Declutter Your Closet
Lee Milteer’s Millionaire Smarts® Coaching Program Less Clutter More Freedom Lee Milteer Interviews Barbara Hemphill Bonus Article – Declutter Your Own Closet Dear Millionaire Smarts® Members, Our focus this month is on the power of de-cluttering with our celebrity expert guest, the famous Paper Tiger Lady, Barbara Hemphill. Barbara is a celebrated international speaker, corporate spokesperson, and consultant to small businesses and major corporations. She has an international team of certified productivity environmental specialists, whose mission is to help individuals and organizations create a productive environment to accomplish their work and enjoy their lives. You’ve read the previous articles on decluttering your business life. As a bonus, here is an article on the often messiest place in our personal life. I would say that most of us would like our own closets to be more organized places. It’s one of the very first things you do in the day – get dressed. And yet, how often are you searching for that belt you know you have but can’t find? How many of us only wear the ten items right in front and never mine the depths of our extensive wardrobe collections? Well, you carry the weight of this frustration with you unconsciously all day long, and it adds one more piece of clutter to your already overworked and overcrowded mind. In the following report, Barbara shows us seven stumbling blocks that prevent us from facing a real breakthrough in organization – and really gives us a metaphor for the whole of our lives.
How to Make Your Clothes Closet a Place You Love! My business has been built on four words: Clutter is postponed decisions®. I learned that from clothes closets. Closets are full because you have not decided to lose the ten pounds you need to lose to get in that size smaller suit you love, or what to do about the exercise equipment that looked great on Home Shopping Network, but you haven’t used in more months that you care to admit, or what to do with the candlesticks you got from Aunt Sally. The candlesticks are not really your style, but Aunt Sally would be so thrilled to see them on the table when she comes for Thanksgiving — if you can find them. Here are seven stumbling blocks that prevent people from making their clothes closet a place they love: 1. I don’t know where to begin.
2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
I just don’t have enough time to deal with it. I don’t have enough space. I can’t wear some of the clothes now, but I’m planning to lose weight. I feel guilty because I haven’t even worn some of the clothes. I know I could give them away, but I want them to be appreciated. I’m just not sure how to do it.
I Don’t Know Where To Begin As it says in Proverbs, “Without a vision, the people perish.” If your closet were a place that you enjoyed using, what would it look like? “I could bring my girlfriend in to show her my new shoes with no apologies!” What would you be able to do that you can’t do now? “I could find exactly what I wanted to wear in a few minutes.” What wouldn’t happen that happens now? “I wouldn’t have to iron so often because of unnecessary wrinkles.” So, here’s one idea: Put an easily accessible clipboard or notebook with a pen in your closet. Every time you see or experience something that you don’t like in your closet, jot it down. (You don’t need the solution here -- just the problem!) When you think of something you would like, jot that down too! I Just Don’t Have Time to Deal With It As the old saying goes, “Pay me now or pay me later.” Based on my experience, the average closet can be cleaned in four hours -- or 240 minutes. How long does it take you to find the clothes you want to wear each morning or to iron the skirt that you wouldn’t’ have had to iron if you had hung it up when you took it out of the dryer? There are two ways you can approach organizing your closet: 1) Block out a Saturday morning and just do it -- get a friend or neighbor or organizing consultant to help you, and you’re sure to be successful! 2) Decide to work on it 15 minutes at a time until you get it done (it will take longer than four hours if you do it in increments!). Design a plan for what you will do in those 15-minute increments -- more about that later in this article. I Don’t Have Enough Space If your closet is not organized, you don’t know that for a fact. People are often fearful of hiring an organizing consultant because they think they will make them get rid of things. That’s NOT our job. I use what I call The Cost Factor: “You can keep everything you want if you’re willing to pay the price: time, space, energy, and money.” It’s our job to help you quantify how much it will cost you in time, space, energy, and money to keep something, so you can make an educated decision. Research shows that 80% of what we keep we never use... If it turns out you don’t have enough space, there are solutions for that too, but don’t use lack of space as an excuse until you know the facts. I Can’t Wear Some of These Clothes Now, But I’m Planning on Losing Weight! Really? How long has that been going on? And, if you did, are you sure you’d really
