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Last updated on May 30th, 2023 at 04:28 pm
There are a lot of lies we tell ourselves, and one of the biggest ones is that we’re so busy and we don’t have time to declutter and organize.
It’s true we all have a lot going on (I’m still coming to terms with the fact that that’s just life). But how much time do we spend each day scrolling through Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram?
In a lifetime, 5 years and 4 months.
Dang.
I don’t know about you, but that number kinda has me reevaluating my priorities. (And I’m pretty sure that number will go up, based on trends…sorry, this nerdy corporate research person is looking at numbers.)
So what would you do with 5 years and 4 months? Would you use some of that time you thought you didn’t have to do a little bit of organizing?
Maybe?
If you’re like, “Ok, Jena. Fine. You convinced me. Show me whatcha got,” then stay tuned.
Gretchen Rubin has a chapter in her book Better Than Before dedicated to all these loopholes (aka excuses). They are habit breakers.
As I read, I realized, “Hey, these sound familiar. I make these types of excuses a lot.”
And these lies sound so logical at the time, but now that someone has pointed it out, I realize this makes absolutely no sense.
Let’s talk about the little loopholes you are giving yourself so you can do anything but organize.
“I’ve been really good about cleaning the house every week, so I can skip it this once.”
Here is where we let ourselves do something we shouldn’t because in our brains we believe we’ve earned it. It’s called the Moral Licensing Loophole.
“It doesn’t matter if I clean up today because I’ll be cleaning up before my mom comes to visit next week.”
With the Tomorrow Loophole we can blow it today because we can control it at some future date.
“I don’t have time to get organized. I have too many things on my schedule.”
The False Choice Loophole causes us to make a choice between two things that aren’t actually related.
“Nobody puts things away.”
When we think we can’t control something we actually have control over is the Lack of Control Loophole.
(On a side note, if this really is the problem, check out this post to learn how you can control this.)
“I’m going to declutter starting with all the things my grandma gave me before she died.”
Ok, that statement might be a little over the top, but maybe not. The Arranging to Fail Loophole is kind of a sign we’re not quite ready to do the thing we should do.
“I’ve had a rough day, so I can skip putting the dishes in the dishwasher tonight.”
“This Doesn’t Count” Loophole. ‘Nough said.
“I can’t start organizing until I go to Target to look at organizing supplies.”
When the thing you assume is actually questionable…that’s Questionable Assumption Loophole.
“My friend will feel bad if I get rid of that gift she gave me.”
I’m pretty sure we’ve all felt the Concern for Others Loophole. It’s the reason most of us have things hanging around the house that we don’t actually want.
(It’s ok. You can donate it. You have permission.)
“I have too many things on my to do list, so I can’t tidy up my house.”
So, when you accept one habit as part of an excuse to do or not do something else is Fake Self-Actualization Loophole.
“Why should I tidy my house today when no one comes over anyway?”
We don’t think one action or one day will make much of a difference. That’s the “One-Coin”Loophole. The thing is, doing a little bit every day makes all the difference in the world.
So ask yourself if you really are busy, or if you’re actually just giving yourself excuses to avoid the task you, er, are trying to avoid.
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