I'm down to like two hundred and something. It probably needs to be decluttered more than that. Like if I was to die today, I think two hundred people would rock up at my funeral. But decluttering that has been really good. And names in my phone as well. I've been decluttering um them just because like there's phones like phone numbers in there since I was like seventeen when I first got a phone like so you know most of those phone numbers wouldn't even work so even that um feels really good the messages so you might have like a pile of messages on your phone like I'll you know delete them uh that feels really good as well um but yeah so people like you know if there's a friend on acquaintance that might make you feel shit or they may take you for granted or think that they're better than you or whatever. In my opinion, no one's better than anybody else. So we all have our each individual skills but you know just because I'm a lawyer doesn't mean that I'm better off than the guy that delivers my mail or the person that serves me at woolworth's like you know I used to work at big w I was the same person I don't think I was better or worse than anybody else so to me it's if you think you're entitled then we're probably not gonna better do business or like talk like be friends like I just I don't get it to me everybody is equal We are better at some things than others. We are more successful with other things than some people. But that doesn't mean that we're entitled. So yeah, consider possibly friends. The next one's family. So yeah, so some people are cool with it. Some people are not. Family is everything. to me it's kind of in the same category as friends. So if you have family members who are horrible and treat you like shit and, you know, think that they're above you and, you know, practically everything we've just discussed, you know, maybe kind of have less to do with them or completely cut them out of your life. You know, friends can easily be family as well. You know, in my opinion, you don't have to be blood to be family. So, As I said, some people, it's probably about a fifty-fifty, I reckon. And if you've got a great family, then like hats off to you. You appreciate that because a lot of people don't have amazing family. So if you don't have issues with family members, congratulations, like that would be amazing. Like, so don't lose that. But yeah, if you have toxic people in your life, whether that's friends, clients, family, consider maybe spending a little less time with them or you know, maybe approach them. Hey, every time we talk, you think you're better than me. It's annoying. They react and say, I am. I'm like, cool. Righto. Thanks. You just made the decision for me, you know. Well, some of you just may not want to confront them at all. And that's cool as well. But, you know, there's people that, deplete your energy. People that lie to you, people that talk behind your back, all the shit that you go through at school still happens in adult life. So it doesn't go away. Bullying, adult bullying is also a thing. It's probably just as bad as school bullying. It's really disgusting. So think about that as well. If you're in a toxic workplace, you might want to go to another workplace if you're able to do that um but yeah you definitely shouldn't have to be putting up with toxic or negative or narcissistic people if they don't spark your joy so don't be scared of um decluttering people even setting boundaries so you might be um You know, so we're like in a household, we're trying to, okay, phones away at five. I should be reasonably done with work by then. Phones away at five. If we're sitting down for tea or watching TV, we don't have our phones. So that's something that we've done. I suppose that's more of a, I don't know what that is. Maybe it's a bit of a detox more than like a boundary. You know, we're about to go on Christmas break. And everyone's like, yep, cool. So you can still do stuff during the holidays. I'm like, no, this is my holidays. This is like about the only time I get to spend with my family where I don't have work. No, I'm not available. No, my team's not available, whatever that means. So having those boundaries, and if you haven't done that, it's probably going to be awkward and hard. And then the people that you're enforcing the boundaries to could get their shits. It's like, well, you know, what makes you so good? You know, they may kind of turn it back on you. So, you know, be prepared for that as well. But boundaries is definitely something that's important. It's something that I've definitely gotten better at. I always definitely are. You can contact me anytime. type of lawyer with my clients. And most of the time it wasn't appreciated. You know, I'll put my out of office on and, you know, they think that I'm going to respond and, you know, I have set that expectation that I will. But later it's like, you know what, if my out of office is on, it's on. Like, nope, I'm not checking stuff. So boundaries can be another one as well. um yeah so it all might feel a little bit uncomfortable at first that's where you might just want to start slow um start small um if you're not ready to cut off you know maybe just reduce the amount of time that you spend with them if it's a very one-way relationship if you're the one that's organizing things or know constantly contacting that person and they're not doing the same in return maybe stop doing that um you know if you're comfortable with that and then be prepared for people to come back at you and you know get the the shits or whatever it might be because they're like oh okay you're too good for me you're not talking to me or whatever it is like you know all that high school crap will will happen likely and you know for me that that's my energy like I'm I'm just not there Not my thing. So some people love creating drama and, you know, poor me, poor me. For me, that's like if you're that person, I don't have the energy for that. Like I've got enough stuff going on. I don't need to tolerate that crap either. So, yeah, so think about people. Mindset is another one. So if you're thinking really negative thoughts, that's something that you may want to declutter. So, you know, simplifying things. So next year, my thing is like, I'm going to be simplifying things. I have like complicated things. for a very long