You know what the real problem is with getting organized? We have too much stuff! I’m willing to bet you have some things you (or someone you live with) keep without having a good enough reason.
So why DO we keep so much stuff?
The thing is, it’s easier to find excuses for why you should keep something and delay making a decision rather than making a firm (and sometimes difficult) choice to say goodbye to your “stuff.”
Here are four of my favorite excuses…
1. “I might need it someday.”
Yes, you might. But the thing is most of the items we keep can easily be found or replaced within a day or two. Lots of men (my dad included) keep every screw and nail created and store it away like a squirrel with his nuts.
But what happens is these little tiny items create more and more clutter and it gets to a point where you can’t find that little screw anyway because it’s like finding a needle in a haystack.
2. “I’m going to lose some weight and start wearing this again.”
I hope if you have a goal to lose some weight, you do everything in your power to make it happen. And when you do, I give you permission to go out and find a sale and buy some brand new clothes. You should be proud and it’s the perfect time to reward yourself.
3. “So-and-So Gave Me This.”
I’m all for keeping memories and items that remind us of people we love. But the truth is, memories are not in the clutter, the knick-knacks and “stuff” you have shoved in a box.
I won’t say get rid of everything and it’s not always an easy decision. But try and just keep the special things you cherish.
And get them out in the open, on display – where you can enjoy them and have a story to tell when someone comments or asks a question about the item.
4. I paid good money for this…”thing!”
I’m sure you did. But the thing is, what has more value…this “item” you no longer have any use for or the way you enjoy your house? The item…or your happiness? The item… or your space?
5. Oh, I’m just trying to figure out what to do with it…
Okay, so maybe it’s not worth holding onto.
See, if it takes that much mental work to figure out what to do with something, you can take a pretty good guess that it may not be worth as much to you as you think.
If you can’t figure out what to do with something…it’s a safe bet you won’t miss it too much. There is a lot more value in enjoying your home, your friends and your family than the “stuff” you paid for.
Organization is often the key to better productivity. It helps you stay sane, keep your home clean and perhaps live a better life. However, many people don’t know how to organize. Or their homes have gotten so out of control, they just don’t know where to start. They need help. If you have a knack for organizing and creating effective systems, consider starting your own home organizing business.
What is a Home Organizing Business?
A home organizer is someone who is paid to help people organize various aspects of their home. You can organize garages, basements, closets, kitchens, bedrooms, home offices and so on. As more and more people learn the value of an organized home, they’re realizing they need help to achieve it. As a home organizer you would make money based on an hourly rate or per project.
You may want to consider specializing or creating a proprietary system. This would help you differentiate your business. It would also help you market your business and offer more value to your customers. For example, you could specialize in organizing garages or home offices.
What do You Need to Get Started?
Starting a home organizing business is actually quite economical. You really only need a website and a few marketing materials. However, if you create a proprietary organizing system you may also need the supplies that support that system. For example, if you use a container system then you’d need to provide those containers to your client. You will also likely need reliable transportation to get to clients’ homes and a phone.
You’ll also likely want to have some organization supplies. Even if you don’t use a proprietary system, some things like labels, containers and notepads might be helpful when you meet with a potential client.
No formal education is required to become a home organizer. However, you will want to have good organization skills. You may also want to brush up on various organization methods and philosophies. Good communication skills and a desire to work closely with your clients will also help you succeed.
Marketing Your Home Organization Business
Marketing your business will likely be accomplished in a number of ways. Initially, you’ll probably want to create a business website. You’ll also want to consider local advertising and marketing tactics. The majority of your clients will be in and around your community. Consider the yellow pages, classified advertising and brochures and flyers. Also consider partnering with home designers, cleaning services and other home-related businesses. You can cross-promote each other.
If you have a knack for organizing, consider offering your services to others. A professional home organizer offers tremendous value. You’ll help people get and stay organized. They’ll live better lives and you’ll make a good living doing something you love.
