By Patricia Young
I have always thought that underneath someone’s clutter, there’s a reason for the chaos and it means something different for every person.
The first step of getting organized is not getting boxes and bins to put your clutter in them so you make it disappear. You need to figure out what is out of balance in your life and reprioritize what is important to you. De-cluttering is an opportunity to open up physical and emotional space, creating space for new possibilities.
This is something that we should do at least a couple of times per year, since our clutter has more than just stuff. The things we have in our drawers, closets and shelves hold emotions (love, joy, regret, guilt, anger). That is why it is important to let some things go. Think about it, since we are always evolving, it is only logical that our possessions are too.
If you want to start de-cluttering your home, and don’t know where to start, do an assessment in each room and ask yourself - Is this room tidy and neat? Are you ok with it? or is it too messy that you are ashamed of having someone seeing it?
Don’t feel overwhelmed about the whole project, start one room at a time, and dedicate about 20 minutes each day (set a timer if you want). When you start in that room, try to keep focused and avoid distractions. All you need is about 20 minutes of being focused. You will feel much better when you’re done, you will feel a sense of accomplishment.
When you start selecting your items, just keep the ones that are really necessary or irreplaceable. Ask yourself these questions: Do you really love it, what is the story behind the item (does it mean something to you), do you really have the space for it, and can it be replaced?
When we have clutter everywhere, we are limiting ourselves to get closer to success, we are so distracted and overwhelmed by all the mess around us that it is hard to see beyond it. I read this quote the other day and loved it:
Everything in your home should reflect the vision for the life you want
Great advice. And along with your home sometimes your life needs to be de-cluttered too
Agreed! thanks for stopping by
my home is organized and rather clutter-free - HOWEVER! - my work space is a tad untidy looking because I keep my resources handy for each day’s work - looks messy, but really, its there for me to continue! maybe I still need to look at how to streamline… great article, great job!
Thanks Patricia! great that you stopped by
Definitely agree that we need to declutter our lives as well. By letting go of stuff we’ve “packed” from the past — and toted around for years — we open ourselves to new and better things.
that’s right! Thanks for visiting
I have 2 cluttered physical areas: my desk and my closet. I know I need to declutter both of them but never seem to have time. I work on straightening my desk about once a month though. I like the 20 minute idea.
Thanks Beth! I’m glad the 20 min tip was helpful!
I’ve got to keep everything organized or I go nuts! I like the idea of your life being cleaned up too. Leaving the past be the past and packing it up and putting it away so that you can start living your best life. Great post!
Thanks Heather! thanks for visiting
This is a great Post and very timely for me. I took some time off last year to declutter my mind and body, and returned very energetic and motivated. I still need to work on some rooms in my home and you have motivated me to do so! Thanks!
Thanks Melissa! I’m glad this post gave you some motivation! thanks for stopping by
Such a great post and I definitely agree with you. Its amazing how much clearer my mind is and how much more productive I am when my environment is free of clutter!
Thanks Crystal! I’m glad you liked it and thanks for visiting
I love declutter posts. I do it all the time. I love the tips of not putting the stuff in question into bins boxes or bags. It’s true that one can do a lot of work in just 20 minutes, but once people get started they normally are on a roll and want to do more. I just moved fro California to Germany and got rid of almost everything I had. I only have 5 boxes left in a friend’s garage. It’s great to start fresh.
Thanks Marita! thanks for stopping by and all the best for your new adventure in Germany!
This is a great and simple way to get rid of the clutter! I ususally just pick a closet or a drawer as I see it starting to get full. My biggest issue isn’t stuff as much as is it paper…I’m still trying to find a good system for that one!
Thanks Daveda! Thanks for stopping by
Luckily I am like you… sickeningly organized, I am guessing, right? I don’t have clutter.. but your initial comment - wondering what is under other people’s clutter, made me think of Hoarders… and what you could find under all that STUFF!!
Great post Patricia. I especially like your tip about taking 20mins. Like a lot of goals taking a small action regularly can lead to be accomplishments.
Yes. At some point in our lives, we just have to de-clutter and let go of the stuff we don’t really want or need. Sometimes, we just have to let go of the old stuff to give way to the new ones.
I am not very emotionally attached to stuff…I think that happened as a result of moving so many times as an adult. But my kids do tend to keep stuff so I make them go through it at least twice a year and if they haven’t used it or looked at it during that time, it needs to go. I even recently decided that all of the trophies and medals they have won over the years were simply collecting dust and taking up way too much valuable space so we took a picture of them all clustered together and that way they still have the memory. I did the same thing with a lot of the artwork they made as kids.
Great topic. Agree its important to de-clutter and make way for new and exciting things.
This is a great blog post. I think sometimes we get disorganized because we have too much going on in our lives that one time. This was a great article on how to get unstuck and non-cluttered and I loved it. Thank you.
I have found that handling one room at a time, as you mentioned, is the best tip for getting organized!