time, I run like four businesses. I do all the things and, you know, I will still be doing things. I'm not saying like I'm going to be, you know, becoming a hippie and moving to Byron or something like that, but it would be simplifying, you know, things that make my life easy. So I've gone back to somebody that washes my car. I'm able to do that. And the amount of work that I can get done while that person washes my car is, is great, you know? So, things about that you know you might better um like delegate something if you don't like mowing the lawn and you know it makes you really cranky you might want to delegate that and pay someone to do that a month there's probably a kid that would do it for like fifty bucks or something like that you might have to let go if they don't do as good a job as what you might do but um you know consider that as well but um yeah so emotional baggage isn't going to serve you if you have some stuff up there you might want to consider releasing that. So, you know, you can do that through a hypnotherapy session. You can do that with a counselor, a psych, if you need to go to that level. But that stuff will catch up with you. So consider that as well. What else? Yeah. So just think, you know, it doesn't happen overnight. Don't go too crazy. you know, if you haven't really done it before, be really mindful of what you're doing. So maybe start, if you're going to start with a physical thing, it's like, okay, so what annoys me, what makes me cranky? And it could be trying to navigate that mug cupboard in the morning to, you know, have your cup of tea. Like that might be where it What sets you off? It might be that your bathroom is disorganized and it stresses you out. Then you get cranky and then you're yelling at the kids to get out the door because you've got the sheets because your bathroom isn't organized. Something like that. Like whatever that is, start with that. And, you know, it doesn't have to be perfect. And, you know, it doesn't have to be Marie Kondo or the Home Edit organized. If that organization serves you, then do what serves you, then do that. And then, you know, if you sorted that mug cupboard out or the bathroom out, okay, what's something else that, you know, like annoys me? So it might be the pantry. I can never find anything. And then I'm ordering the same thing all the time. And then I'll have this shit ton of rice and I don't know what to do with all this rice, you know? for example or whatever it is um you know you might want to start with that you might just want to start with like a kid station or a snack station or like a school station like maybe that's enough for the moment um you know it's clothing like can be like that's a physical thing but you know if you need to go out and buy new clothes because you I don't know your bras are hanging off and your holes I've got holes in your undies like Maybe, you know, you need to declutter the old ones and go buy yourself some new ones so you feel amazing in them and not looking at them with holes and, you know, whatever else. So, you know, that could be something else as well. So I would definitely start small. You can definitely get carried away with it. And it's not like you have to do it in the first week. Like you can declutter whenever. You might want to do just declutter something once a month. Like even that would make a massive difference. So you might want to declutter with your kids. Like if your kids have a shit ton of toys and they don't use them, hey, let's donate them to, you know, a charity of some sort, Salvation Army or Vinnies or something like that. you know, get your kids involved as well. Be careful if you start throwing stuff out without permission, it probably isn't going to go well, or if you're game to do that, then good luck to you. If people start noticing that things are missing, but you know, you can, yeah, it might be something that you can do with your kids. So, um yeah so I suppose the point of this is just maybe have a think about something that you can declutter reasonably easy and have that success it's like yes I just tidied that cupboard yay that's a win I feel amazing that's gonna make so much difference in the morning that's kind of taken a little bit out of me I'll have a think and maybe declutter something else next month it could be a person or it might be another thing or it might be like a mindset shift that you need uh to make so um yeah and you know try to be consistent um there's a lot of benefits to having um you know a declutter from both physical things and emotional and people as well um it could be uncomfortable to start with but um you know if you're coming home to a nice clean organized home that is going to make you a lot better. You're probably going to be maybe not as cranky if that's making you cranky or frustrated. And then, you know, you're taking that on your partner or your kids or whatever that might be. So there's a lot of benefits to decluttering, but it might just take you a little while if you're not used to it. And there'll be a little pile of tools online. As I said, you've got Marie Kondo, Um, that's a little bit too extreme for me. Uh, I do like the spark joy. I do that. It's like, does this spark joy? No, it doesn't. It just needs to go. Um, or the home edit is a good one. Um, my girls love watching that and of course it's all bright and colorful. And then I have like famous people that they do their kitchens or whatever it is. So you might want to have a look at that too, or just simply start small. Like you don't even have to get ideas. You don't have to go out and buy. expensive containers or anything like that. Most of my stuff came from Kmart or Ikea like cheap ads. So if you've got a cricket or you can even order labels online, you can do labels like for your pantry and stuff. So don't think it needs to be complicated or over the top. If it works for you, then that's it. If it works for you, you know, if that's a benefit to your family as well, but, you know, if that's going to make your day a lot easier, then do that. So hopefully that's helped. There will be some more decluttering I will do over the Christmas break, I am sure, whether that's physical or people or mental, you know, mindset shifts that I need to make. as well but uh yeah just um hope you found this one useful and as usual I'll catch you guys later
