It's time. It's stacked up around you. It's time to learn how to start
decluttering your house. You're going to feel so much better when you learn what
I have to say today.
Alright. Why do you have so much stuff? You know it. Come on go look at your
garage, right? Look in the closet, look in the drawers, you look at those boxes,
right? I mean, how? Oh. Oh, you're not alone though. Come on, you're not alone. It's
really tough to manage stuff. It really is. You know and there's that thought of...
"But what if I need it?" I remember my dad saying that when I was growing up. My dad
would say, "But what if I need a Kurt? What if I need it?" I'm like, "Dad, you have 4 of
these. Get rid of 3 of them." "But what if I need it?" You know, there's always
that what-if-I-need-that-thing. Well, I think part of decluttering your home and
getting started at this is understanding what's going on. You know, why do you have
so much stuff? Psychologically, what's going on with you?
What's happening here that's causing you to accumulate and stack
stuff up. And create more boxes. And then you're spending more time and energy and
money on more storage boxes. Or you're running out of room in the corners to
store stuff. You know what I'm talking about. Okay, "But how do you get started
Kirk? Like I need to clean some stuff up? it's overwhelming to me, it's taking me
off course. I can't even park in my garage." Do you
know that there are a lot of people in this country who can't park in their
garage? Do you know one of the fastest-growing real estate purchases
that are happening in the United States right now
is for storage units? 4 and 5 storey storage units. Acres and acres and
acres of storage units. So, that people can have some place to take stuff out of
their house move it to another place and then they can refill their home again. I
I know this, come on. I know this. I have also dealt with the clutter. I've dealt
with not being able to get in my garage. I've dealt with these things. But I had
to get over it. I had to get through it. Mentally and emotionally. So I could let
things go. So, let's talk about what's happening here. One of the reasons
why we keep stuff is because we think stuff makes us feel valuable. And we
don't understand that when we let go of stuff,
we're actually... We have something else to gain. We can actually be more productive
in our thinking and better in our relationships. We get emotionally
connected to our stuff that are... So, if we have a bunch of stuff that it means that
we're valuable. And it's literally a relationship. We feel valuable having
these things. Even though we can't park in the garage. Even though we can't put
another thing in the closet. Even though we can't put another thing in the closet.
On the shelf or on the hanger or in the drawers. And it's just too much stuff. But
we unconsciously are using these things to build personal value. So, we got to
find some other way to find that you know, when why don't have stuff, what is
it that I can gain? Freedom. Freedom of the mind, freedom of the home, freedom. And
when you have too much stuff, you start to feel cluttered, you start to feel
trapped, you start to feel buried. You start to feel like heavy. You start to
feel heavy because there's so many things connected to you. So, we have lots
of stuff because we're trying to build our personal value through things. But
what we have to gain by letting go of those things and building our personal
value a different way is freedom. And it feels so good. Believe me, when you get to
this others way of thinking, it feels so good to let go of these things because
you can actually think. You can actually feel and you don't feel that trapped
feeling. Now, how do you get started? Well, you can start by one small place in the
garage or one small place in the house. But you small... You start in small chunks.
One thing at a time, one place at a time. And this is where my wife and I started.
We literally... When it came time that is time to dejunk our home, we both looked
at each other, took a deep breath and we opened one box. And that one box was this
emotional experience. And it probably took us like two hours to go through one
box. Because we're like, "Oh, I want to keep this. Oh, I want to keep this." But we had
to come up with some categories. We had to come up with some categories of like
could this help somebody else? Could I let go of this and give it to somebody
else and it could help somebody else? So, instead of thinking I'm going to throw
everything away, I think about how I could benefit somebody else's family. Who
else could benefit from this? So, that way it was a positive experience not a throw
in the trash kind of experience. And you know, there's probably those things you
really do need to throw away. But our first go to was could somebody benefit
from this? Now, while we're going through this one section or this one chunk of
our home, something else that really matters. Really, really matters is for us
to journal. And I'm a big, big, big promoter of journaling. Journaling has
literally changed my life, helped me understand myself in so, so, many
different ways. But if I can journal and start journaling and the journaling has
very specific components. Meaning, I am valuable because. And that's my journal
entry. I am valuable because and I come up with 10 reasons why I'm valuable.
Why I'm valuable to myself, why I'm valuable to my wife, to my children, to
Cameron and Cody and all my children. And... But I come up with reasons why I'm
valuable. Why am i valuable to my neighborhood, my community, my extended
family. If I can add up the reasons why I am valuable, I then can let go of things
that I'm thinking is giving me value. but they're actually causing me to be
trapped. but I can let go of them because I have another source, my journal of all
these lists of evidence that helps me understand I do have value. Because to
let go of stuff without having something else add up my value, I'm not going to let
go of stuff or if I do, I'll just pile new stuff in that place. You see, when I
go to let go of things, now these journal entries can fill me in.
