Giving Your Unwanted Items A New Life (Live Recording)

Finding sustainable ways to give your unwanted items a new life will help you let them go with more confidence and gratefulness. In this session, you will learn all the options available to give your unwanted items a deserved new life. (From the Course "Creating Your Peaceful & Clutter-Free Home)

Transcript

Happy Thursday,

Everybody.

Good morning.

Thank you so much for tuning in to another session with me.

My name is Emilio Jose Garcia,

And welcome to another episode,

Another live session of Your Thriving Lifestyle.

That's how I call this show.

And if you're interested,

I do have a circle called Your Thriving Lifestyle here on Inside Timer that you can join,

And you can get the recordings of these sessions,

And you can get access to people,

Share tracks,

And we support each other and things like that.

Today's topic is how to give your unwanted items a new life.

So how can you create your minimalist life,

Your intentional life,

By letting go of the things that no longer serve you,

Feed your lifestyle,

Things that no longer you no longer need.

OK,

And this is a very,

Very needed topic because many times when people are decluttering and trying to create a better environment,

If you don't have clarity about this topic,

Many times I see people getting stuck in this process.

And especially with emotional items that I covered in the past session,

That you can listen to the recording from Tuesday,

When you are facing emotional items that you no longer need and you don't find a way to give them a new and exciting life something that feels good to you,

You are not going to let them go,

And they are going to sit in your home forever.

OK,

And then you won't be able to move forward creating the home that you want and the life that you want.

So that's why today's topic is all about giving your unwanted items a new life.

And this is a thank you Amy about the 30 day course.

This is one session from that course.

I do have a 30 day course here on Inside Timer that you can take and it teaches you how to create your peaceful and clutter free home day by day.

And I start with the emotions,

I start with the intentions,

I start with the communication with other people.

OK,

And then from there you start taking action into the physical world.

And this is really important.

The invisible work of setting intentions,

Gaining clarity,

Checking in with yourself to understand what is it that you want and why.

That's really necessary before you can move forward.

And then once you start moving forward,

That's when you are going to start making decisions about the things that you have,

Things that you no longer need.

And then you have to find a way to get those unwanted things that you no longer need a new life.

And by you knowing that those things are going to go to a new family,

Someone is going to love them again,

Or you are going to donate them to a good cause,

Or you are giving them to a good friend,

That's going to make you feel better.

And you will have an easier time to let them go.

OK?

So yeah,

Ingrid says,

Hello from Rhode Island.

That's Greece,

Right?

I think understanding my intentions has been very important for me.

Yeah,

Ingrid,

It's very important for all of us.

Many times when we are feeling overwhelmed,

When we are feeling stuck,

When we are feeling stagnant,

When we are feeling unfulfilled,

It's very important to do that work.

What are my intentions now?

How do I need to readjust my life so that I can move forward with the things that I want?

And sometimes you need to know what those things are.

And then once you gain that clarity,

That's going to give you clarity about what kind of environment do I need to set up in my home?

What kind of space do I need?

And what do I need to keep?

And what do I need to let go of?

And then when you are letting go of those things,

Today we're going to explore ways for you to find sustainable and intentional ways to give those loved and wanted items a new life.

OK?

So guys,

Before we get started,

Let's just do a little practice just to tune into this session.

I invite you to close your eyes,

OK?

And then take a couple of deep breaths with me.

One more.

Now,

I want you to connect with the things that you would like to see more of in your life.

What would you like to see more of in your life?

Do you want to see more time for self-care?

Do you want to see more space to be able to do yoga in the living room or in your bedroom?

Do you want to have more time to spend with family?

Do you want to have a nice space to invite family or friends over for tea or for dinners or for watching a movie?

And you want to have a nice space where you feel comfortable?

Do you want to have a music station where you can practice whatever instrument you want to learn?

Do you want to have a space to do crafts,

A comfy chair with a beautiful light to read your favorite books?

What is it?

Just connect with that.

And I want you to feel that reality,

To feel that thing,

That experience,

That environment that you want more of.

Just connect with that emotionally.

I want you to be able to see it,

Visualize it.

How will you feel if you were there right now?

How will you feel if you were doing that activity right now?

This is really important.

You have to feel it.

You have to get excited.

Now from this place,

From this reality that you really want,

This reality that is going to give you a lot of joy and more of the things that you want,

Whatever that is for you,

It doesn't matter what that is.

But once you get clear on this,

Then I invite you to visualize your current reality,

Your current home,

Your current experiences.

And I want you to think and reflect about what is on the way for me right now.

What stuff is on the way?

Just feel that.

What's on the way for you right now?

Are there physical belongings that you no longer need?

Are there commitments that you no longer need?

