When a person wants to organize a room in her home or her closet, or even clean out her junk drawer, how should she begin? She might be interested to know that most organization experts offer the same advice over and over, and the procedure is fairly simple (though not always painless). The following three-step process covers what most organizers will tell a person who wants to declutter something in her life.
Begin to Declutter by Sifting Through Everything
Whatever area one is trying to organize, whether it is the garage, a bathroom drawer, or shelves in the family room, the first thing a person should do is sift through the stuff. Before beginning, though, one should gather three boxes or bags. Each box will have a purpose (and one can label them before beginning): Keep, give away, and throw away.
A person should pick up one object at a time and ask himself, "Do I use this object or love this object?" (If the answer is "I like this object" or "I might use this object," the item should not go in the Keep box.) The Keep box should only contain things that one uses (and preferably uses more often than once a year) or loves.
The Throw away box will, of course, collect obvious trash but should also capture broken objects or items missing pieces or parts. The Give away box is for things that are still useful but not useful to or loved by their owner. It's best to take the Give away box straight to a secondhand store or shelter that accepts donations.
Temptation Blocking the Path to Organization
One might be tempted to keep an object because he might use it someday. If it's easier, sometimes one can make a "maybe" box. Things that might be of use in the near future can be placed in this box. The box should be dated for three to six months from the date items are placed inside. If during that time an item is fetched from the box, it has become a keeper. But if the box has just collected dust, it needs to be given away.
One also might feel the need to keep something because of an attachment to it. Sandra Felton (founder of Messies Anonymous) addresses this phenomenon. She suggests keeping "token" items of remembrance rather than every little thing that reminds someone of something or someone else.
Organizing the Keepers
Once the Give away and Trash boxes are out of the house, one needs to focus on the Keep box. First, one will need to sift through the keepers and find out what belongs elsewhere in the home. For example, if one is cleaning in the living room and finds a brush, the brush probably belongs in the bathroom or a bedroom.
With what is left, one will want to group like items together. For instance, if in the Keeper box one finds paper clips, pencils, and rubber bands, it might seem obvious that these things belong to a home office. Once one determines groups, then she can decide what sort of organizers to buy (bins, baskets, etc.). It doesn't make sense to buy organizing equipment until one knows what she needs.
Getting Organized is That Simple
Believe it or not, that's all there is to it. Sift through the stuff, decide what to keep and what to get rid of, and then organize what's left. More than that, be determined. Organization can be difficult, but persistence is key.
Source
- Felton, Sandra. The New Messies Manual: The Procrastinator's Guide to Good Housekeeping. ISBN 0-7394-1069-5.
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