Because right now, it's stuff that makes me feel valuable. And that's not... That's
not good. That's not real, that's not authentic, that's not a real or true
relationship. So, that's why journaling is a great way to help change my thinking
and change my emotions. That I'm valuable to people.
Not I need things to be valuable. But I'm valuable to people. And I can't find that
unless I journal. And I don't care what your background is or how old you are.
You get a journal and you start tracking that. Or create a document on your phone.
But every, day find 10 reasons why you're valuable.
It makes letting things go a lot easier. And remember, what I'm saying here on
number 4 is when I go to let something go, how could this be valuable to
somebody else? Sometimes I go out on the front sidewalk
and I just put for free. I don't even try to sell things out there. I just like,
here take it. Go, take it, go. You know or "Alright, call somebody up and say hey you
want to come over and get this?" My boys have seen me do this many times we're
out, we'll take a bunch of stuff out to the sidewalk and my kids will say, "Dad,
you could sell this stuff and make money." And I go, "Yeah, but you know what? I want
to surprise somebody today." I just want to give some things today. And it just
feels really good to be able to just give. And that makes letting go of things
much more sweet. To see somebody else get excited and they got it for free and
it was exactly what they needed. That part's pretty cool. I remember the day I
put a float tube a fly fisherman's float tube. And the waiters and the and the
flippers and the and the oars and everything out there. It was perfectly
fine. And I blew it all up for this fly fisherman's float tube. It's really nice.
I put it out on the sidewalk and I put free on it.
I had no longer got to back to my garage. Then this truck just slams on his brakes,
backs up. These two guys jump out and they look at it and they go, "Are you
serious? Is this free?" Like, "Oh, is it something you need?" They're like, "This is
exactly what I've always wanted." And these guys were high-fiving each other
and just like, "Oh my gosh, this is awesome, score." And my boys and I who were in the
garage, we looked at each other and we were all smiling from ear to ear. It was
so cool to be able to pass that on to somebody. And what was interesting was to
watch my boys after that actually helped me
clean the garage faster. And they were thinking of things they could put out
there. There's something about bringing joy to other people's lives that makes
it actually a lot easier to let go of stuff. Pretty cool, huh?
So, when there's a purpose, when there's a purpose like, I want to let go of feeling
trapped and heavy buy my things. I want to feel more free, I want to make a
difference, I want to be able to think and love people instead of love stuff.
You find yourself a bigger purpose here. It's not just Dejunking your home but
you're literally making a mindset change. Or a lifestyle change and benefiting
other people. It's really cool what you're doing here.
Now, what's easier to do is to start with those non-personal things. I'm not saying
go right to your super personal things and start sorting through them. Are you
kidding? That's tough. Make it a lot easier like, go to the drawer that has
all the lids in it. Or the cupboard that has all the lids or all your little
storage containers for food. You know, those lids and those containers
don't all match. You know they don't match. Lay them all out, figure out which
ones match and then let go of the lids. Let go the extra bowls. Crazy thing is,
there's somebody in your neighborhood who could benefit from those bowls.
Really, I didn't know that but they would be super happy to have those bowls.
But to go, go start on places that is not directly connected to your personal
things yet. Because you need to build up some it's a momentum here, right? ome
confidence before you go into your boxes and piles of personal things.
So, go start with those non personal things to build up that experience. It'll
make a big difference. Then notice what it feels like.
Notice what it feels like when you clear the stuff out and you have this room and
this space, this feeling. There is so much good energy from that. So, much good
energy. I really believe it helps you be a healthier person with that good energy.
Notice your attitude is so much more light and positive instead of heavy with
all the connections with all that stuff. But remember it's important to journal.
To be able to help keep adding up your value day by day. 10 things. If 10 is too
much, just get at least 5. At least 5 to 10 things a day of why you are
valuable to other people. And notice the incredible difference you can make in
your home, in your garage, in your closets, in the drawers and wherever you're at. So,
you can literally breathe. You literally can breathe. Imagine if in your lungs, you
had chunks of stuff. It'd be tough to breathe. And when you have too much stuff,
it's tough to breathe. It really isn't... You know exactly what I'm talking about.
So, for us, as we all move forward to manage our stuff, maybe you would like to
learn more from us here at 3 Key Elements. We're an incredible company
that's making a big difference in people's lives because we know what
matters. Now, if you ever in Salt Lake City or want to come a class, I would
suggest is Art of Mentoring. It's a three-day live course which teaches you
about behavior. About how you think and teaches you about attachments and
teaches you about the way in which you are connected to things. And how to
really improve your life. But check us out. And also, absolutely enjoy watching
more of our YouTube videos by going to our YouTube site and subscribing. So, you
don't miss one of these videos. That way, they're always coming out to you and you
can stay really dialed in to what we do here. Because your life matters.