Are there dynamics that you no longer need,

Relationships that you no longer need,

Or you want to change them?

Are there activities that you just don't enjoy anymore and you want to start new ones,

But because your home is set up a specific way,

You just feel that you don't have the space or the time to do it?

Just really get clear about that,

Because those things are going to be the things that we're going to be looking at today.

Those items that no longer fit in the life that you really want.

I don't want you to create a life with the things that you have.

I want you to think about the life that you really want and the home that you really want,

And then look around and see what fits and what doesn't.

You have the option of doing that.

You have the option of doing that.

You have the option of doing that.

And the longer you spend in that vision,

In that new reality,

Feeling it,

Visualizing it,

Visualizing yourself in your day to day with that space,

With that extra time,

With that experience that you're looking for,

With that social time with that person or the family or your children or your husband or your wife or your neighbor,

Whoever that is,

Just imagine yourself doing those things,

Like if it had happened already.

Once you can connect with that,

I promise you that you will not go back,

And you will have an easier time and more confidence to really say,

I don't want this anymore in my life.

And when that happens,

Then you have to find ways,

What am I going to do with this thing?

How am I going to find a new owner for this thing or a new place for this thing?

But at least you have made the decision,

This thing does not belong in my life,

In my home anymore.

And you accept that new reality.

And then you remind yourself of the why.

Why does this thing don't belong or don't fit in my life anymore?

Because I really want to do that thing.

I really want to experience this space.

I really want X,

Y,

And Z.

And I will invite you to write those things down.

Really write them down in your journal,

And put it in a place where you're going to sit every single day.

And remind yourself of that.

And that's going to help you stay consistent,

Stay excited,

Stay motivated.

And even if your pace is low,

It doesn't matter,

You know your destination.

It may take you weeks,

Months,

Even years,

Or maybe hours.

It doesn't really matter the pace.

You will find your pace.

What matters is that you have the clarity where you are going.

And that clarity,

That destination feels really good.

And then you are going to start enjoying the journey towards that destination too.

When you are ready,

I invite you to come back.

You can open your eyes.

Thank you so much for doing this practice with me,

Guys.

It's really,

Really important to connect with these emotions,

To connect with these intentions.

And many times we don't have the time to do that.

We just have to be able to connect with these emotions.

And we have to be able to connect with these emotions.

And many times we don't allow ourselves the time to connect with them.

And we are always distracted.

We are always busy.

We are always putting fires off in every area of our lives.

But we never get to decide.

We never get to intentionally make the changes that we really want.

We don't get to set healthy boundaries to treat ourselves the same way that we will treat a doctor's appointment or that we will treat someone else's appointment.

So we have to make this important.

We have to make this a priority.

Okay.

Amy says,

Emilio,

I have done a lot of deep work spiritually and in therapy.

I really didn't expect from a decluttering course,

The deep awareness that's still coming up.

My home as a metaphor in my life is very healing.

Thank you so much for sharing that,

Amy.

And I hear that a lot.

And I am not a therapist by any means,

But I have had several clients referring to us.

My wife and I,

When we go into a session,

They say,

Wow,

I have my therapy,

My therapist at the office,

But you guys are my therapist at home.

And why do they say that?

Because a therapist in the office,

They never get to see the reality of that person in their homes.

Never.

They don't go to their homes.

Majority,

At least the ones that I know,

They never go to people's homes.

Okay.

So when someone is struggling with habits,

With clutter,

With emotions,

With all these things,

When I enter someone else's home and they invite me because they are having trouble,

Just looking at how they live and how the home looks like,

It's telling me a lot of stuff.

It's telling me the reality of that person,

Even if they are telling me something different,

I can sense and I can connect with what's really happening in there.

And that's why all the practices that I include in every lesson of that course,

That's why they are geared and designed to help you overcome what needs to happen there.

And what needs to happen then is something that I have seen hundreds of times with real people in their homes.

That's why I know it works.

That's why I know it's important.

And that's why I know it's a really compliment work with whatever else you are doing.

Many people are going to therapy,

Cognitive therapy,

Whatever you choose to take,

But this is a beautiful compliment.

Decluttering doesn't matter how you do it and it doesn't matter if you get help or not.

Even if you do it by yourself,

It's still really healing because you are spending time with yourself.

You are reflecting about what you have done,

Reflecting about what you have created.

Your physical environment is inviting you to reflect about what do you want next?

How do you feel?

What decisions did you make that you didn't like?

What new decisions can you take?

That's why I know that you are doing it.

You take that's what happens when you are decluttering.

Okay.

Home environment physically seems external,

But as we uncovered each piece,

The personal transformation and awareness is beautiful.

Yeah.

So thank you so much,

Amy,

For sharing that.

