Five Steps to Get Rid Clutter and Organize Your Home
A pact, according to Dictionary.com is “a formal agreement…such as one between nations”.
Well, I want you to have A-Pact with your clutter. Although this turns into more of a battle (that you win)…it’s a great way to remember the steps to organization.
Here’s what it means and how it works …
A–>ASK
Ask yourself what you want out of the room or area you’re going to organize. What are the goals of the room? What are you shooting for by getting organized. And the thing is, you want to dig a little deep into how you want to benefit. This will help you get motivated and work towards the final goal.
For instance, if you’re going to start the process of organizing paperwork in your home office, the question is “why do I want to organize this space?” The answer could be “I don’t ever want to have a late bill again” or “I want to find any document in less than two minutes.”
Once you’ve answered the question, then move onto step 2…
P—>PILE
What you do in this step is pile “like” items together. In your closet, you make a pile of all your shirts. Another pile of all your pants. Or let’s say we’re in your home office (or wherever you do keep paperwork.) Start with your file drawer, or grab a pile if that’s what you’ve got for a “filing system”. Put each piece of paper in “like” files. For example, all the insurance paperwork will go together. All of your 401K paperwork goes in another. All medical expenses from the present year in another.
A—>ANALYZE
Next you go through the piles and break them down even more, this time into two piles of “treasure” or “trash”. I like to assign each category with treasure or trash so there’s no in between. No room for “I’m going to decide on this later.” Now, decide right there and then if it’s either staying or going. No in between. Now the thing is, the trash doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to the garbage.
That step comes next… and remember the saying, one man’s trash (or junk) is another man’s treasure.
So next…
C—>CASH-IN
This is where you go through the “trash” and break it down once more, deciding what can be donated, what can be sold, and what’s going to the dumpster. Next step is where you get organized…
T—>TIDY UP!
This is where, once you’ve gotten all the “trash” out of the area, you organize the items you’ve decided to keep. Tidy up, put it back in an ordered, organized fashion. When you’re organizing, always keep like items together whether on a shelf, in drawers or in any other type of storage you’re using. Have items you use more frequently be more accessible and within reach, too.
So there you go…
Have A-PACT with your clutter today, and get organized!
Decluttering your physical space can have an amazingly uplifting effect on your mood. Feng Shui experts claim that buildings and furniture store the memories of events in the form of energy, and that by de-cluttering you can clear the energy of historic traumatic events. Whether or not you put any store in that kind of theory, nobody who has ever de-cluttered a space could deny the positive benefits of increasing the physical space in their environment.
However, physical de-cluttering can also have a cathartic effect on people emotionally. When we let go of things we’ve been hoarding for a long time, we often let go of emotional memories we’ve been hanging onto along with them (albeit unconsciously), and so by clearing physical clutter you can clear space in your head and in your heart as well as your home.
Clutter though is not only physical. We can also have mental and emotional clutter blocking the flow of energy in our lives, and clearing this out is guaranteed to help improve our emotional wellbeing. Examples include undone/unfinished tasks; people/activities that drain you of energy; remaining angry at people; busyness – filling up your schedule with activities you feel duty-bound to do, and leaving no time to nourish your soul and refresh your body.
Some tips for clearing your physical clutter:
• Look at your home and identify the areas that need decluttering. Break it down into small tasks that can be tackled over a period of time, rather than one big project to be done in a day. Start small with everyday areas like the kitchen table and build momentum towards the areas you avoid because the idea of tackling them is just overwhelming.
• Go through your stuff and for each item ask yourself Do I love it? Do I need it? Do I use it? If you can answer yes to any of them, it stays. If it’s no to all, then it goes.
• Divide everything into four piles: Keep, Recycle, Donate and Dump. As soon as you’re done, remove the items that aren’t staying straight away and deliver them to their new destination.
• Once your big clear out is done, avoid a new build up by clearing out little and often.
Tips for clearing your Mental/Emotional Clutter:
• Make a list of anything you’ve been procrastinating over, and ask yourself why you have been putting it off. What can you tackle and what can you let go of? When you’re clear on what you definitely has to be done, make a plan and get to it.
