When it comes to doing hard things, it’s helpful to have strategies that encourage you when you’re stuck. What happens when you don’t have tools to rely on? You can become overwhelmed, depressed, anxious, paralyzed, or give up altogether. Letting go can be challenging. However, with this one easy strategy, you can become an expert at releasing those things that no longer belong. Let me share some context before I explain the strategy.

I notice things that don't belong when walking around or traveling. They catch my eye. For example, I walked along the river the other day and saw a single blue glove on the ground. Maybe it dropped out of a coat pocket. It was out of place by itself on the ground. Another time, I visited a lovely garden. An empty plastic soda bottle protruded from this beautiful ancient stone lion’s mouth. You guessed it! The bottle was in the wrong place and should have been in the recycling bin instead.

Did you see the photo of neatly stacked sweaters? Can you tell they are in the microwave? These examples cue you to notice when things are out of place, which is the first part of the letting go strategy I will share with you.

Easy Letting Go Strategy

One of the simplest ways to let go is to notice the things that don’t belong. You can do this in any room, space, container, or area. When you identify what is in the wrong place, you can change the dynamic by letting go. There are three steps:

1. Awareness – Notice what is out of place. It could be:

• Something that accidentally was put in the wrong spot by you or someone in your household

• Something that was placed without thinking about if it belonged there

• Something that ‘temporarily’ was put in the wrong spot as a holding area and then remained there indefinitely

• Something that was randomly put into a cabinet, on a shelf, or in a closet to give the illusion of being clutter-free

2. Ask– Now that you see ‘it,’ you can’t unsee it. That’s a good thing. It’s decision-making time. These questions will help you figure out what to do next. Ask:

• Does this thing belong elsewhere?

• Does it belong elsewhere, but I don’t know where it should ‘live?’

• Do I want this anymore?

• Can I let it go?

“One of the simplest ways to let go is to notice the things that don’t belong.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

 3. Act – You asked the questions, and now it’s time to take action.

• If it belongs elsewhere, route it to its home.

• If it belongs elsewhere, but you are still determining where it should go, remove it from its current spot and choose the best location to store it.

• If you no longer want it and are ready to let it go, donate, giveaway, sell, recycle, or trash it.

I hope you don’t have sweaters in your microwave or plastic bottles stored in a sculpture, but you most likely have things sitting in unhelpful spots. Quickly become a pro at letting go by noticing what’s out of place, deciding about it, and removing it from the current location.

What eases your letting go process? How can this letting go strategy work for you? I’d love to hear your thoughts and invite you to join the conversation.

If you need help letting go, I’m here to help. Please email me at linda@ohsorganized.com, call 914-271-5673, or schedule a Discovery Call. Letting go is possible, especially with support.

With new flowers and buds appearing daily, spring brings hope and encouragement. My clients are letting go and lightening up. However, they sometimes place obstacles that make the process more challenging. Those roadblocks appear as unhelpful thoughts.

Have you noticed the power of the words you say and think? Your messages can inspire action or inaction, trigger motivation or discouragement, and help or hinder the letting go process.

Suppose you have decades of old bills in filing cabinets, piled on shelves, or stored in boxes. You’re questioning whether to keep or release them. The internal struggle begins. They aren’t bothering anyone and have an established ‘home,’ but they are taking up space. You haven’t looked at them in years and will unlikely ever refer to them. They have no financial value or record-keeping significance, yet they sit. You remain undecided about their fate.

The debate about the documents will continue until you make a decision. You might choose to keep or shred them. But until you decide, the papers will occupy physical and emotional space. Their weight is felt. Sometimes, you hold on because you anticipate the potential effort required to edit and let go. Yet, it also takes energy not to decide.

Deciding to hold on instead of letting go is a valid action. You can stop investing your mental energy once you choose to keep or release. Remember that choosing to hold on is not the same as ignoring to make a decision.

“Your messages can help or hinder the letting go process. ”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

A Great Question When You’re Struggling to Let Go

I promised to share a great question when you’re struggling with decision-making. Your words have power, and semantics are potent. A slight tweak to how you pose a question can significantly affect the outcome. Inquiring in a particular way can make it more purposeful, encouraging, gentler, or less guilt-inducing.

A great question is the one that works best for you. The options below have similar meanings yet are phrased differently.

• Is it time to let it go?

• Is it time to put it down?

• Is it time to release it?

• Is it time to edit it?

• Is it time to reduce it?

• Is it time to move on?

• Is it time to let it be?

Which one resonates most with you? Which one will help you choose and act? I’d love to hear your thoughts and invite you to join the conversation.

If you need help letting go, I’m here to help. Please email me at linda@ohsorganized.com, call 914-271-5673, or schedule a Discovery Call. Letting go is possible, especially with support.

Do you ever feel like the universe sends you a message you need to hear? It happened to me this week. Interestingly, what I received related to the letting go theme I’m writing about this month.