So guys,

Let's dive into the strategies about,

So we have connected with that vision.

We know what we want.

We know the outcomes.

And then we get our sleeves up.

We roll up our sleeves and then we get to work.

And then we start making decisions.

I want this.

I don't want this.

This fits in my life.

This thing doesn't belong in my life anymore.

So with all the things that you are deciding that you don't need them,

Then what do you do with them?

And this is a big challenge for a lot of people.

And when we do a session with clients,

Sometimes we always bring a truck,

A van.

We always ask how many items will you say you are going to let go of?

Because part of our service is to remove that from them,

Because we know how important it is that step.

In your case,

If you're doing the decluttering,

I invite you to think about that before you get started.

You look around and then you see with this clarity that I have now,

With these intentions that I have in my mind,

And I feel confident and motivated,

You look around,

How many things am I going to let go of?

And how am I going to be able to let them go and get them out of my home in a way that feels good to me?

Okay.

So before I share with you the ideas that are the strategies that I use,

What comes to mind to you guys?

What can you do with the things that you no longer need?

Please share it in the chat so that I can get a sense of what you guys have done that worked.

Any ideas that come to mind?

I would love to read them.

Sell them,

Donate them,

Give them away.

Beautiful.

Habitat for Humanity,

They take a wide variety and bring a truck with two people to load.

Beautiful.

Donate to a thrift store that benefits a charity.

Beautiful.

Giving them to the charity shops.

Amazing.

Thrift stores.

We normally have them,

At least in North America,

They are very,

Very wide.

You can access them pretty much anywhere.

Have a donate box and populate with staff until I drop it off at a thrift store.

Amazing,

Emily.

So you have a designated donation box and then you start putting things in there that you no longer need.

And then when that box is full,

You take it to the shop.

Beautiful.

Lots of stuff is just trash though.

So Natalie,

I want to reward the word trash.

Okay.

What does trash mean to you?

Because I think it's important to understand what trash is.

Because for some people,

For some people,

Stuff is trash because they no longer need it.

And they feel that no one is going to be able to use it.

But the reality is that a lot of times what you think is trash is a treasure for someone else.

So I will invite you guys to reflect about what trash means.

And putting things in the garbage,

What that means.

Because sometimes,

The majority of the things that you don't use,

But they are still usable,

They can be donated.

And sometimes they can be serving someone else.

One person's trash can be another treasure.

Yeah.

So I just invite you to do that.

Okay.

Because there are so many,

Even like,

Even things that you feel this is no one is going to use them.

If you are aware of your community and you are aware of shelters,

Hospitals,

Veterinarians,

Stuff like that,

Churches,

Like they may need things that you have.

Okay.

So depending where you live,

That's a good question.

What's available in your community?

And that's something that we are very aware of what's available in our community because we have been here for 10 years.

Okay.

So in your community,

You are aware of thrift stores that you can donate to,

Habitat for Humanity.

Maybe there is a woman shelter.

Maybe there is an animal shelter.

Maybe there is a church.

Maybe there is a refugee building and they need everything.

Blankets,

Tables,

Pillows,

Whatever you have.

So just be open minded about what are my options in my community.

Okay.

Yeah.

Paris says I even put out boxes and TVs that don't work.

Yeah.

Sometimes people use things that don't work to get pieces and then they fix other TVs.

So you never know what people are doing.

Okay.

So one step.

So let's break down the steps that I have for you.

Okay.

So dogs' homes need old blankets,

Etc.

Yeah,

Of course.

Old blankets,

Shredding paper,

For example,

Is something that they need a lot because they use the shredding paper for for peeing and poop and then they can clean it up easily.

So even shredding paper,

That is something that we recycle.

Someone else can use that.

Okay.

And old towels,

Even if they are dirty,

They don't care.

They can use them.

Beautiful,

Catherine.

Thank you.

So the first step is to to really think,

Are there any family members,

Any neighbors,

Any friends that may want these things?

And you can share that with with if you feel comfortable,

You can post it on social media,

Or you can send a text message or a WhatsApp with some images and just make it very easy for people to know what you have.

Today with technology,

You can just grab your phone,

Snap a photo,

Even with measurements,

If it's a piece of furniture and then you can share.

I have these things that I no longer need.

Who wants them?

Okay.

And then they can come and pick them up.

So that's one option that you can do.

You can sell them.

Okay.

You can also sell things.

You just have to be aware of the market.

Sometimes selling involves time.

Okay.

Involves time.

You have to take photos.

You have to write a description.

You have to pick a product.

You have to sell it.

You have to post that item in the platform that you choose.

And then you have to respond to emails and messages from people and you have to invite them into your home.

So there is a few steps to follow.

And depending what you are doing.

Okay.

