I read an interesting article this morning in the current ‘Next’ magazine regarding the 5/2 diet, which is essentially about being ‘good’ for 2 non-consecutive days of the week, and then doing what you want to do for the remaining 5 days. The principle around the 2 non-consecutive days is that you don’t feel deprived as you know you are only doing the detox practice for 24 hours at a time.

Here are some examples given in the article: 5/2 days diet where you eat normally for 5 days of the week and have 2 days of light healthful eating; 2 days a week positively working on your relationship; 2 days a week focusing on a fitness regime; 2 days a week with no technology [that would be tough for most of us]; and the alcohol detox where you don’t drink at all for 2 days of the week. What a great idea and I think this could actually be applied in many areas of our lives.

What I love about the idea is that we’re basically thinking about good habits and actions for 2 days out of 7, which with time can potentially become practices that we decide to incorporate into even more days of the week.

So here’s my idea, why not create a 5/2 days clutter detox plan. For 2 days of the week you can concentrate on the clutter you have in your home, really take a good look at it and start thinking about how you can start decluttering. My suggestions would be:

– Create your plan by deciding on what area of your home you want to work on for each of the 2 days. Just start with a small area, maybe the kitchen cupboards on one day, and the kitchen drawers on the 2nd day.
– Once you’ve done your mini-declutter each day, start picking up items around the house that you know belong somewhere else and put them away.
– Throw into your recycling container the old newspapers and TV guides, and any other old papers lying around.
– Bring the family on board and explain the plan to them. Ask them, for those 2 days of the week, to focus on putting their things away. So for the entire 2 days, you all concentrate on putting away school bags, clothes, papers, etc so that no one is leaving anything lying around. I suggest that you have 2 set days of the week when you do this so everyone remembers what day they absolutely have to put their gear away in its rightful place.

The benefits of this plan are obvious:

– You have your Declutter plan in place, and you know exactly what you are going to focus on for those 2 days. Follow this plan for a few weeks and your home will be decluttered in no time.
– You are also creating good habits for the whole family as they get used to putting their things away when they get home from school or work. These habits will soon become embedded and everyone may even start automatically returning items to their correct place.
– You will all get to enjoy a clutter free home, and feel the difference.

If you do decide to follow this plan, I would love to hear how you get on with it. And do contact me if you have any questions, or get stuck when you’re working on your plan. I’m happy to give you practical solutions and ideas to help you work yourself out of the clutter.

As always, if you would like the services of an expert in decluttering and organising, I would love to help you. After almost eight years as a declutterer, I’ve seen every type of clutter problem there is and there is absolutely a solution for every difficult area in the home.

I hope you have a wonderful month and that you’re enjoying this beautiful Spring weather we’re having.

In Joy!

Angella Gilbert

P: 09 410 4166
M: 027 224 8937
E: angella.gilbert@xtra.co.nz
W: www.gioia.net.nz

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