EPISODE 67

Decluttering with Andrea Gerasimo

Feeling a call to declutter your space, but not sure how to go about it? In this special guest episode (a follow up to our “Clutter” installment), Pilar chats with her sister Andrea, a professional Feng Shui and decluttering expert, about the techniques and strategies she uses to help her clients create order, sanity, and beauty where chaos once reigned. This is one set of tricks you absolutely CAN try at home.

On this week’s special guest episode of The Living Experiment, we’re talking about Decluttering.

This is a follow-up on our “Clutter” episode from earlier in the season, in which Pilar promised to consult her decluttering expert and Feng Shui-certified sister, Andrea, for some of her down-and-dirty practical tips.

Here, Andrea shares essential guidance on how to turbo-charge your decluttering projects, and how to avoid getting bogged down or overwhelmed in the process.

Andrea has been a pro declutterer for decades. She regularly consults and teaches workshops on the topic, and she’s the featured expert in an award-winning article and video series called  “Order Out of Chaos” that’s featured in Experience Life magazine.

Blending Andrea’s philosophy, strategy, helpful techniques, and real-life examples, we set out to help you take charge of the clutter in your own world.

“Decluttering with Andrea Gerasimo” Episode Highlights

  • The simple but important preparatory steps Andrea uses to set up her decluttering projects for success
  • The value of creating and preserving “receptive space” — not just in your living environments, but in your schedule and your life
  • Simple strategies for making decluttering more efficient, productive, and rewarding
  • Different types of clutter and how to tackle them in your home
  • The value of “defending with beauty” to keep new clutter from encroaching on recently decluttered territory
  • How to avoid getting overwhelmed by a big or emotionally charged decluttering project

Pilar’s Experiment of the Week

Three options:

Using Andrea’s “multi-bin” technique, declutter a small area (like an overstuffed drawer, cupboard or your car) that has been annoying you.

Walk around your house with “fresh eyes,” looking at places clutter has accumulated or where “receptive space” would be appealing. Make a list of the areas that are asking for attention and consider scheduling some time to address them.

Read or watch one or more installments of Andrea’s “Order Out of Chaos” series from Experience Life magazine (see list of individual installments, below).

Andrea’s Experiment of the Week

Block off an entire day in your schedule for a “you” day (to use for decluttering or resting or whatever you like) — then notice what “comes up” that inclines you to give up that day or that impinges on it in some way. Consider how “schedule clutter” works much like physical clutter in your life, and how the two are connected.

Healthy, Happy Goodness

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Resources

Via Experience Life magazine:

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