It's difficult to to find the time.

If you don't have the time,

Maybe that's not a good idea.

And you also need the space to store those items while you are selling them.

Okay.

So that's another idea.

Okay.

Selling.

You can get some money if you want.

But it takes time.

Okay.

So you have donated to friends and family members.

You have selling things.

Then you can just donate them to a thrift store.

That's the easiest way of doing it.

Right.

Because you do it at your own pace.

You take it to the shop that is beside you or the closest that you have.

And then it's done.

And normally they accept majority of the household items,

Clothing.

So they pretty much accept anything.

And if you have bigger furniture or construction materials,

Things like that,

I know that Habitat for Humanity,

They take a lot of that stuff.

Again,

Snapping a photo and sending it to them,

Making sure that they want those things.

It's also it can save you the trip.

Okay.

For those of you who don't have transportation,

What can you do?

If you are foreseeing having a big decluttering and you are going to do it all at once and you are getting help,

How renting a truck can be an option.

That's what we do.

You can also explore the idea.

Okay.

Of we have here in our community,

We have thrift stores and Habitat for Humanity that they have a truck and they have a designated day that they come to my area.

So that's another idea that you can explore.

Give them a call and ask,

Do you guys offer pickup?

And these are the things that I have.

And they may say,

Sure,

Put it at your patio on Thursday and we will pick it up.

Maybe that's the easiest way for you to do it.

Okay.

If you don't have transportation,

Another way to donate things,

If you don't have transportation is to post them for free in platforms,

KGG,

Facebook marketplace,

Freecycle.

Org.

It's a community that people give stuff for free and they post it.

Okay.

So you can post whatever you have for free in that platform and someone else may come and take it from you.

So you save yourself the transportation.

This is something that works really well and we use it a lot.

We post it for free.

A majority of the time,

Someone will come and get it.

Okay.

Another easy way to do it,

Depending where you live,

Is to put it outside,

Put it in the curb with a free sign.

A majority of the times things are gone in no time.

We do that a lot with big pieces.

The majority of the times,

If we have big pieces of furniture that they are difficult to transport and they are heavy,

We put them outside,

We put a free sign on there.

A majority of the times they are gone really quickly.

And we also may snap a photo and post it on platforms to say,

On this address,

There is this piece of furniture,

Come and get it.

And then when it's gone,

We remove the ad.

That's another option that,

Majority of the times,

It works really well.

You just put something outside with a free sign and someone will take it.

Okay.

Yeah.

So the platforms that I have shared,

Facebook Marketplace,

EBay,

KGG is something that works here,

Craigslist,

Freecycle.

Org.

So free,

F-R-E-E and then cycle,

C-Y-C-L-E,

Dot O-R-G.

That's a platform that is international.

I have used that platform in New Zealand,

In Spain and here in Canada,

And it works really well.

So you can find the local group that you have in your community and then you can use that platform too.

That's another avenue that you can explore.

Guys,

Depending where you live,

Some ways are going to be more efficient than others and some platforms are going to be more popular than others.

So you just have to test it.

Okay.

You just have to see what's working and what's not.

Okay.

So those are,

So we have the donation,

We have giving stuff for free and we have private selling things.

Another good option that you can explore if you have a big amount of things is to run an auction.

Okay.

This has become very popular lately.

And there are two kinds of auctions.

One auction is the one that you take everything to the auction house and they do a live auction there.

That's one option,

But it requires the transportation of the items there.

Another option that has become very popular these days is to host an in-home auction.

So you will hire a company and then they take care of everything for you and they get a cut of whatever you sell.

So they come to your home,

They photograph everything,

They list everything,

They post it online in their platform and then they get people to buy online,

To pay online with credit cards and stuff.

And then they facilitate one day for viewing and one day for pickup.

And they have like a set frame of time,

Maybe two or three hours.

So people can come and see the items and then they bet on the website.

And if they win the item,

They have another day to pick up the items.

Okay.

So that's another way that I have seen is very efficient when you have a whole house that you need to get rid of and you don't want anything.

Okay.

So the downfall of these auctions is that you don't know how much you are going to get.

Okay.

So this is a good option for you to say all these things that I have,

I don't want to take the time to private sell them because I don't want to go through that process.

I don't really care how much I get for them.

I just need them out by this date because someone is moving in or because I'm moving out or whatever it is.

So it's a really good way to get rid of things by a specific deadline.

Okay.

And then whatever they don't sell,

Majority of the times,

They will donate those things for you too.

So depending on the auction company that you use,

You will just learn about the process that they have.

Okay.

But that's important for you to know that option is there.

So if you have an entire household and you have a specific deadline and you don't have the time to do the work,

That can be something that you can explore.