How to End Clutter and Make Home Organization Easier
I’ve spoken to quite a few people over the years who say they have very nice clothes they love but the don’t wear them anymore. But my question is this: If you value something so much…then don’t you think you should be wearing it?
The reality is we are a society who likes to accumulate and, dating back to the Great Depression, we tend to keep everything we believe has monetary value when, in reality, it really doesn’t.
For example, a pretty dress or a nice suit you bought ten years ago went for what can be considered a lot of money. And the problem is you haven’t touched it in nine years because, as most clothes do, it went out of style. Could it come back in style someday? Maybe. Styles do often return. But this is not a reason to hold onto things you don’t use…”just in case.”
You feel like, because you spent “good” money on it, you are throwing money away. But ask yourself this… is it putting money in your pocket sitting there in the back of your closet with dust on the shoulders? Is it giving you anything? Do you benefit at all from keeping outdated outfits? Now ask yourself one more question… will you gain anything by getting rid of it and donating it to charity? Of course you will!
The benefits?
More space to be able to keep the clothes you are going to wear (we only wear 50% of the clothes we own, by the way.) I might even suggest buying a new outfit for every three to five you get rid of.
The purpose?
Because new clothes make people feel good. I don’t recommend buying new clothes for the sake of buying new clothes and throwing away your money. But you’ve got to admit putting on a new pair of pants that make us look better is a nice, uplifting feeling. The thing is the items taking up space, yes, you paid for them. But by keeping something you no longer wear or use you are not getting anything in return but more clutter and a lack of storage space you could be using for something else.
Here is something you should do right now with items (they don’t have to be clothes) you are holding onto because you paid good money for them.
1. Go find ten items you own for one reason and one reason only… because you paid for it.
2. Grab a piece of paper and make three columns.
3. Write the items you are having trouble getting rid of in the left column. In the middle column, write “why I am keeping this item” and in the third column write “what will I gain by getting rid of this item.”
My guess is you will have a lot more in the right column than you will in the middle. Be specific with both. If you can honestly fill up the middle column with more reasons of why you should keep it, and they are good, legitimate reasons, then maybe you shouldn’t get rid of it. But I’m willing to bet that won’t be the case.
If you are running a home-based business, you must have a home office right at your own home. However, after some time, that home office could look and feel more like a storage room. The result: you go there seldom and you dread having to enter the room to find business stuff. You might be forced to work at the kitchen or at other places in your house. Here are several organization tips that could help you properly organize your own home office so that it could always be functional and presentable no matter what.
First, get cleared out. You have to categorize each item in the home office and decide which things should stay and go. Perform a basic de-cluttering activity. It would be advisable if you would classify items into things that you would: Keep, Trash, Donate, and Hold on while Deciding. The last could be given a six-month shelf life. After that, you must already be decided what to do with the item. If you are not able to do so, you could put it into your trash items. Items that are not useful anymore should be categorized at trash and should immediately go to the trash can. Keep things that are obviously and logically useful and important. Donate or recycle for other purposes things that could still have other uses other than its former function in the home office.
Then, clean the room to dust it off. It would be ideal if you would decide to paint or repaint the room. Prefer bright and stimulating paint color like bright blue or yellow so you could re-energize the room. Experts assert that a room designated as a home office could be more useful and cheerful if it would be painted or repainted with attractive colors.
Turn to the desk. It is a table you would be using most time of the day. An ‘L’ shaped one is most advisable. Put your computer, fax machine, phone, and printer in one wing. Assign the other wing for spreading out on. If you are right handed, put the phone on your left side so that you could talk and at the same time take down notes with your right hand (Do otherwise if you are left-handed). It would also be advisable if you would prefer to invest in all-in-one equipment, which combines phone, fax, printer, and scanner in one device for space efficiency.
Take out al personal things from the home office. Such items could only be a cause of distraction and could practically and visually clutter up the home office space. Have a box where you could put in all your magazines and print outs. If you think all your magazines and periodicals are just piling up and you do not get to read them all, get rid of those and cancel your subscriptions.
