My house doesn’t always look like a home stager lives here (especially since I don’t have a cleaning lady), but for the most part my environment is free of unnecessary objects and the usual dust collectors you’ll find in most of your clients’ homes. As most of my students and readers know, I hate clutter.

I don’t buy gadgets, lots of clothing, purses or shoes, but I compulsively collect information and ideas! I’m afraid to throw any of it out because “I might need it later!” Yes, that does sound like the usual excuse people give for compulsively hanging onto thousands of pounds of “stuff” they’ll never need! It’s really all hoarding.

It was a personal breakthrough as a home stager when I finally began to see that hanging onto too many To Do items, or ideas, was in fact what was getting in the way of realizing my dreams.

Feeling overwhelmed too often means we just don’t move forward at all. We become paralyzed by the myriad of choices and opportunities available. There will never be enough hours to accomplish everything.

It’s important to make conscious choices about how we spend our time and what we put on our “stop doing” list to make room for what’s truly important to our dreams. This requires a lot more discipline than most people realize. As a home stager, being able to filter out the noise of “shiny objects” and focus on what’s essential is a skill that must be developed.

I’m embarrassed to admit that I’m heading into 2012 with many of the same piles of paper I’ve had on my desk since this time last year! I’ll be sharing my strategies for dealing with this in the weeks ahead on my blog, Home Staging Business Report.

> Read the full article on getting rid of too many To Do items