Keep the Best; Decrease the Rest




Keep what is working for your storage needs. Eliminate what is not.Here is how to keep your home organization and scrapbook workspace decluttering manageable.


  1. Commit to it. Every change starts with commitment. If you don’t have a way to mentally keep yourself on track for any organization project, write it down. Something as simple as “YES I WILL!” note to self hanging on the bathroom mirror will help you keep going when organizing the bathroom cabinets.Cheer yourself on with post it notes.

  1. Start with something manageable. Projects take time but don’t bite off too much at once. Peter Walsh says 30 minutes. Flylady says 15 minutes. Julia Morgenstern says 10 minutes. I am not sure I honestly keep my work sessions that tiny. But the idea of making things more manageable in smaller time slots is sensible. No one likes to have to stop in the middle of clearing a dresser or filing life insurance papers away. You like to have a start point and a stop point and then pat yourself on the back. And it is vital that you DO pat yourself on the back. So keep things manageable. Go for less than 30 minutes per task if you can.

  1. Put “Sentiment” in it’s place. What do "things" mean to you? Objects often go beyond any usefulness and grow to remind you of people and events. Try to disengage the sentiment from the object--especially if you don’t care for the object! If a decor item or tool is not serving any purpose and you don’t care for it, it’s ok to let go. Love the giver; give away the item. Take photos of gifts you no longer want to keep and journal why they and the giver are special. But don’t keep the item if it is just taking up space you need for more important things. The only exceptions are family heirlooms and precious items from people who are deceased. Of course, think twice about trashing those. Many of the objects in our homes have nothing to do with being an heirloom.

  1. Keep the best. Eliminate the rest. Give yourself some guidelines here. Traditional décor means you keep real glass, real metal, real stone, real wood, real cotton or linen, and real pottery objects. Plastic chatchkies don’t really ‘go’ with country and traditional. Modern 21st century décor allows more for plastic, chrome veneers, laminates, and polyester or rayon. What’s your style? Get in touch with it and KEEP TRUE to it when sorting. Deciding between a plastic soap dish and a ceramic one should be easy if you know your style.

  1. Revisit. Come back in 6 months or a year and do it all again. Time after time you will refine your style. Your belongings will truly reflect your taste after a few rounds of this. If you whittle out 1 item in 5 each time you are deleting 20% of each category. That means you are also INCREASING your household space by 20% every 6 months. Who needs to move to a bigger home? Not me!

C* 2008 By Kathleen Aho, "Rockester

Comments

bethbeck3 said…
Rule 6 should be if you bring a new item into the house, get rid of one item!!! LOL
2:13 PM
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