Last week I saw this awesome post and LOVED the idea but didn't have a need for all the things she had planed. Then of course, I got all gung-ho and wanted to make my own awesome calendar like hers and we all know that didn't happen. BUT I did make a giant list spurred from her ideas. So if you're like me and feel like you're drowning in a paper trail and 'stuff', here's what I did. Maybe it will help you if you're interested in getting organized to kick off this year with a little less clutter holding you back.
Make a List
Go through every room in your house and make a list of the things you want to accomplish, get rid of, and or clean in that room. You can color code the rooms if that helps this process more fun. Thing through the organization of your list. I should have divided mine into "Clean", "Projects", and "Declutter/Organize". My hubs even helped me prioritize the order in which something needed to happen so the next thing could be done, as well as practical cost efficiency.
Hint: be very detailed so you'll have lots to check off. 😉
Make a Plan
I liked the idea of planning something or even a room to work on for each day of the week throughout January but that's just not how I roll. It doesn't really work for our lifestyle. I do have little windows {15 minutes} here and there and some times that works but I kinda feel like if I take an entire month to do this, by the time I'm done, the first things I worked on will need it again. lol I've just been working when I can and as fast as I can.
Part of your plan should be where things will be stored in anticipation of Leaving your home. I remember when I was a child and my brothers and I were ask to clean up our room. Our way of cleaning mainly involved moving furniture and making new, nicer looking piles. Decluttering doesn't just mean moving things from one place to another where it may ore may not look a little nicer for a short time. It means getting rid of things.
Make Haste
I work better with short spurts with a goal in mind. Example: I was putting away some left overs and was fumbling around the messy cabinet, having trouble matching lids and containers. I had a window of time so I drug everything out of the cabinet. I made a pile of lids, containers, and randomness that shouldn't even be in that cabinet. Then I matched up lids and containers as well as tossing the things that didn't have a spouse. I reloaded the cabinet with only the things that had matches and that were supposed to be in there. Boom! Reorganized in 15 minutes.
Sometimes I'll have a bigger slot of time than others so I just do as much as I can right then. This does tend to create a new pile of things that need a new home if I'm not careful and prepared to trash or store for selling and donating. Many times to make myself work faster by not allowing myself to sit, take off my shoes, or potty until I've accomplished the small goal.
Make Up a Happy Dance
Celebrate with each thing you mark off your list. Plot down on the couch! Kick off your shoes! Take a POTTY BREAK! lol I even got my kids excited about the idea of feeling freer from the clutter with fresh, spacious home. They even feel more free to play with all the newly created space, less stressed with few items to sift through, and happier when its time to "clean up, clean up" because everything had an easy place for storage and they can put things away themselves without having to cram things into tight spaces.
Do you know what kinda happy I was when I contacted my CPA friend and she finally gave the go-ahead to trash all my past records I'd been keeping in a file cabinet?! Holy Smokes! A giant black trash bag full of at least 3 years worth of old bills, bank records, and pay stubs made me quite giddy.
Do you feel stressed, overwhelmed, and uncomfortable in your own home? Do you need to start decluttering and organizing your home? What scares you about starting to decluttering?
I have started to declutter and organize my home several times in the past few years and I always stop short of done or some major life event/crisis crops up and sets everything into a tail spin… I think the problem was the project was too big to ever be finished… Now I am literally taking it one drawer, cupboard, or spot at a time and just focusing on the decluttering… I am ruthlessly getting rid of anything I don’t “love” or use regularly. I fill a bag and then take it right out to the car to drop off at Goodwill… I will worry about organizing when my home is less cluttered. I am keeping the job small so hopefully I will succeed this time!
Rebecca D recently posted..A Whole Lot of Nothing to Say…
Rebecca, I love it! I think that’s the reason most of us can’t finish. The job is too big. I mean, when we really think about it, the world is in a constant and inevitable decay so there will always be something to work on and the job will only get bigger. I love the one drawer, one cupboard, one spot at a time as well as the take it out of the house asap!