You could save a significant amount of money, too. Put into a drawer all light office paraphernalia like staplers, paper clips, notes, and scissors. These organization tips would surely make your home office better.
The stresses of day to day living can often overwhelm us, leaving us feeling that we have no control over what’s going on around us, even in our own homes. If our homes are disorganized and cluttered, it can easily overwhelm us. Activities as simple as looking for something, trying to decide where to start cleaning, or even where to store something can overwhelm us causes unnecessary stress. Decluttering and organizing the home isn’t difficult and it makes day to day life so much simpler.
When you get organized, you not only have an organized home and a clutter free home, but you have better time management. This gives you more time to do things you want to do or need to do, not to mention the benefits of less stress on the mind and body.
One of the first steps to getting an organized life is to declutter your home. Uncluttering the home gets rid of things that you no longer need or use. This can be clothes that you or the family no longer wear or fit into, books and toys the kids have outgrown, things that you keep that serve no purpose, papers ad magazines that have piled up over the months, etc. It it serves no useful purpose and isn’t being kept for sentimental purposes, it’s probably a good idea to toss it out. Once the clutter is gone, then you can begin to organize your home room by room.
Everyone has a different idea of how to organize their home and belongings. The best way is to organize for how you use things. Items that you use the most obviously need to be more accessible than items that are used less often. So you will want to organize used items in a manner that they can be easily obtained when needed.
Everything in the home should have a place, or its own home. When something is used, return it to its home after being used. Setting it down will often result in the item remaining where you put it down at. Get in the habit of putting things back where they belong immediately after use. This the main factor in getting and keeping an organized home.
Clean as you go. When you mess something up, clean it up. Don’t leave dishes in the sink overnight, don’t leave something spilled, don’t leave clothes in the dryer when they are done, don’t leave dirty clothes laying all over the house. Wash dishes as you go when cooking, clean up spills immediately, fold and hang clothing when dried and put away, and keep dirty clothes in one place in each bedroom or bathroom. Doing as you go keeps your home less cluttered and it saves you time because you’ve already done half the work.
Paper can pile up around the home faster than anything and lead to a clutter problem repeatedly. The best way to avoid your home being cluttered with paper is to go through paper items as they enter the home. Organize or dispose of the paper items. Paper items such as magazines, newspapers, grocery bags, coupons, receipts, notes written to remember things, and mail should be taken care of the same day they come into the home. Taking care of the paper trail is one of the main priorities in keeping the clutter at bay.
Clean out the bedrooms and bathrooms and closets. If you don’t need it or use it, toss it. If it’s seasonal, hide it in the closet behind the things you use all the time. Items in the bathroom that you don’t use should be tossed. Keeping 20 bottles of various shampoos that you bought and didn’t care for only takes up space. If you aren’t going to use them, get rid of them. If you have clothes in the closet that you haven’t worn since your last child was born 27 years ago, chances are it’s safe to let go of them. Boxes of packed items that have hibernated in the corners of your bedroom since you moved in seven years ago need to find a home in the closet or out the door.
Kitchen cabinets should be free of items you don’t use. Having 100 glasses that you never use only takes up space for something that you do use. If Aunt Jane bought you a dinner setting for Christmas ten year ago and you have never used it, it’s properly safe to pass it on. Obviously you don’t want to hurt feelings by giving away something that you received as a gift, but keeping gifts that you just totally hate only takes up space.
Get the entire family involved in keeping the home organized and clutter free. Even young children are able to put their toys in their proper place after playing with them. Everyone in the family should be responsible for cleaning up after themselves. Getting the whole family involved in home organization will ensure an organized life, plus teaching the kids good habits for later in life.
Once you have a clutter free home and an organized home, then you will want to keep it organized and decluttered. Keeping the home organized is fairly easy to do if you do something everyday towards home organization. But to keep it clutter free, it’s important not to bring clutter back into the home to replace what you just got rid of. The best way to solve this problem is to simply not buy what you don’t need. While it’s tempting when you run upon sales or good deals, the rule to remember is that if you don’t need it or have a use for it, don’t bring it home.