You might have read about last week’s letting go mishap when I accidentally deleted my entire email inbox. I recovered, only to be challenged by another ‘adventure’ this week. It’s a doozy! Clearly, the universe thinks I need more letting go practice.

Midweek, I woke up with 500+ other neighbors to the surprise of no Internet or phone due to “cut fibers.” Our service provider assured me it would be fixed within 24 hours, which seemed reasonable. However, I was on a deadline. I was putting the finishing touches on a Zoom workshop being presented the following day. While I had no choice in the technology glitch (it happened and was being worked on,) I did have a choice in how I responded.

There was some initial panic, where I engaged in numerous “what if?” scenarios.

• What if it’s not fixed in time and I can’t present my workshop?

• What if I can’t access the information I need to compile my notes?

• What if the calm day I planned is turned upside down?

• What if…?

After the panic, technology assessment, and the realization that I could do nothing at that moment, I started letting go. I talked calmly to myself so I could switch gears and put my energy toward completing my workshop notes. I couldn’t afford to have my attitude sabotage the day. Instead, I focused on what I could work on. I let go of what I had no control over, did some creative problem-solving, and stopped the worry-stress-negative self-talk-loop.

I went to Starbucks in the afternoon for Internet access and a much-needed coffee break. I checked a few resources for my notes and caught up on email. I sat by the river and walked down the block to smell the fragrant lilacs. These actions kept me calm and focused.

“Let go of what you have no control over.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

By the evening, I finished my workshop notes and made alternate plans for presenting if I had no Internet the next day. I also realized how much more I accomplished without interruptions or distractions from the Internet, social media, and the phone.

Are you curious about what happened? When I woke the next day, the Internet and phones were restored. I gave my workshop, which went well, with good attendance and participation. Can you hear my giant exhale?

Life is full of surprises and curve balls. You can’t anticipate when they’ll arrive or what they’ll be. But as always, you do have a choice in how to respond. You can get stuck and paralyzed by the emergency or let go to allow focus, resilience, creativity, and growth to thrive.

How does letting go show up in your life? I’d love to hear your stories and thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

Letting go is usually intentional. At least, it seems purposeful most of the time for my clients and me. Holding on can create stress, conflict, overwhelm, disappointment, confusion, or anxiety. The same can be said for the process of letting go. Thinking about saying ‘good-bye’ to things or situations can be its own type of challenge. However, when we finally let go, it allows for open space, growth, and relief.

I often consider letting go like a muscle that needs exercise and practice. The more you use the letting go muscle, the easier the process becomes. Decision-making goes more smoothly, too, as you set boundaries or rules around what stays or goes.

What happens when you accidentally let go? You might wonder how someone can unintentionally let go like one giant, whoops. I experienced this last week.

You are probably familiar with the term “inbox zero.” Some set a goal to have no (as in nothing, none, nil, zilch) emails in their inbox. Instead of keeping all emails visible, you route incoming emails to specific, organized locations to achieve a clear inbox. They can move to the trash, action, or archive folders along with a cue to follow through on a trusted task list.

Let’s return to my saga. With full disclosure, I can’t tell you exactly how it happened, but I remember that multitasking was involved. I couldn’t repeat the mistake if I tried. But the result was that I accidentally deleted all the emails in my inbox and couldn’t get them back. There were about 100, and I had responded to most but not all of them.

My first reaction was panic. Then I tried to undo the error. In my frenzy, I think I made things worse. So, I stopped. I took several deep breaths and asked myself, “Linda, now what?” There were several options, including getting on the phone with tech support to see if they could help retrieve the deletions. I lacked time, confidence, and patience for that option. I was also in the middle of several deadlines and needed to focus on those instead of my big mistake. I knew how quickly my day could have deteriorated with negative self-talk, paralysis, and frustration. Those weren’t good options.

“Letting go allows for open space, growth, and relief.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

I felt calmer when I recognized that some emails could be retrieved through the “sent” email box if needed. In addition, if I missed something important, the sender would hopefully resend it to me. If you sent me an email and I never responded, please resend it. Thank you.

Letting Go: Unexpected Benefits

It’s been over a week without those deleted emails, and it’s been OK as of today. I let go of a lot and discovered some things along the way.

• There is no perfect.

• I’m human and make mistakes.

• Life goes on even without a full inbox.

• The most important things were handled.

• I recognized growth in how I kept my initial panic to a minimum.

• Resilience was visible as I quickly recovered from ‘the incident.’

• Multitasking can be dangerous.

• Appreciate the improved focus with fewer emails visible.

• Be grateful for the empty inbox, even if unintentional.

• Acknowledge the available time doing fun things like planting my small vegetable garden instead of stressing over retrieving emails.

• Find the humor in the situation.

• Remember the big picture.

In the end, letting go, while unexpected, was valuable. I’ve recovered from the mishap, appreciate a less full inbox, and feel lighter and less encumbered.

Have you ever let go accidentally? If so, what happened? What did you discover? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.