ProdPod: Episode 42 -- How to Kick-Start Hardcore Decluttering: Knowing Where Your Clutter Is

We all know that clutter is a part of life for many of us. Further, some clutter is natural and manageable. But, at some point the clutter is apparent and stymies your productivity. So, let's kick-start your decluttering process with learning where clutter lives and a few tips on your way to what I'm calling, Hardcore Decluttering, a regular series of podcasts here on ProdPod. The idea is to take two minutes to reduce your clutter for dramatically beneficial outcomes!

[image: Venn diagram of physical/psychic/digital-->center area: Hardcore Decluttering]

PHYSICAL
Let's start with the easiest clutter to identify, the physical stuff hanging around your home, office, carrying bags (such as a briefcases, shoulder bags or purses), and the car. One way to help you make headway on physical clutter is by calculating its worth (or, rather, its cost to your bank account annually). So, what's the monetary value of your stuff? Create a spreadsheet or just make a paper list and start tabulating the cost of storing it in your home, storage or elsewhere? Every cubic square foot has a cost per year that's being eaten up by clutter; measure it and add the space to your spreadsheet. Next, how much did you pay for all that stuff? What's its market value today? Find those out and add them to your data. Add this information to the reality that this clutter is depleting your emotional reservoir of good feelings. Ready to start selling and donating and trashing that stuff now? Great! So, head to Craigslist.org for your nearest locality, sign up to give stuff away on Freecycle.org and Google your nearest Salvation Army or Goodwill store to see what you have that they might be accepting. 

That's only one of three clutter-prone areas of your productive life. We'll continue in the next episode with covering psychic and digital clutter, so stay tuned! I hope you enjoyed this episode of ProdPod, I'm Ray Sidney-Smith and thanks for listening. Here's to your productivity success...in two minutes or less!