de-cluttering

Today’s post is by Moreen Torphy. Her post is on the importance of de-cluttering and keeping our lives organized with simple little steps. I hope that you will act on some of these useful tips to make your daily routine more manageable.

De-cluttering and organizing are popular topics these days, and can sometimes be misunderstood as the need to live in sterile surroundings fit only for a photo spread in a home decorating magazine. Regardless of these messages, this isn’t the case at all. A home is intended to be lived in and that means a few things out of place from time to time.

If, however, things are always out of place or don’t have their own place at all, this can lead to an unpleasant living environment. In my organizing practice I see coats tossed over chairs or on the floor, a hazardous pile of shoes by the door (think tripping), laundry that’s missed the hamper (not all of us are good at basketball, especially when tossing soft clothing), and all manner of “stuff” strewn around.

When a home isn’t maintained—coats hung up, shoes placed on a shelf or even against a wall, or laundry not done, those who live there become embarrassed to invite friends and family in. If someone should knock on the door, the inhabitants could suffer a crisis of guilt, overwhelm and even avoid other people.

Happily, there is a solution. Simply assign a home for everything and put everything in its home when not being used. That means taking a couple of seconds to hang a coat on a hanger or hook, organize shoes so they’re not a tripping hazard, and ensuring the laundry is placed in the hamper so it’s washed and ready to wear. Of course, this applies to all rooms in the home, even those with closed doors. The purpose is to make living easier for everyone in both public and private spaces.

Overwhelm happens when a space has been allowed to fall into disarray, which continues over a period of time. How long depends on the size of the family and their habits. When overwhelmed, it’s too easy to avoid picking up or straightening up the mess. Too easy just to let it grow and grow into a larger problem every time someone adds to it.

Being disorganized disrupts our internal peace. When so much is out of order, we feel out of order as well. We feel anxious, short-tempered, unable to focus and other negative feelings. In fact, we may not understand why we’re feeling this way until we make an effort to become organized.

Sometimes becoming organized includes de-cluttering—letting go of items that have no use but have been part of the scenery for so long, we don’t notice it any more. So if we don’t notice it, we don’t use or enjoy it. And if we don’t use or enjoy it, why keep it?

There are a few basic questions to ask yourself when you’re undertaking an organizing project:
• What does this item mean to me?
• Can I live without it?
• If I need it again, can I borrow it?
• If I must keep it, where can it be stored?
• If it is stored, will I use it again?
• How many dishes and cookware do I need for the number of people living here?
• Do all my clothes fit me and do I like everything?
• Is everything in good repair and ready to wear?

The answers, of course, are that if you’re not using or wearing something, you might not really need it. We all want to look our best, so why keep clothing that doesn’t contribute to that? There are plenty of people who need items we don’t need, so why not donate them to a charity to help another?

Living an organized lifestyle is simple, really. It just means putting away what you took out, closing what you opened, turning off what you turned on. By applying this simple rule to all areas of your life, home and office, you’ll be an organized person who feels better and happier to have company any time.

Do you have organizing tips to share? Join the conversation by clicking on the bubble above to reach the comments page.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
© 2014 Moreen Torpy
We would be honored for you to reprint this article. If you do, please include the resource box below with the links intact.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Moreen Torpy is the De-Clutter Coach, a Professional Organizer, Author, and Speaker. Her new book is Going Forward: Downsizing, Moving and Settling In. See http://GoForwardDownsize.com for more about the book and http://decluttercoach.ca to learn about her organizing services and other books.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~