Kick clutter to the curb! Here are the 10 rules to end clutter.
Decluttering can feel overwhelming. Help is here!
Clients tell me time and again that they do not know where to start decluttering.
They know what they want, they may have a vision of the finished product, but they are too overwhelmed and frustrated to even begin.
So where do you start? There are a few guidelines I find universal.
If you do these 10 things, you’ll be well on your way.
1. Use a timer, work when your energy is highest, and for no longer than 4 hours at a time.
If you can, focus straight through for 3 hours, or consider using the Pomodoro method I discussed in my February 17th blog post.
Either way, set alarms to make sure you don’t work too long and exhaust yourself.
Circadian rhythms are a real thing. If you are a morning person, tackle your project in the morning; if your energy is highest in the evening, work in the evening.
Try not to work longer than about 3 to 4 hours at a time. Work 3-4 hours, take a lunch break, and then perhaps choose to keep going in the afternoon, but only if your energy holds.
If you work too long at one time you risk exhaustion and discouragement because you did not leave time to clear up and now you're exhausted.
Avoid exhaustion and frustration by limiting your work sessions.
2. Address one area at a time.
Take it in pieces. Do not try to work in more than one area at a time.
Start in one space, complete that space, and then move on to the next.
Trying to declutter your whole home or office is too much at one time.
3. Work top to bottom, left to right.
In any given space, start on the left and move to the right, and start at the top and go down.
In this way you will focus on all areas of a given space in a consistent way, and when you stand back at the end, that whole space is addressed.
4. Sort into 5 groups: Trash, Recycle, Donate, Sell, and Keep.
At the beginning, make space for 5 piles or set up 5 bins for sorting.
Have Trash bags available to remove junk right away.
Have Recycle bags (preferably in a different color) available to haul straight out.
Put Donations in bags or boxes and move them straight to the car for removal from the property.
Designate a space in your home for temporary storage of items to Sell. (My advice is to severely limit this pile. Things are rarely worth what you think they are!)
Put your Keep items away in their new, designated home.
Separate and process all items in that space that day.
5. Remember OHIO! Only Hold It Once.
Handle any item in the space only once, make a decision about it, and move on.
This can be hard because it demands that you make a lot of decisions, which is tiring!
This is why you set timers. Going too long at this is honestly exhausting. But clutter is quite literally delayed decisions.
(Please note Tip #9 below. Staying hydrated helps!)
A professional can help you learn how to do this quickly and decisively and teach you how to keep going when they're not with you.
Avoid the urge to put things aside “for now” because that is literally creating clutter!
6. Pretty organizing bling is no substitute for tough decisions.
Do not buy anything to “help” you organize until you’re done sorting and planning.
There is a considerable market for organizing products.
You go shopping for containers to get your clutter under control without measuring or planning or counting.
That is what organizing guru Julie Morgenstern calls “organizing from the outside in”. It fails to look at the big picture and jumps ahead several steps in the process.
Don’t get me wrong – I love organizing products!
But purchasing too soon can be discouraging because they can lead you to believe you will never be organized because clearly, you can’t get these built-for-purpose products to work.
Buying too soon fails time and again because it is not the right product for your project.
Wait until you are done sorting and planning, and then go shopping for the storage solutions you actually need.
Hiring a professional can help you make these decisions at the time they should be made.
7. Minimize distractions – even short ones.
Phone calls, text messages, and emails, even from well-meaning friends or family, can derail your focus.
If you can, do not stop to take calls or messages. Turn your phone to Do Not Disturb.
Stay focused on your task, which is doable if you don’t go longer than about 3 hours.
8. Do NOT feel shame. You're doing it! Be proud!
Please believe me when I tell you that you're not alone in your clutter struggle.
It is actually quite impressive that you’re addressing it at all.
So be proud of yourself.
9. Keep water handy and a snack nearby.
Decision making is tiring, thirsty work.
Even if you are sitting at a table, sifting through paper, the mental effort burns calories and wears you down.
Keeping hydrated and properly fueled from the beginning of your session is important to your overall wellness.
Just like you should not grocery shop when you are hungry, you should not organize when you are thirsty!
It will exhaust you and make you crabby even when you’re making good progress.
10. Friend, family, or professional, get objective help.
I mean this quite literally. Ask for help.
It can be deeply discouraging at best and dangerous at worst to tackle some jobs alone.
Call a good friend, a family member, or a professional.
Help provides outside accountability for focus and can help you make decisions as you go.
You do not have to do this alone!
Professional help can provide an objective, non-judgmental viewpoint to help make decisions and get through your project quickly and with more ease.
Bonus Tip: Aim for progress, not perfection.
Rome was not built in a day.
Decluttering is never a one-and-done activity, so do not feel discouraged if it takes longer than you’d like.
The key thing is to get started, and sometimes this is the hardest step!
So get started, do the motions, and trust the process.
I will not tell you it is easy. But I will tell that you absolutely can do this. I believe in you.
When you're ready to tackle your tough organization project, I am here to help you learn how.
Let's RETHINK organization together.
For more information, visit the RETHINK website today.
Mandy Thomas is a professional organizer fulfilling her lifelong passion for creating order out of chaos. She finds joy in helping people tackle their most overwhelming spaces and collections to create the optimal living space and enjoy their homes.
RETHINK organization is on a mission to help you develop long-term patterns of organization that you can maintain and feel good about long after our work together is done.
Comentários