You can have a check at the end of the process and then they take care of everything.

But again,

No expectations about the price.

Okay.

If you have expectations about something that you want a specific amount of money,

I will invite you to private sell it.

Okay.

So that's another great option.

The next option that comes to mind is consignment.

Okay.

Consignment is something that we have a couple of shops here.

So basically we snap a photo of the item and we take measurements and we send them a photo and say,

Hey,

I have this.

Are you interested?

And if they say,

Yes,

I have to take it to the consignment shop and then they will put it for sale and they will keep a percentage of the sale.

Okay.

So that option is really good because you don't have to do it anymore.

You just drop it and then they do everything again,

No expectations about how much you are going to get.

Okay.

So Susan says,

If all else fails,

Call a young holder.

Susan,

Thank you for the input.

I personally feel that there are way better ways than just calling a truck and putting everything in the landfill.

Unless it's a company that they truthfully are going to take the time to donate things.

Majority of the times I see,

This is what I see.

A truck comes and they dump everything inside together mixed up.

They go to the landfill and I'm telling you because I go to the landfill pretty often to take things that people don't need and they are through garbage recycling.

And the truck goes to the fill to the landfill and does this and everything goes in there.

Beds,

Desks,

Chairs,

Anything,

Everything is together and everything goes there.

So unless it's a company that you know for sure that they are going to take the time to,

This is donation,

This is e-waste,

This is,

I will not reco,

I will say that that's the last option.

And that's what I see when people are on panic mode.

Okay.

When people are on panic mode,

Meaning they sold the house and they have to be out in a week and they don't have the time to react.

That's what people do when they are on panic mode.

But there are ways to avoid that.

Even the auction is even better because you will have everything out but a specific day and you will even get money.

But the most important piece is that someone else is going to use those things and they are not going to end up in the landfill.

So I will really recommend to please avoid using the landfill as much as you can because landfills are getting full guys.

It's a reality.

We produce a lot of garbage.

So the more we can save,

The more resilient we can be,

The more we can care about our environment,

Our planet,

The better.

That's,

That's my feeling.

And that's why we try to give all these ideas and we try to divert everything that we can,

As good as we can from the landfill.

And I will invite you to do the same.

Okay.

So yes,

Hiring a business is an option.

Of course it is,

But it's not the one that I recommend.

Okay.

So what else?

Any other ideas?

A garage sale.

Someone mentioned you can have a garage sale.

Yes,

You can.

Absolutely.

You can.

The reality about garage sales.

Okay.

They are fun.

They are fun if the family is involved.

And if you have several people doing it at the same time,

It's a fun experience for kids.

They learn how to bargain,

How to manage money.

You have your coffee outside.

It's social.

You get to talk to people and some of the things will sell,

But my unity of the times,

This is what happens at least here.

Okay.

And I have done a few garage sales for clients and for myself.

First you don't sell everything.

So you end up having a lot of leftovers that you have to deal with.

Okay.

Second,

You are not going to get a lot of money for the things people at least here.

Okay.

People who come to garage sales,

They don't expect to pay a lot of money for things.

They want,

They want bargains,

They want deals.

And sometimes people get upset because they have something and someone comes and say,

Will you take 50 cents for this?

And it's something that they pay $50 for.

And some people get triggered and they say,

What the hell?

What do you mean 50 cents?

Are you kidding me?

So guys,

If you do a garage sale,

You don't have to have any expectations and then you will just have fun letting go of things.

Like if you were donating them and just accept whatever they give you.

But if you go with that mentality,

Then a garage sale is a great way of doing that and have something in plan for what to do with the leftovers.

Maybe someone has a truck or a van,

Or maybe you arrange with someone with a thrift store to come and get whatever is there,

Or maybe you post it for free on a platform.

So make sure that you have a backup plan for everything that doesn't sell.

Okay.

If not,

You are going to end up moving everything back into your home.

And it is a lot of work.

Guys,

It's a lot of work to organize a garage sale.

It is.

So it's something that you can explore,

But the reality is that.

So just know everything that's involved.

Okay.

So any other ideas that I didn't mention that you guys can think of on ways to get rid of things.

Garage sales are fun if you don't mind to set up and break down.

For me,

It's too much work.

Yeah.

Amy,

That's the reality for a lot of people,

Especially when you have the expectation that I'm going to make a lot of money with this.

And it's like,

I don't know.

So Catherine says I donate hotel toiletries to the shelter for people experiencing homelessness.

Yeah.

So for those of you who travel a lot,

The first thing that I will invite you to do is,

Do you really need to take all the toiletries everywhere you go?

That's the first question that they will ask you.

Okay.

Do you really need it?

And if you do,

Then what is the avenue for you to to do with those things?

