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Have you ever spent time decluttering and thought to yourself, “This is taking so long,” or, “I am so bored,” and then stopped decluttering altogether, only to feel defeated later when you glance at the clutter you didn’t conquer?

 

I have so been there. When it comes to clutter, the first thing I battle is knowing which pile to attack first, then I have to fight through “I just don’t feel like it“, and finally I struggle to make myself stick to the area I chose to attack until it is done.

However, over my 52 weeks of decluttering I found a secret weapon that made my decluttering sessions a whole lot more fun. In fact, some days I would finish the area I had set out to declutter and be shocked that my work was done already.

How to Make Time Spent Decluttering Fly by

My secret is simple –find something you enjoy listening to while you work. It can be a book, a podcast, or music. There is just something about activating a different part of your brain while you declutter that makes the process of clutter removal seem less boring and time consuming.

4 Free or Inexpensively Audiobook Sources

1. Hoopla App

If you belong to your local library, you might want to check if you can access Hoopla through them. I am in love with this app, although my husband isn’t. It works great on my iPhone, but not so well on his smartphone so it might depend on what your smartphone operating system is. I recommend you at least try it out. If you like it, you can borrow up to 6 audiobooks a month free of charge.

2. OverDrive App

The OverDrive app is another app that you need a library card to access. What selection the app will allow you to borrow depends on the library you belong to. The one I belong to gives me a poor selection to choose from, however, a friend of mine lives in a much bigger center than I do and she gets an awesome selection of audio books to choose from through Overdrive.

3. Christian Audio

Christian Audio offers one free, full-length audiobook per month for download.

4. Audible

Audible isn’t free, however, you can reduce the price of an audiobook through buying  the bigger package. Anne over at Modern Mrs Darcy has a great tip for reducing the cost of audiobooks through audible. You can also get two free audiobooks when you sign up for a free trial.

How to Listen to Free Podcasts

If you have a smartphone or a tablet, you should be able to listen to podcasts through either iTunes if you have an Apple product or you can use the Stitcher app on either an Apple or Android smartphone or tablet.

Many sites–if they have a podcast–also make them available right on their website to listen to.

I personally love podcasts about blogging, but there are so many podcasts out there that cover so many different topics.  To get started, I suggest asking your friends for recommendations. A Facebook shout-out should yield you plenty of suggestions. If not, try a Google search “podcasts about…” fill in the blank with whatever your passions are–fitness, nutrition, gardening, parenting, faith–you name it, there is probably a podcast you can listen to free of charge.

5  Free or Inexpensive Music Sources

I know that some people just are not that into listening to people talk about topics or read books aloud (all bookworms in the audience just let out a big GASP–they are in shock–but they will get over it).

If this is you perhaps you will find music more motivating.

1. Pandora

Pandora does have a paid option, but our family has used the free area for years and never run out of listening time. What I love about Pandora is how you can personalize the station to fit your music likes and dislikes with a simple thumbs up or a thumbs down. Give the song a thumbs up and Pandora will play more songs like it. Give it a thumbs down and that song and ones like it won’t be played again.

2. Radio Loyalty

Radio Loyalty doesn’t allow you to personalize the stations, but it does do something really cool–it rewards you for listening. Use your InstaGC or Swagbucks account to access Radio Loyalty and you will earn either InstaGC points or SB points from Swagbucks as you listen along. Essentially you would be getting paid to stick to your decluttering!

• InstaGC: You will find Radio Loyalty by hovering over the “earn” tab. Click on “recommended” and on that screen you should find it listed. If not, click “more” until you see it pop up. Choose a station that suits your interests and then at the 30 minute mark a code will appear on the screen for you to enter and you will earn 3 InstaGC points. Repeat as often as needed to get you through the clutter. Join InstaGC here

• Swagbucks: In Swagbucks you will find Radio Loyalty by clicking the “discover tab” then scrolling down to “offers from our trusted partners” Radio Loyalty should be in that area, you might need to click “more” to find it. Listen to the channel of your choice and at the 35 minute mark a code will appear for you to enter and earn 5 SB points.  Join Swagbucks here

3. Prime Music

Amazon Prime Music is not free for everyone, but it is free for Amazon Prime Members. You can test Amazon Prime out for 30 days free of charge to see if you would like it. In my experience with Amazon to date, ending a free trial has been hassle free, although with all the perks a prime membership offers, my guess is you won’t want to cancel.

4. Noisetrade

You can download music for free from Noisetrade and best part is, you get to keep it. If you love the music and can afford to, you can leave the artist a tip, but it isn’t a requirement. Noisetrade also has a small audiobooks area.

 

 

Feel like you would love to get rid of the stress your cluttered home is causing you, but you simply don’t know how you could squeeze time to declutter into your already cram packed life?

I recommend taking Make Over Your Mornings and/or Make Over Your Evenings. These are 15 day, video driven courses that come with a workbook for you to complete. Each day’s lesson consists of a five minute video, five minutes of reading and a five minute workbook activity.

The information I learned in the Make Over Your Evenings course gave me 30 minutes each and every morning without getting up earlier. The Makeover Your Mornings course is just as full of great time saving advice that can help you carve out time to rid your house of clutter and finally make your home the haven you know it could be.