The first thing realtors tell you when you’re preparing your house to go on the market is this: declutter.

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Not paint or redo the bathroom or update your windows. Get rid of the stuff, they tell you.

Why? Because when we’re making what is arguably the most significant purchase of our lives, what we want more than anything is to see the space.

It’s what we want in our homes, and it’s what we want in our lives.

Space.

In this post I want to offer 5 ways to simplify and declutter so you can see the space again.

1. Purge Your Calendar

Each week look at what’s on your calendar. In addition to clustering items that are like one another (phone calls, for example), ask yourself, “Do I really need to do that this week?” Get rid of the nonessentials.

2. Work from a List

Each day ask yourself, “What do I need to accomplish for today to be great?” Write the list and get to it.

3. Clear Your Physical Space

Pick up each piece of paper in your workspace. Ask “Can I address this in two minutes or less?” If so do it. If not, place it where you’ll know where to find it and schedule a time in your calendar to address it.

4. Tame the Email Beast Once and for All

I’ve been getting my email inbox down to zero just about every day for years. In this post I show you how.

5. Right-Size Your Social Media Time

Social media is useful and entertaining. It can also be hugely time-consuming and keep us from accomplishing the things that matter most to us. Set specific times during the day when you are going to engage social media, and put yourself on a timer. If you have an iPhone tell Siri, “Sound an alarm in 15 minutes.” When the alarm sounds, you’re done. Try the app Anti-Social to block yourself from social media for an amount of time you designate.

Question: What can you do to declutter today? You can leave a comment by clicking here.