Because sometimes,

As you say,

Someone may need them and then it's beautiful.

But sometimes it's like I see people collecting like toiletries,

All they take out stuff like napkins and sugar packs and straws and everything that you get every single time.

And then I will say,

If you are concerned about throwing those things out,

I will invite you to then become zero waste.

So have your own straw that you can clean,

Have your own coffee mug,

And have your own container.

And then you will avoid creating all that waste.

That's something that you can explore.

That's what we try to do as much as we can.

Bring your tap everywhere to to the restaurant,

If you're going to a restaurant,

And put the leftovers in there instead of asking for the one that they give you and then you can you have to throw it out.

So there are ways for you to be proactive and avoid creating waste and avoid ending up with a lot of things in your home that you don't need,

But you feel bad throwing out.

Okay.

So that's the first question.

Be intentional about everything that you take.

Be intentional about and question everything.

Do I really need this?

Okay,

Maybe you have your own shampoo and then you refill your shampoo container,

But you don't take everything that you have,

Unless you have a use for it.

Okay.

So anything else guys that I didn't cover that you you have done that works really well,

To get rid of things.

Is it bad to take toiletries for a specific purpose of of donating?

Seems good to at least take partial bottles,

Refill and donate as Amy said.

Yeah,

Kathleen,

I'm not saying it's good or bad.

I'm just saying that if you have a problem of collecting too many,

And you are frustrated with that,

And you don't have an avenue to donate them,

Then just question and be intentional.

If you have a way and you feel well,

And there is no it's not frustrating you,

There is no right or wrong here.

It's what you feel is what you want.

And it's what your situation is asking for.

Okay,

If your situation is asking for when I go to a hotel,

If I use half the shampoo,

They're gonna throw it out.

So I'm gonna take it to my home.

And then I have an avenue I have a shelter,

I have this place,

I have these people that they are happy to receive that from me,

Then of course,

Why wouldn't you do that?

So local neighborhood groups,

Online to swaps,

Yeah,

Online swaps and recycling posts.

Yeah,

This is huge too.

In our community,

We have Facebook groups,

Meetup groups of people that they just post stuff that they have.

And then people just interchange stuff.

And it's really beautiful.

Cecilia says,

Emilio,

I always come away with new ideas from your lives.

Thank you.

Thank you so much for being here,

Cecilia.

Jay says having downsides a couple of years ago,

I am still decluttering.

This talk is so very helpful.

Yeah,

Jay,

This reminds me of decluttering is always a continuous work.

Okay,

Why?

Because life happens,

Life keeps happening,

Right?

And then you bring things home,

People give you things,

You may change the activities that you give to them,

You may change the activities that you do,

You may change how you use the space,

You may change the way you cook in your kitchen,

You may become allergic to something,

And then you have ingredients that you no longer use.

So stuff keeps happening and evolving.

And then your physical space needs to evolve with you.

But what happens is that we keep evolving,

Our needs keep changing really fast sometimes,

And we don't have the time to react.

And that's why sometimes the decluttering needs to happen often.

Every few months,

Every time you feel frustrated,

I will recommend half a pic.

And then having ongoing donation places is really helpful.

I have an ongoing donation back in my closet,

We have a donation box in the basement of things that we no longer need.

We have a bag in my daughter's bedroom.

So anytime a pair of pants is too small,

A pair of shoes don't fit anymore,

A pair of socks,

She doesn't like the color or whatever,

I just put them in that donation bag right away.

So I'm trying to be proactive in the way that I am avoiding creating clutter,

I am questioning and decluttering as I do my day to day life.

And then maybe once a year,

We reassess the kitchen,

Once a year we reassess the shed,

Once a year we do the closet,

Like a deep dive.

But on a weekly to weekly basis,

That maintenance routines,

That productivity can help you avoid the clutter to get too big,

To become overwhelming.

Okay,

So just keep in mind that.

So Amy says,

You guys,

I have been homeless,

Living in a recovery house,

Travel as an artist for five years and no home.

Friend,

Friend me if you are not sure,

I'm happy to have you decide,

If appropriate,

To donate.

Yeah,

Amy,

Thank you so much for sharing your expertise.

That's something true,

Like when you get to travel and you have to carry what you need in your backpack,

You learn really quickly what you need and what you don't need.

And I did that for a few years.

I travel with my backpack and I become,

I became really clear and confident about what I truly need and the things that are optional.

And guys,

You don't have to get rid of things that you love.

This is not about extremes,

Okay?

This is about feeling comfortable.

This is about you feeling comfortable,

Confident,

Fulfilled and having a home that facilitates the life that you want.

And anything that doesn't belong in that life anymore because you have changed,

You have evolved,

Your interests have changed,

The way you eat has changed.

