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Do you struggle with clutter issues? If you’ve ever taken one of my classes (or maybe we’ve just met in your home), you probably heard me talk about clearing out the clutter BEFORE beginning your home decorating project. Years ago I too struggled with clutter….I think it comes with the creative gene.
First, the “head part” of our clutter. Every thing in your home has a claim on your brain. It’s easy to say, “just clean up the mess”. Some of us can. Realistically however, the stuff around us didn’t magically appear. We invited it in. We bought it. We inherited it. It was delivered in the mail. It was brought home by a family member. It was wrapped in a pretty package and presented lovingly. It meant SOMETHING to us at one point.The first thing we need to do is give ourselves permission to ‘let it go’. For me, I inherited many lovely things from my beloved Nana. For the longest time I hoarded every last item…including several of her size six Lanvin suits. What good would a size six anything do me? I could hear her in my head prompting me to answer that question. If she were alive, would she want me to have something useless to me? Wouldn’t those non-fitting things be best served by passing them off to someone that would actually use and enjoy them? So I honored her memory by lovingly letting go of many of the things that went unused by me. What can you let go of in your home to make it ready to feel fresh and new?
Once you’ve given yourself permission to “let go” of stuff…what then? Here, my suggested five stages of organizing:
- Make a plan – now, you just KNEW I would start with that, didn’t you? If you’re on a clutter kick, I would encourage you to start with one area. One place that bothers you. Maybe not even the place that bothers you the most…perhaps start with an area (a room/a drawer/a tabletop even!) that you can complete over the weekend and have a sense of accomplishment.
- Sort & Reduce – start with three tubs or bags or bins and label them: To Keep. To Trash. To Donate. Oh yes! and FILL them!!!
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| To Keep, To Toss, To Donate |
- Assign a Home – whatever your keeping MUST have a permanent and convenient place to reside. My favorite tip on this comes from “Organizing from the Inside Out” by Julie Morgenstern. She advises looking at how you’re using a space BEFORE you clean it up so that you’re organizing it in a way that functions BEST for you.
- Contain & Label – In large spaces (a pantry for example) use smaller bins and boxes to contain and group small items then label them. This makes step five much more manageable.
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| A Favorite tool from a favorite store |
- Maintain – This is the hardest part. Remember the old mantra of “it takes 21 days to create a habit”. Work hard at maintaining your progress for three weeks and watch the dividends that pay off.
Feeling inspired to have a clean and perfect patch in your home? Want a little accountability? Drop me a line and let me know….. |
