I’m excited to share some helpful decluttering resources with you.
If you’ve ever been stuck in the inspiration gap, you know why I’m only sharing 30 of them. I’ll tell you more about the Inspiration Gap and just below are the decluttering resources.
There is no shortage of inspiration out there in world. When I’m curious about something, I’ll read and research non-stop, until I am bursting with inspiration. If I don’t take action right away, I get stuck in the inspiration gap … that gray area between a spark and a flame, between inspiration and action.
Here’s how the inspiration gap works. You read a book, or an article or watch a documentary, attend a conference, or hear a story about someone who is changing their life or changing the world and your heart flutters a little. You think, “If they can do it, so can I.” Or your inner voice pipes in, “Let’s do this. Let’s make a change.”
And then … the gap.
- You decide to do more research.
- You get distracted by email.
- You are hungry.
- You have to pick the kids up at school.
- You are tired.
- Your favorite TV show is on.
- You see that a friend from high school (who you can’t quite remember) just posted her latest vacation photos on Facebook.
- Or worse, your monkey mind jumps in and says, “that’s crazy, don’t bother.”
There is an easy way to get out of the Inspiration Gap
If you want to get out, talk about the change you want to make or the thing you want to do before the inspiration gap silences your motivation.
Sometimes, because we’ve failed before, or because we think we are too busy, too old, too tired or too something else to change, we allow the inspiration gap to silence our motivation. We forget about it for as long as we can, until we catch another glimmer of inspiration.
The truth is that you aren’t too anything. You may be scared to share what you want. You may fear disappointment or what others may think, or you think you lack the confidence and perseverance to succeed.
Saying “I’m too _____________” is an inspiration gap.
Close the “I’m too _____________” inspiration gap by talking about the change you want to make, the thing you want to create, or what you feel inspired to do even before you know how to do it.
Maybe you want to write a book, become debt-free, quit watching TV, build a house, sell your house, travel the world, eat more kale, take a walk, learn to sew, start a blog, or climb a tree.
Tell someone you love. Tell the internet. Or if that’s too much, write down your heart. Write it on paper, read it back to yourself and keep reading it every day until you are ready for the next step.
If what you really want to do right now is live with less, here are some decluttering resources that will provide the inspiration. In terms of taking action, tell someone. You can even tell me! I’m happy to help you get out and stay out of the Inspiration Gap.
30 Decluttering Resources To Help You Simplify Your Home
Books
I love reading books (and writing them)! You can find these books in any format you enjoy books.
1. Soulful Simplicity, How Living With Less Can Lead to So Much More
2. The Afrominimalist’s Guide To Living With Less
3. Messy Minimalism, Realistic Strategies For The Rest of Us
4. The Joy Of Less, A Minimalist Guide To Declutter, Organize and Simplify
5. Project 333, The Minimalist Fashion Challenge That Proves Less Really Is So Much More
Podcasts
If you like listening to simplicity inspired conversations while walking, driving or decluttering, add these to the list.
6. Too Many Toys: an episode from The Simple Families Podcast
7. Simplify Life: Tiny Decluttering Projects: an episode from The Soul & Wit Podcast
8. Item or Space: an episode from the Art of Decluttering
9. Breaking Through The Overthinking About Your Clutter: an episode from A Slob Comes Clean
10. 10 Things to Declutter To Keep Your Paper Piles Down an episode from The Declutter Hub
Instagram
These are the folks who will keep your Instagram feed full of simplicity inspiration.
11. @afrominimalist
12. @slowandminimal
13. @find_yourgold
17. @slow.choices
18. @nidhikushshah
21. @bemorewithless <— that’s me!
Challenges
Sometimes the best way to declutter is to have fun!
22. Decluttering Burst: Let go of 100 items in less than an hour.
23. The 30 Day Minimalism Game: Find a friend, family member, or coworker who’s willing to minimize their stuff with you next month. Each person gets rid of one thing on the first day of the month. Two things on the second. Three things on the third. So forth and so on.
24. Project 333: This is THE closet decluttering challenge.
Articles
25. Declutter Your Home: 3 Simple Ways To Get Started
26. Why We Clutter and What To Do About It (NYT)
27. How to Practice (The New Yorker)
28. The Quickstart Guide To A Decluttered Home
29. 120 Things To Remove From Your Life
Join
30. The Simplicity Space: If you’d like a community of people to help you stay consistent and out of the Inspiration Gap, consider The Simplicity Space. We open again in July!
Thanks to the internet and the great decluttering resources that are out there, this could have been a list of 300 or 3000 but we know where that would have landed us … the Inspiration Gap.
Enjoy these decluttering resources, tell someone about your plan to live with less and happy decluttering.
P.S. If you wish you could read, see and do it all … see why I’m ok with missing out on most of it here.