I was reading an article by Peter Walsh about clutter. He pointed out that household chaos is rarely just about stuff. Our clutter or hoarder issues are buried deep in our subconscious but there are solutions once we are ready to do the work to improve our habits.
For some, clutter isn’t an obvious issue. On the surface everything seems to be neat and orderly. But when you look closer by opening a closet door, or a kitchen drawer, you will find their secret solutions. Instead of putting something in its proper place, it ends up behind closed doors; out of sight, out of mind. If you can’t see the buried books, folders, holiday decorations, missing socks, etc, everything appears to be in order.
This type of clutterer is usually a perfectionist who is overbooked. To start the cleanup, begin by using the one touch system. Touch it once and put it away in its proper place every time. This will save hours of time later. To deal with the already cluttered areas, give yourself a time limit and begin by pulling everything out and sorting like with like. You might have a friend or a professional help with this to save time. Once you have sorted all of the items, only put back the items that belong in this space. Bring the other items to their proper room and put them away.
For those that have stockpiles of books or magazines, remember that it is ok to donate old books that you will never read or magazines that are out of date. A library of collectables that are artfully arranged looks better than a pile of books spilling off the shelf. You might consider reading the book and then recording the title, author, and your thoughts on the story in a reading journal. This way you have a record of books that you read, the date that you read them and a quick note as a memory jogger. For magazines, it is better to pull the ideas or articles that inspire you and recycling the rest. You can also start a Pinterest account (Check out mine here: http://Pinterest.com/ProjectDone) and keep your inspirations organized and easy to find.
For those that have issues with techie clutter, it is time to label and store what you really need for future use. You will not use every cord, charger, remote or devices that you have collected. To get started, recycle the used electronic boxes after the warranty has expired. No one wants used gadgets since technology changes so fast and makes the must have gadget obsolete in 6
months. To store cords, wrap the cord with a label specifying the gadget they belong to with masking tape. Then you can find exactly what you need quickly and easily. To go a step further, either invest in a charging station for items that you use daily or label four shoe box containers with Look (camera accessories-chargers, memory cards), Listen (iPod accessories, iPhone car chargers), Travel (GPS, plug adaptors), and Data (flash drives, wireless network cards) to store anything related to these categories.
If you cannot let go of sentimental clutter, it is time to establish the value of each item. If you can get your 10 boxes down to one box of the most valuable, you will have storage for the meaningful mementos that you do not want to display. Remember, if it sits in a box it is forgotten so downsizing is important. For children’s artwork, there will be so many pieces produced on a daily basis that it is impossible to save them all. Display the treasures and change out the pieces on a weekly or monthly basis. Photograph the old to make way for the new. You can then use these art pieces to make a calendar or wrap gifts. The pieces that are not repurposed should quietly be recycled.
For the bargain shopper who clips coupons and is building a stockpile, the goal is to limit your purchases to what you will use. If you cannot park your car in the garage, it is time to reevaluate your out of control collection. Design your storage spaces so that you
can get the most use out of your space. If you shop for gifts in advance, start a gift bag with the recipient’s name on it. Otherwise, you will forget who you were shopping for and the once good idea becomes a garage sale item later. If you are addicted to buying clothes on sale, make sure they fit and that you will wear them. Just because they are on sale does not mean they are a good value to you. If the item is not your style, leave it for the next person who will truly wear it and enjoy it.
Clutter cleanup is a task that once mastered, is no longer an issue. The trick is to understand why you clutter certain items, so you can process the reasons and then do better. When you get everything in order, you have to maintain it or the money and time was wasted. 15 minutes each day can go a long way to a clutter free life.
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