Getting Organized, Step One

The start of a new year has apparently led several of my readers (as well as your Friendly Neighborhood Cleaning Bird) to turn their minds toward organization. A decluttered home is the first step to having a clean home, and no matter how much you or your tech scrub, if all your surfaces are covered in junk mail and laundry, you're going to be unhappy with your cleaning efforts. But don't get overwhelmed! If you have the right mindset starting out, and are willing to ask for help when you need it, you can be reunited with your countertops again. I'm sure they miss you.

So let's talk organizing. The first step to decluttering is a biggie, so it's going to be a post in and of itself. To organize your space, you have to organize your mind first. I've done my best to break it down into stages, and I want you to remember to go at your own pace on this. If you have to step away for a few days before you can come back and actually start chucking things, that's okay. Because it's your stuff. Don't do this on anyone else's time frame, because they don't matter. It's your stuff.

In my experience, the biggest and most fruitless battle any of my organizing-challenged friends have ever fought, is trying to cram two houses' worth of stuff into one house and make it look organized. There comes a time when you have to realize that there is no Singularity in the back of your closet, no single woman actually needs three recliners, and that pile of fabric that you SWEAR you're going to make a quilt out of one day is never going to become a quilt.

This is the first step to getting organized, and it's the step that takes the most effort, self-awareness, and honesty. Why are you holding onto those three recliners? Did you inherit them from a relative's house? Do you feel bad about putting them on the curb? Are you holding out for a bigger place so you can keep all of them? Sit down with your journal or a close friend or just by yourself with a cup of tea, and look really hard at the reasons you haven't thrown things away. Often, there's a thought process behind those actions that has nothing to do with the building you inhabit, and everything to do with the brainmeats you inhabit. Make a list of things that worry you about throwing stuff away, why you don't want to, why you've been making excuses. On the other side of the paper, make a list of reasons why you'll be happier if you declutter - you'll have less stress, you won't lose things as often, your place will look bigger, etc. Read it over carefully, and keep it someplace you can look at it often. You'll need to remind yourself why you're really doing things as you go along.

After you've had a nice talk with your Inner Self and figured out why you've been putting off decluttering and why it's time to start, make another list. This is a list-heavy project, so settle in. Without walking through the house, without going through anything, list off twenty or thirty objects that you know you want to keep. Things with sentimental value, things with monetary value, functional pieces of furniture, etc. Practical things that improve your life in some way, and that you know you won't be purging during this decluttering. Make them count, because everything not on that list is fair game. I'm not saying you're going to throw it away if it's not on the list (that would be silly), but you will have to at least consider doing so. True organization requires living within the space you're allotted, and a lot of us don't do that just yet. It is possible, though, so hang with me.

So as not to overwhelm you lot with advice and lists and things, I'm going to end this here. It's Monday, a good time to start things, so get your lists together and meet me back here on Wednesday. We'll go over one Clutter Region at a time, and figure out how to get that specific area pared down and organized. If we divide the work into small bites, it'll be more manageable, and easier for you to finish it off. But if you want this project to work, if you really want a more organized dwelling, you have to get in the mindset of throwing things away. You have to be willing to put your possessions on the curb. Not all of them, but definitely some of them. I'll also talk about places you can take your old stuff where they'll be put to good use, and where NOT to take them because you're just wasting your time (eBay is a gigantic fallacy by which many are duped). Be prepared for many rolled-up newspapers to the face, and be prepared to agonize over which three pairs of shoes you want to chuck. It's difficult, but keep your goal in mind: sitting down in the middle of clear countertops, corners without stuff piled in them, a closet door that closes, a happier, healthier home. You can do this.

So your three lists:

-Why does the prospect of purging my stuff worry me/make me unhappy?

-How will decluttering make my life better?

-What twenty or thirty things are essential to my life or happiness, so I will not be getting rid of them during this clean?

For that last list, don't get into clothing or dishes; we'll go over those separately. Stick to big things, furniture, artwork, etc. You'll surprised how long it takes to actually fill up that list.

And you know what? Since we're all in this together, and I'm just as bad at decluttering as the next person, I'll bring my lists to the blog on Wednesday. You don't have to share any of your lists with me, but I'm choosing to put my own issues out there, in hopes that your journey to a decluttered home will be made easier by knowing you're not alone. Also, I'm moving in April, so paring down my things is a great idea in general. Who wants to schlep things you didn't want to keep in the first place?

Have a great week, all! Get those lists together, and I'll see you on Wednesday for some cleaning therapy time.

Hugs,
FNCB (Friendly Neighborhood Cleaning Bird, of course)