want to wear those clothes? But let’s go back to The Cost Factor. If you have plenty of space, that’s really not a problem, but if you can’t hang up today’s dry cleaning because of something you haven’t worn for five years... well, you get the point! I Feel Guilty Because I Haven’t Even Worn Some of These Clothes I’ll never forget the day I was helping a woman clean out her closet, and I asked her, “How does this dress make you feel?” She looked at me, and her face dropped down, as she replied, “Guilty.” My response was -- and is -- “If anything in your closet causes a negative emotion -- e.g., sad, guilty, fat, -- you can’t afford it!” I Know I Could Just Give Them Away, But I Want Them To Be Appreciated Take it from someone who has been helping people give away clothes for over 35 years, it’s not difficult to find people who will appreciate what you don’t need, want, or use. It just takes a little research and a plan. The key is to find someplace that you really want to support. I donate my clothes to a second hand shop where women who have suffered from domestic violence can shop with dignity instead of digging through boxes and bags, and the proceeds from the clothes they sell go to support their shelter. Talk about being appreciated! I’m Just Not Sure How To Do It To start with, you don’t have to do it alone. It’s highly likely you have a friend for whom organizing closets is great fun, and if you’re willing to get over your embarrassment she would help you, and I guarantee there is an organizing consultant who can not only do a great job of organizing your closet, but more importantly, teach you the skill so you can do it yourself the next time. (That’s really important, unless you’re willing to continually hire someone to do it every time the seasons change!) As a productivity consultant, my job is help you become a good decision maker by asking questions. Here are a few for you to consider: How’s does this make me feel? If it’s anything negative, don’t subject yourself to the unnecessary pain! What’s the worst thing that would happen if I didn’t have this? If you can live with the answer, give it to someone else who will love it! Does this help me accomplish my work or enjoy my life? If it doesn’t, use the space for something that will! Famous designer Henry Morris was quoted as saying, “Have nothing that is not beautiful or useful.” I would add “or loved.” If everything you decide to keep is useful, beautiful, or loved -- and your closet still too full, you have three choices: 1) Build a bigger closet 2) Store less-often used things in another space 3) Acknowledge that you can have anything you want, but not everything. Welcome to life!
Final thoughts from Lee: All of the above stumbling blocks can be found in your business, and many other aspects of your life. Cleaning things up will make way for better stuff to come in. Nature abhors a vacuum, and the more empty space you create, the more room you will have for creativity and money making ideas to flood in. And the better frame of mind you will be in when they do - once you get rid of all that frustration! Your Mindset and Performance Coach, Lee Milteer P.S. How to Access the Millionaire Smarts® Membership Site: Go to www.milteer.com and put in your code for the month, 685330 at the top of the web page on left where it says COACHING SIGN IN. It will take you to the private and password protected Millionaire Smarts® Coaching membership site. Remember, on the membership site you can download the interview for your portable devices, a transcript of the program, and all four reports. You’ll also find Free Bonus reports from me, Dan Kennedy, Phone Sales Doctor Chris Mullins, Newsletter Guru Jim Palmer, Health and Fitness Coach Joe Carabase, Leadership Coach Kevin Eikenberry, and Sales Coach Steve Clark. Share these valuable reports with your staff to improve your mindset and profits.
Lee Milteer Inc. (757) 363-5800 Toll Free: 800-618-6780 Fax: (757)363-5801 http://www.milteer.com Permission granted for reprint for Lee Milteer Inc., Sponsors and their members only for personal use. ©2015 Lee Milteer, Inc.
How to Make Your Clothes Closet a Place You Love! My business has been built on four words: Clutter is postponed decisions®. I learned that from clothes closets. Closets are full because you have not decided to lose the ten pounds you need to lose to get in that size smaller suit you love, or what to do about the exercise equipment that looked great on Home Shopping Network, but you haven’t used in more months that you care to admit, or what to do with the candlesticks you got from Aunt Sally. The candlesticks are not really your style, but Aunt Sally would be so thrilled to see them on the table when she comes for Thanksgiving — if you can find them. Here are seven stumbling blocks that prevent people from making their clothes closet a place they love: 1. I don’t know where to begin.
2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
I just don’t have enough time to deal with it. I don’t have enough space. I can’t wear some of the clothes now, but I’m planning to lose weight. I feel guilty because I haven’t even worn some of the clothes. I know I could give them away, but I want them to be appreciated. I’m just not sure how to do it.