Just honor that,

Honor the change,

Embrace the change and then accept that there are things that may no longer fit those needs.

And that's the constant work of maintaining your home and giving those items a new life.

Okay?

So Paris says,

Paris,

What did you post?

Let me see if I can find you.

So I have had a shopping addiction for most of my life and recently I charged up a bunch of credit cards that I still owe a ton of money on.

And I have all these clothes that still have tax on them.

And I am having a problem getting rid of them.

And I am having a problem getting rid of them.

And I am having a problem getting rid of ones that I don't love because I still owe for them on my credit cards.

Any suggestions?

Yeah,

Paris,

First,

Thank you so much for sharing.

Thank you so much for being vulnerable.

And I am celebrating the fact that you are shining the light on this and you are honoring what you did.

This is what I did.

That can be changed.

You just did it.

You just did it.

So it's,

You cannot,

Unless you have still time to take those clothes back,

Uh,

If probably one month happened,

Probably they won't take them back.

But if that's the reality that you are facing now,

I will invite you to think about who do you want to become?

Okay?

Forget for a second about all the past and everything that you have done because you cannot change that.

Okay?

What you can change is what am I going to do with my life?

What am I going to do with my life?

What am I going to do moving forward from now?

And then what are you planning on doing with your addiction?

Do you want to change it?

Do you want to try something different?

Do you want to get rid of all your credit cards so that you don't keep using them?

You want to go back to using cash?

What do you want to do?

How do you want to become?

What kind of habits do you want to embrace moving forward from now?

Because Paris,

The present moment is the only time that you have,

Okay?

Everything that you have done,

It's done.

Unless you bought those clothes last week and the store will take them back,

Then do that.

But if not,

You are with clothes,

You can try and donate them,

Resell them,

And then you have to stop the habits that you don't like.

Start moving forward with new habits.

And then you have to deal with the consequences of the habits that you had before.

And that's going to take time.

You have to pay those credit cards.

You have to find ways to make that money.

And you have to find ways to cope with what you did emotionally speaking,

Okay?

But that's your choice.

But at least you are setting yourself up to avoid that from happening again,

Okay?

Guys,

If you have any comments for her,

Feel free to share them in the chat because this is an open community and you guys can help her.

But my two cents are those.

What do you want to have happen from now on?

And I will invite you to focus on that as much as you can.

And then of course the consequences are gonna keep happening and you have to deal with that until they are completed,

Okay?

So you don't have to neglect those payments because you have to pay them.

But at least you know that moving forward you won't have those consequences happening again and again and again,

Okay?

So hopefully that helps you.

So hopefully that's something that helps you,

Paris,

Move forward.

Catherine says,

Paris,

Imagine that each time another person was one of your donated new items.

It amortizes your expenditure.

Yeah,

Beautiful.

Yeah,

That's a nice way of looking at things.

Now when you donate those pieces of clothing,

You could visualize in your mind like,

I bought that piece of clothing because someone else needed it really way more than I did.

And that person is in a worse situation than I am.

So I was able to provide that piece of clothing for that specific person.

If that feels good to you,

Then you can visualize that and that can be your reality.

But I think the most important thing here,

Paris,

Is that you start thinking about how do I want to move forward from here?

What kind of person do I want to become?

What kind of person do I want to become?

What kind of habits do I want to create?

And it's okay if it takes time,

But at least the clarity will be there,

Okay?

Freeze your credit cards in ice and use them in real emergency.

Yeah,

Mary,

Good suggestion.

I would say when you are having these kind of addictions and you need to change those habits and money is involved,

I think that's a great way.

Get rid of all the cards that you have or have them in a very inconvenient place and only carry cash with you and use the envelope system,

It's called.

The envelope system is a system that allows you to put money in different envelopes for different purposes and you will see very quickly where your money is going and you will become aware when you are spending that money and when you are running out of it.

Credit cards are designed to make you overspend and to make you pay credit card interest 20%.

So guys,

If you can get rid of using credit cards altogether for a while until you become more disciplined,

Until you create the habits that you want,

I would say that that's a good strategy for you to transition into new habits and routines,

Okay?

So I hope that that helps.

The problem with cash is so many places are cashless business these days.

Yeah,

Emily,

That's true,

But then I will invite you to use a debit card.

You can use a debit card that is linked with a bank account that only has specific money that you are allowing yourself for the month and then once that money is gone,

There is no more money.

You cannot spend anything else with the debit card.

That's another idea that you can do and you can use an application that allows you to monitor how much you are spending on where so that you become aware and this has to be your own choice,

Okay?

This is not something that I am imposing on you.

You need to want to do this.

If you don't want to do this,

Then keep doing the same thing,

But then you will have the same consequences.

