It seems that everywhere you look these days, someone is talking about decluttering.
This isn’t surprising, considering how popular “getting organized” has become in mainstream culture. Despite the influx of information on this topic, the idea of decluttering a whole space by yourself might feel overwhelming because, quite frankly, you aren’t quite sure how – and where – to start.
Let’s start at the beginning: clutter is simply an accumulation of delayed decisions. It’s the stuff that ends up scattered around your home because you don’t know where to put it or you don’t want to take the time to put it where it belongs. We live in a “rushing around” society so stopping to put items away seems to threaten to slow us down.
“DE”- cluttering, or undoing the clutter, is the process of addressing all those delayed decisions and finally dealing with items that were abandoned “just for now.” What was once a single task is now a project composed of many tasks where you have to set aside blocks of time to “decide to decide.”
If this sounds familiar, please know that you’re not alone. I see this all the time, and it’s something we help families with, once and for all. The most common examples of clutter I see with my clients include mail, kids artwork, clothing, toys, books, shoes, etc. The list is endless because it could be anything in your home that
- doesn’t have an assigned home or
- has a home that is not convenient or handy or
- has constant inflow (and most likely doesn’t have an assigned home).
Remember when you were a kid and you couldn’t understand why mom was frustrated at your messy room? You just didn’t get it. Now as an adult, you may be living with the stress of misplaced items, missed deadlines and appointments, running late because you can’t find what you’re looking for… these frustrations didn’t exist when you were a kid in a messy room but they sure are aggravating us now!
I find that the first and best rule to minimize clutter is to decide where something should live, which is convenient and easy to reach, and always put it back in that same spot when you are done using it.
Here’s an example – let’s see if it rings true in your house: Coats typically live in a closet on a hanger, or hanging on a hook. Leaving it on the chair or tossed in a mudroom cubby doesn’t seem like a big deal until everyone in the family does the same thing. Next thing you know, you have a pile of coats, jackets, pullovers, rain jackets, sweatshirts and other outerwear to put away. UGH! Now it’s a decluttering project.
Ready to declutter your home and destress your family? Contact Smartly Organized at 917.846.9953 or click here to email us for more information on our professional organizing services.
Happy Decluttering!