• Stop worrying. There is nothing constructive about worrying – it won’t help you avoid the outcome you’re worrying about and it’ll destroy your ability to enjoy the present. When a worrying thought arises, quash it straight away and sing along with me “Everything’s gonna be alright, everything’s gonna be alright…” Focus your energy on what you’d like to happen instead.
• Follow through on promises and commitments. When you’ve said you’ll do something but you keep putting it on the long finger, it drains you of energy. If you can’t or don’t want to see them through, then be upfront about it and withdraw your promise.
• Let go of anger and forgive. When somebody hurts you badly, it’s a normal response to feel anger, and to not want to forgive. But anger is bad for your health, both physical and emotional, so it’s actually in your interests to let it go and forgive the other person. Forgiving them doesn’t mean you have to welcome them back into your life with open arms, it just means letting go of the memory of what they’ve done to you and the feelings that go with it. Maybe the other person doesn’t deserve forgiveness, but don’t you deserve to move on and leave the pain behind?
• Say no to people and activities that drag you down. Instead, surround yourself with people who uplift you and do things that make you feel great!
As with your physical clear out, don’t make this a once-off project or an irregular purge. Develop clutter free habits in every aspect of your life, and you will enjoy an easier flow through life on a continuous basis.
Your cabinet should always be checked. You might not be fully aware of it, but it may already be unnecessary full. For sure, you keep on buying clothes and accessories. When you go out to the mall or somewhere, you might not resist the temptation to buy new clothes. In many cases, you may be hesitant to throw away some old clothes you have for practical purposes. You could recycle clothes or wear old ones out of the blue. If you are heeding most organization tips spreading across all media, you should always prioritize your own clothes cabinet and drawers when performing a major de-cluttering initiative at home.
How to organize your cabinet? Open it up. Look at how clothes are arranged and hanged up. Do you think the cabinet is getting too piled up and congested? Is there not enough space to accommodate several new clothes anymore? Do you think that most of the clothes are not useful anymore? If you are on the affirmative, you surely need to de-clutter and clear your own cabinet from old and non-useful clothes. You have to let go of those items that could not fit you anymore. Do not take a second thought in doing so. Free up more space so that you could start to accommodate many new ones.
Arrange all the clothes in the cabinet. It would be best if you would properly and systematically sort out all the items in it. For example, all turtle-neck shirts should come together. Underwear and under garments should be grouped together. Formal clothes and casual wear should be properly hanged. Clothes should be properly and cleanly pressed and folded before being stored inside the cabinet. If not, do not be surprised if it gets too clogged up and messy. Always use fabric softener to make sure all the clothes in the cabinet are fresh smelling.
Invest in hangers. Hang clothes that need to be hung after pressing. Hanging could be a good strategy to save some space in your cabinet. Do not hand used or dirty clothes. Designate a laundry basket to accommodate all your used and dirty clothes and items instead of mixing them up with other items in the cabinet. Arrange clothes properly. Do not mix undergarments with shirts and pants. Pay particular attention to socks as they may easily be misplaced.
You may keep two or more cabinets in your room. It would be best if you could keep only one, which is huge enough to store and accommodate all your clothes. Be strict. Cabinets should only contain clothes, not other materials and items like toys, books, CDs, and all your other personal possessions. Some people just could not overcome this practice. As many organization tips advise, it would help you avoid cluttering and incurring mess and disorderliness if you mix up clothes with other items.
Clutter is a big problem for many people. At a lecture that I gave, I asked for a show of hands regarding how many people had problems with clutter and disorganization. I was surprised to find that at least half the people raised their hands.
One of my clients told me that she was trying to help her sister get back on her feet after her sister had been laid up with an illness and lost her job. Her sister’s house had always been a mess, and had become so filled with clutter that there was no place to walk or sit. My client, Rebecca, offered to buy her sister a car if she would clean up her house. Rebecca even offered to help her sister clean up the house. Rebecca was shocked when her sister refused the offer, even though she desperately needed the car. He sister was unwilling to get rid of the clutter.