So this is really your intentional choice.

So I hope that you have the same intentional choice,

Okay?

You can find help,

Extra help to look at that addiction and what's behind it.

That's also a really good strategy.

Why am I addicted to shopping?

What am I covering when I'm doing this habit?

What am I getting from it and how can I create a different behavior to get the same reward,

Okay?

Yeah,

So Cassandra says shopping addiction is feeling a void.

Maybe brainstorm other ways to get that dopamine hit.

Adding things to wishlist helps me.

Beautiful.

So I'm sure if you look around,

There are thousands of strategies to help you start moving forward into the new direction,

Okay?

Okay guys,

This is the end of today's session.

I hope that you got value from this.

I hope that you now have strategies to deal with your unwanted items when you are decluttering and to do the ongoing maintenance of reassessing your life,

Your needs,

Your habits,

The environment that you want to create and really finding ways of always repurposing things with intention and always doing it in a way at a pace that feels good to you and it's not overwhelming.

Things don't accumulate to the point that then you get on panic mode,

Okay?

That's what we are trying to avoid here.

We are trying to be proactive.

We are trying to be intentional often enough so that you never end yourself up in a situation where you don't know what to do because it's too much.

It's too overwhelming.

There are too many things and then it's a huge job that you cannot tackle yourself,

Okay?

And I hope Paris that you find ways to move forward,

Okay?

Credit cards,

Shopping addiction,

All these things are a reality for a lot of people and we just have to be more intentional with how we use our time,

Our energy,

Our money and really look at those at the under cover of those habits.

Why am I doing this?

Get curious,

Okay?

And hopefully you will start finding the results.

Okay?

Sending you a lot of love and energy to you,

Okay?

Okay guys,

Let's just take a couple of minutes to transition out of this session with intention.

I invite you to close your eyes,

Get comfortable,

Invite you to take a couple of deep breaths.

I invite you to take a couple of deep breaths.

I invite you to reflect about how can you use the information that you learned today in your day-to-day life.

I invite you to reflect about what is the next step for you that makes sense,

The next step that feels good to you right now,

And how are you going to take action on it.

And always please be gentle with yourself.

Always understand that what you did in the past,

It is done.

You cannot change it.

You did it for a reason and the only thing that you can change is how you react to that,

How you react to what you did and you can focus on setting a new intention right now moving forward.

And you can apply this to your physical space,

To your relationships,

To really any habit or routine that you have that you recognize that it's no longer serving you.

Because that's the first step,

Becoming aware of I don't want this in my life anymore.

Once you have that awareness,

That's when you are going to start getting curious about what can I do differently here and then you are going to open your mind to new possibilities.

This is a skill that is called cognitive flexibility or adaptable thinking.

This is an executive functioning skill that we all have this is an executive functioning skills that we all have and when you are trying to change,

You are using that skill.

You are using your metacognition skill to become aware of how you think,

Become aware of how you act,

How you react and then you are using your adaptable thinking to find new possibilities and while doing that you are using your emotional self-regulation to understand the emotions that are showing up and to become aware of them and then you are using your impulse control to avoid impulsivity again and all these skills are happening all simultaneously.

So the entry point sometimes is different for some people.

But you have the opportunity to start using those skills more,

Start brainstorming ideas on how can I create a new habit,

How can I work on my adaptable thinking,

How can I become more conscious and use my metacognition more often,

How,

What strategies can I use to emotionally self-control myself,

What strategies can I use to avoid being impulsive.

So thank you guys so much for being here today.

I really value your work,

Your presence and I know that you are doing your best and I hope that some of these strategies help you create a better life for yourself and for the people you love.

Okay,

I will see you next week on Tuesday.

I hope you guys have an amazing weekend and in the meantime if you want to learn more about decluttering in your home please check my course,

All Inside Timer.

If you are listening to the recording I will include a link below that you can click on and you can see the courses I have and then you can get doing work between sessions if you want to.

Okay and as always remember that you have a course classroom when you enroll in any of the courses,

You have lifetime access to that course and lifetime access to support from me in the course classroom and I check that every single day.

That's my priority.

That's one of my daily priorities to go into the course classroom and reply to all the messages that you guys leave me so you don't have to wait a week.

You will probably wait probably one day the most to hear from me and I really really love supporting you in your journey.

I really get a lot of value from seeing your life becoming better and sharing what I have learned from helping other people.

Okay yeah,

You have trouble finding my thriving lifestyle can you please put a link for that too?

Yeah Ingrid,

You will have a link.

I will put a link on the recording.

Okay okay guys have an amazing rest of your day and I will see you next week.

Adios

Reviews

🙏

Inspirational & informative as you always are, Emilio. Thanks so much. 🙏🏻