WHERE DO I START?
By Ramona Creel of OnlineOrganizing.com
Cleaning out your junk can be incredibly freeing -- but where do you start? There's so much to do!! Before we talk in detail about "de-cluttering," let’s take a minute to look at the bigger picture. Here are a few rules of thumb to follow when you begin cleaning out -- either at home or at the office:
START WITH THE GREATEST PAIN
Begin working in the area that is the biggest thorn in your side -– the part of your home or office that causes you the greatest pain. If you find yourself saying, day after day, "Man, I wish I could get my (bedroom, desk, storage closet whatever) straightened out. This mess is driving me crazy!" –- you know that’s where you want to begin. What is your area of greatest pain?
HAVE A PLAN OF ATTACK
Create a list of the areas you want to work on, in order of priority. Be sure to include a deadline for completing each project. This will help you focus on the big organizing picture as you work your way through your home or office. It is much easier to stay on track if you have a specific timetable within which to work. Crossing tasks off of your "to-do list" as you finish them also reminds you that there is a light at the end of the tunnel! Just don't let yourself feel overwhelmed by it all -- understand that you will be getting to all of your problem areas, in due time.
LIMIT YOUR SCOPE
Try to tackle one SMALL AREA at a time –- a drawer, a cabinet, a shelf, a closet. Don’t attempt to clean out the whole place at once. Chances are, you will get overloaded, you will become frustrated, and you will GIVE UP on the entire project. Plan to set aside some time each week to work on a different area. Once you get started, you will be surprised at how quickly the job goes. It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you "get into the groove" of cleaning out.
WORK SYSTEMATICALLY
Do your best to move systematically through your home or office, completely FINISHING one area before you begin another. Avoid hopping from one task to the next if at all possible. There is nothing more frustrating (and draining!) than finding yourself surrounded by a bunch of half-finished projects. And it will be even harder to find things down the road if you have only organized part of your closet or cleaned out half of your filing system, while the other half is still a wreck.
FIND THE ORGANIZING STYLE THAT SUITS YOU
Some people work best if they empty an entire storage area before organizing it. Others find that too overwhelming, and choose to tackle their clutter one item at a time. You need to decide for yourself which of these methods suits your personality best. But there is no "right" way -- only what's right for you. Remember, there are as many different ways to organize as there are people on the planet!
ENLIST SOME HELP
If you can recruit some organizing "assistants" -- do it! This is a big job, and it will go a lot faster if you have some help. Consider drafting your friends, family members, or co-workers -– put on some music, serve them pizza, and turn cleaning out into a party. You might even consider hiring a Professional Organizer. Just be judicious about who you bring on board. If you what you need most is an objective opinion, your nosy mother-in-law may not be the best choice!
CUT YOURSELF SOME SLACK!
This is hard work -- and it's going to take a minute. So don't get frustrated with yourself if you can't tackle every pile of clutter in one weekend! And don't drive yourself until you drop -- cleaning out does not have to be painful. Just go at your OWN PACE. Most importantly, be sure to reward yourself every time you finish a particularly challenging task -- even adults need "gold stars" (or a cappuccino or a movie or a soak in the tub) every now and then!
**************************************************************************************
Ramona Creel is the founder of OnlineOrganizing.com -- offering "a world of organizing solutions!"
Visit OnlineOrganizing.com for organizing products, free tips, a speakers bureau -- and even get a referral for a Professional Organizer near you. And if you are interested in becoming a Professional Organizer, we have all the tools you need to succeed. (Copyright 2000, Ramona Creel)
**************************************************************************************
HOW DO YOU ACCUMULATE "STUFF"?
Spend a few minutes thinking about the ways in which you accumulate "stuff" you DON'T NEED. Perhaps your vice is going to the mall when you are depressed. Or sitting at the computer and shopping for Internet deals until 3 AM. Maybe you’re addicted to mail order catalogs, or kitchen gadgets, or cheap vacation souvenirs. We all have a weakness (some of us more than one!), and the trick is to identify the areas where you are most at risk. You can choose to stop accumulating more clutter, but only if you know where the clutter is COMING FROM.
HOW DOES CLUTTER MAKE YOU FEEL?
Certainly, the mere act of "shopping" is not inherently evil. The real problem occurs when we fail to make room for the new by PURGING the old and obsolete. Unfortunately, cleaning out is pretty low on most people’s "to-do" lists. How is this a priority -– when you have carpools, business meetings, and deadlines to keep you busy? How can you possibly make time to clear the decks? Let me answer that question by asking another -– how do you feel when you can’t find something that you are looking for -- frustrated? How about when you run across something that you haven’t used once since the day you bought it? Do you feel guilty? Stupid? Wasteful? And how do you feel when you look around you and see nothing but piles and stacks -- like your life is out of control? Clutter can evoke an amazing variety of NEGATIVE EMOTIONS in people.
WHAT DOES YOUR CLUTTER SAY ABOUT YOU?
It has been said that "to surround yourself with worthless objects, renders you worthless." Think about that –- if we tend to DEFINE OURSELVES by our belongings, what does clutter say about us? How do you regard yourself when your home or office is filled with a lot of useless junk that you haven’t touched in years? Probably pretty harshly. So you might say that if we define ourselves by our possessions, we judge ourselves based on our clutter.
HOW MUCH IS CLUTTER COSTING YOU?
I define clutter as anything extraneous and unnecessary. Clutter takes up one of four valuable RESOURCES –- time, space, energy, or money –- without providing any tangible benefit. When you look at your life through the lens of this definition, it is clear that we are all burdened with some form of clutter. How much of your square footage is designated for storage? If you didn’t need so much space for your "stuff," you could create larger living and working areas -- or downsize to a smaller home or office (think about the reduction in mortgage and utility costs!) And just imagine the collective savings if everyone turned in the keys to their public storage units!
Now, take a minute to consider the TIME and EFFORT you invest in caring for your belongings. Would these precious resources be better spent on other pursuits – a new hobby, relaxing with family and friends, achieving some of the goals you listed in last month’s exercises? Don’t forget the expenditure of emotional ENERGY –- ownership can weigh heavy on a person’s mind. "What if someone steals or damages my stuff? What if a tornado blows it all away? What will I do then?" How often has the stress you experience in your life been related to your material possessions?
Once you can understand where clutter comes from, how you accumulate it, and what’s driving those behavior patterns, you can stem the tide. Remember, the goal isn’t to become a monk and give up all worldly possessions, but to put a stop to the constant influx of meaningless "stuff" into your life -- and start making conscious and deliberate decisions about each purchase.
**************************************************************************************
Ramona Creel is the founder of OnlineOrganizing.com -- offering "a world of organizing solutions!"
Visit OnlineOrganizing.com for organizing products, free tips, a speakers bureau -- and even get a referral for a Professional Organizer near you. And if you are interested in becoming a Professional Organizer, we have all the tools you need to succeed. (Copyright 2002, Ramona Creel)
**************************************************************************************
Yes, You Can Get Your House Clean and Still Have a Life
If you're one of the thousands looking around your home
wondering "How in the world can you ever get a handle on
this mess?" - This ebook is for you -
Secret Confessions of a Clean Freak- The complete guidebook
to getting your home really clean in half the time.