I Don’t Know Where To Begin As it says in Proverbs, “Without a vision, the people perish.” If your closet were a place that you enjoyed using, what would it look like? “I could bring my girlfriend in to show her my new shoes with no apologies!” What would you be able to do that you can’t do now? “I could find exactly what I wanted to wear in a few minutes.” What wouldn’t happen that happens now? “I wouldn’t have to iron so often because of unnecessary wrinkles.” So, here’s one idea: Put an easily accessible clipboard or notebook with a pen in your closet. Every time you see or experience something that you don’t like in your closet, jot it down. (You don’t need the solution here -- just the problem!) When you think of something you would like, jot that down too! I Just Don’t Have Time to Deal With It As the old saying goes, “Pay me now or pay me later.” Based on my experience, the average closet can be cleaned in four hours -- or 240 minutes. How long does it take you to find the clothes you want to wear each morning or to iron the skirt that you wouldn’t’ have had to iron if you had hung it up when you took it out of the dryer? There are two ways you can approach organizing your closet: 1) Block out a Saturday morning and just do it -- get a friend or neighbor or organizing consultant to help you, and you’re sure to be successful! 2) Decide to work on it 15 minutes at a time until you get it done (it will take longer than four hours if you do it in increments!). Design a plan for what you will do in those 15-minute increments -- more about that later in this article. I Don’t Have Enough Space If your closet is not organized, you don’t know that for a fact. People are often fearful of hiring an organizing consultant because they think they will make them get rid of things. That’s NOT our job. I use what I call The Cost Factor: “You can keep everything you want if you’re willing to pay the price: time, space, energy, and money.” It’s our job to help you quantify how much it will cost you in time, space, energy, and money to keep something, so you can make an educated decision. Research shows that 80% of what we keep we never use... If it turns out you don’t have enough space, there are solutions for that too, but don’t use lack of space as an excuse until you know the facts. I Can’t Wear Some of These Clothes Now, But I’m Planning on Losing Weight! Really? How long has that been going on? And, if you did, are you sure you’d really
want to wear those clothes? But let’s go back to The Cost Factor. If you have plenty of space, that’s really not a problem, but if you can’t hang up today’s dry cleaning because of something you haven’t worn for five years... well, you get the point! I Feel Guilty Because I Haven’t Even Worn Some of These Clothes I’ll never forget the day I was helping a woman clean out her closet, and I asked her, “How does this dress make you feel?” She looked at me, and her face dropped down, as she replied, “Guilty.” My response was -- and is -- “If anything in your closet causes a negative emotion -- e.g., sad, guilty, fat, -- you can’t afford it!” I Know I Could Just Give Them Away, But I Want Them To Be Appreciated Take it from someone who has been helping people give away clothes for over 35 years, it’s not difficult to find people who will appreciate what you don’t need, want, or use. It just takes a little research and a plan. The key is to find someplace that you really want to support. I donate my clothes to a second hand shop where women who have suffered from domestic violence can shop with dignity instead of digging through boxes and bags, and the proceeds from the clothes they sell go to support their shelter. Talk about being appreciated! I’m Just Not Sure How To Do It To start with, you don’t have to do it alone. It’s highly likely you have a friend for whom organizing closets is great fun, and if you’re willing to get over your embarrassment she would help you, and I guarantee there is an organizing consultant who can not only do a great job of organizing your closet, but more importantly, teach you the skill so you can do it yourself the next time. (That’s really important, unless you’re willing to continually hire someone to do it every time the seasons change!) As a productivity consultant, my job is help you become a good decision maker by asking questions. Here are a few for you to consider: How’s does this make me feel? If it’s anything negative, don’t subject yourself to the unnecessary pain! What’s the worst thing that would happen if I didn’t have this? If you can live with the answer, give it to someone else who will love it! Does this help me accomplish my work or enjoy my life? If it doesn’t, use the space for something that will! Famous designer Henry Morris was quoted as saying, “Have nothing that is not beautiful or useful.” I would add “or loved.” If everything you decide to keep is useful, beautiful, or loved -- and your closet still too full, you have three choices: 1) Build a bigger closet 2) Store less-often used things in another space 3) Acknowledge that you can have anything you want, but not everything. Welcome to life!
Final thoughts from Lee: All of the above stumbling blocks can be found in your business, and many other aspects of your life. Cleaning things up will make way for better stuff to come in. Nature abhors a vacuum, and the more empty space you create, the more room you will have for creativity and money making ideas to flood in. And the better frame of mind you will be in when they do - once you get rid of all that frustration! Your Mindset and Performance Coach, Lee Milteer P.S. How to Access the Millionaire Smarts® Membership Site: Go to www.milteer.com and put in your code for the month, 685330 at the top of the web page on left where it says COACHING SIGN IN. It will take you to the private and password protected Millionaire Smarts® Coaching membership site. Remember, on the membership site you can download the interview for your portable devices, a transcript of the program, and all four reports. You’ll also find Free Bonus reports from me, Dan Kennedy, Phone Sales Doctor Chris Mullins, Newsletter Guru Jim Palmer, Health and Fitness Coach Joe Carabase, Leadership Coach Kevin Eikenberry, and Sales Coach Steve Clark. Share these valuable reports with your staff to improve your mindset and profits.
Lee Milteer Inc. (757) 363-5800 Toll Free: 800-618-6780 Fax: (757)363-5801 http://www.milteer.com Permission granted for reprint for Lee Milteer Inc., Sponsors and their members only for personal use. ©2015 Lee Milteer, Inc.