Why? Why was the “stuff” so important to her?
Underneath all addictions lies fear – of emptiness, helplessness, loneliness and aloneness. Addictions are a way to feel safe from feeling these difficult and painful feelings, and an addiction to clutter is no exception. It’s all about having a sense of control over feeling safe. Clutter, like all addictions, provides a momentary feeling of comfort. However, as with any addiction, the clutterer needs more and more clutter to maintain the illusion of safety and comfort.
When my mother died and my son was cleaning out her house, he discovered huge amounts of clutter. While my mother’s house always looked neat and clean, the cupboards and drawers were filled with clutter. My son told me he found 6 broken hair dryers in one cabinet. Why would my mother want to keep six broken hair dryers?
My mother grew up during the depression and always had a fear of not having enough. No matter how much she accumulated materially, she never felt that she had enough. The six hair dryers made her feel safe from her fear, even if they didn’t work.
Carrie has trouble throwing things away, especially magazines with “important’ information in them. She subscribes to many magazines but, being the mother of three small children, doesn’t often have the time to read them. So the magazines pile up and pile up. Carrie hopes at some point to have the time to read them, but that time never seems to come. When asked why she won’t throw them out, her answer is, “Because there might be something important in them and I don’t want to miss it.” Carrie fears missing out on some important piece of information – information that may give her the peace she is seeking. It makes her feel safer and in control to have all the magazines around her with their important information, even if she never gets to read them.
When we don’t feel safe on the inner level, then we try to make ourselves feel safe on the outer level, and clutter is one way of doing that. Whether it’s things, such as hair dryers, or information, such as in magazines and newspapers, clutterers do not trust that they will have what they need. In addition, clutterers may be resistant people who see messiness and clutter as a way of not being controlled by someone who wants them to be neat.
HEALING THE ADDICTION TO CLUTTER
Clutter is created and maintained by a wounded, frightened part of oneself, the wounded self – the part that operates from the illusion of having control over people, events, and outcomes. As long as this wounded self is in charge of the decisions, the clutterer will continue to accumulate clutter as a way to provide comfort and the illusion of control over feeling safe, or continue to be messy as a way to resist being controlled.
Healing occurs when the individual does the inner work necessary to develop a strong, loving adult self. A loving adult is the aspect of us that opens to and connects with a spiritual source of wisdom, strength, and love. A loving adult is capable of taking loving action in our own behalf. The loving adult operates from truth rather than from the false beliefs of the wounded self, and knows that the comfort and safety that clutter seems to provide is an illusion – that no matter how much clutter accumulates, the clutterer still feels afraid. The loving Adult knows that safety and integrity do not lie in resistance. Only a loving adult who is tuned in to the guidance provided by a spiritual source and capable of taking loving action in one’s own behalf can create a sense of inner safety.
Paperwork is an ever-present part of most people’s work lives. Anyone with a position of any greater prestige than the burger-flipper at the local fast food restaurant most likely has to deal with paperwork at some level. And you may have discovered, as many people have, that papers have a tendency to pile up. Things get mixed together, lost, and jumbled, leaving you spending hours going through endless stacks of the stuff looking for that one lone order form or bill that you need right away.
Although this sort of frustration and wasted time is all too common, it is by no means necessary. There are simple ways to be sure you will not run into this sort of trouble with your documents. The first and most important rule is to put everything away and filing them in folders when you do not need them. The easiest way to lose track of papers is to leave them laying around where they can be shuffled together, slid under something, mistakenly thrown into the trash bin, or fall into a corner somewhere.
Once the documents are filed away, you need to be able to quickly and easily find the papers you need at any given time. Be sure to clearly label your folders to avoid confusion as to where a specific paper or document might be filed. Also, you should consider using a color coding system to organize your files so you can easily find something at a glance. A black folder, for instance, may be used for your professional documents, a blue folder for personal documents and a brown folder for filial asset documents, and so on. This will help streamline your filing and retrieving process. Keep a note posted somewhere nearby of what each color means, in case anyone else needs to find something in your files.
