Usually, when I walk into a client's home for an organizing appointment, I can feel their sense of overwhelm. I can see it in their face, and I can even hear it in their speaking as I listen to their plea for help. I want to provide you all with a "day in the life" kind of description of how I transform a cluttered space. Perhaps it will help you to tackle that basement, or that catch-all room, or just give some insight into how you can go about de-cluttering a space of your own.
GETTING STARTED
Let's just say we're working in a particular room, a bedroom. I begin by sorting, just sorting. At this point, that's all that is to be done. You don't want to make decisions on what you have to keep, what you can donate, and who you can give certain items to. By focusing on this one step, it keeps you from looking at the whole picture, which would cause most people to give up because it seems like too much to accomplish. What do I mean by sorting? By sorting I mean to create piles of like items. For example, you want to place all the clothing items in one pile, all the books in one pile, all the toys in one pile, and so on. I always tell my clients to ignore the room or project as a whole, and to only pay attention to each item they pick up, and what pile it goes in.
THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS
Once you have everything sorted, you can then tackle each pile, one pile at a time. Now is the time to go through each pile and make your decisions. At this stage, you should be deciding on four categories: keep, donate, trash, and you are allowed to have a maybe pile. Keep in mind that the maybe pile cannot, by any means, be bigger than the other piles. Try to keep the maybes to a minimum. The keepers go in a pile that will end up being a consolidation of the things you are keeping from all of the piles of like items that you sorted at the beginning of the process. The donates can be placed in clear or white plastic bags so that they are not confused with the trash. And the trash should go in large black trash bags. The maybe pile should be left aside to deal with when all other steps are complete.
PUTTING THINGS BACK
Once all of your piles have been gone through and further sorted into the four categories mentioned above, you can then begin to put the items you are keeping back in place in an organized manner. What I normally do is consult with the client before-hand on storage devices that can be used during the process. The funny thing is, most of my clients already have all kinds of storage bins, shelving, and other nifty containers that can be used to organize their belongings. The issue is that they have not been utilizing them in the most efficient way and are not maximizing their space.
DEALING WITH THE MAYBES
At the end of it all you will be left with that maybe pile. The best way to deal with this pile is to take each item into consideration, one by one. If it's a peice of clothing, ask yourself: "have I ever worn this? if so, when was the last time?" Sometimes, an entire season will pass and we will have forgotten about that pair of shoes or that dress, I've been guilty of that myself. But when two winters go by and you haven't worn that sweater or that coat, it's time to say goodbye. For other items in the maybe pile, if you've never used them, say goodbye. Try not to get caught up in the "one day" trap. That is, telling yourself that maybe "one day" you "might" need it. For kitchen items, one good way to make a decision is to ask yourself if you really need two or three coffee makers, or blenders or skillets of the same size.
GOING FORWARD
Now that you've got the room organized, don't be tricked into thinking that it will stay that way forever with little or no effort. That would be like going to the gym one time and thinking that it will get you fit for life and you'll never have to work out again. Maintaining organization in any space takes ongoing effort and upkeep. Even the clients who hire me to handle what they consider a one-time organizing project still call me back in three or four months for a maintenance session. Try researching space organization on the web for organizing tips and hacks that can help you keep things in order on more of a long term basis.
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