The following was written for us by a pleased customer whom we assisted as she worked to cleanup the clutter:
You end up with a cluttered house when you have way too much things and no method of order. It begins to suffocate you and sap your vitality. Only someone who lives in a cluttered environment can comprehend why someone might hoard their belongings, or even their trash. People with a chaotic house often have the impression that they know where everything is, and in many cases, they do! What may appear to others as a jumble is orderly to the person who lives there. Some people find it difficult to get go of items, so they tell a pal, "On my next vacation (or days off), I'll assist you if you help me." It seems to be a hard task because it appears to be desperate.
What evidence do I have? Because I intend to get rid of the majority of the items in my house that have been preserved, accumulated, or just not thrown away for years. When your children are little, you keep things for them, but in a more structured manner than when they are older and move out. You're left with your belongings, their belongings, and a lot of items you don't use anymore. I'm going to use this post as a guide for how I'm going to tackle my spare room. I've chosen to act like I'm moving and only pack the things that are decent, functional, and required for my new home. That will be my motivation, and it appears to be a good approach to think about the extra items in your home once you've decided to declutter.
Do you know how to tell what's important from what's not? There are television shows and publications that attempt to assist individuals in determining what they should keep and what they should trash. The television programs appeal to me for a variety of reasons, including the fact that there are several individuals available to assist you in the process of doing and choosing, as well as the fact that there is a monetary benefit to be gained after the clutter is removed. If you haven't watched the show, the television hosts will introduce new pieces of furniture to assist maintain the home's order and organization. They make an effort to organize things in a way that is simple to manage.
Professionals provide guidance on how to organize all of your belongings. They advise sorting everything into three big areas: give or sell, trash, and retain. People find it difficult to let go of goods that they have accumulated through time, especially if those items are associated with many memories. So you don't become mired down in emotional recollections, each object you manage must have a limit.
If you're not sure where to begin, you'll need to remove EVERYTHING from a room, including clothing from closets and furniture.
But first, you need take a look at what you have and how it seems to others. You may do it yourself by photographing the areas you wish to arrange and then taking action. A picture is worth a thousand words, and the photographs you shoot will undoubtedly convey a lot to you. We tend to become comfortable in our work and accustomed to the chaos, but others seeing the images will instantly recognize what needs to be done. That is the aim of the photographs we shoot, and it will cause us to react. You are now ready to begin the work of decluttering your home. Part 2 of Clutter Cleaner will detail how to go about finishing that task.
When it comes to cleaning your property, if you lack organizing abilities, you should just get rid of the excess items. Take images of the spaces you wish to improve as motivation to persist with the work, as we saw in Clutter Cleaner Part 1. Post photographs of the area you've chosen to clean so you can see what other people view. Now it's time to get down to business and clear up the mess. One section at a time, such as a bedroom or kitchen, should be tackled.
Start with whatever area is the worse in your perspective or the most essential to you to improve. Begin by matching up objects and discarding anything that doesn't match, doesn't have a lid, or isn't part of a set (like socks, earrings, or toys). Keep a large, plastic garbage can nearby to dispose of items that are plainly no longer useful or damaged. After that, start removing the excellent stuff. As you remove items from the room, bear in mind that you must place each item in the appropriate pile: give, dispose, or retain.
It's a good idea to go through the keep pile one more time and thin it down to half again now that everything has been removed from the room and split into heaps. You undoubtedly have a few pairs of shoes and maybe extra apparel in your keep pile that you will not wear. Going over your keep pile once more will allow you to get rid of any excess pairs of shoes that you don't use but still look excellent or are brand new. You should donate them if you haven't worn them yet. Keep just the shoes that fit nicely inside your closet. Clothing that is in good condition or that hasn't been worn in a year or more should also be donated.
You can accomplish whatever additional you've been putting off for a while now that you've gotten everything out of the room and arranged into piles. For example, if you've been meaning to replace the curtains and bedspreads, alter the color of the paint, replace an old dresser, add storage to the closets, or even clean the windows, now is the time to do it.
When there is nothing in the way, it is much easier to accomplish extra work. Once I get rid of the clutter in my room, I want to refinish my hardwood flooring. That makes me want to hurry up and finish them since I know how nice they'll look. I think I'll paint the room, but I'm not sure I'll be able to do it all in one day; however, I think I'll be able to finish the mess in one day.
It's critical to be able to adjust our thoughts while changing our behaviors as we clean up the clutter. Looking forward to an ordered area while you invest your energy and focus your efforts on cleaning is an excellent incentive. While we begin to adjust our ways of thinking, we must remember to open and then discard junk mail as soon as we receive it. We should read our publications the day we receive them, or at the very least the next day. We should recycle magazines by giving them to neighbors or physicians' offices, but we must learn to do it within two days of receiving them.
We must be aware of clutter once we have painted the space, installed new shelves or drapes, and then replaced the key items that we retained back into our room. There are a few simple principles to follow to ensure that we don't wind up with a messy space in the future. Instead of setting things down haphazardly or helter-skelter, we need to put them back where they belong. We were all taught as children that everything has its place and that everything in its place, and that is absolutely true today that we have arranged everything.
When you're out shopping, resist the urge to buy duplicates, buy on the spur of the moment, or buy something unless you've already gotten rid of something. That means you should get rid of anything by giving it away or donating it before buying something new. That is generally where hording or accumulating stuff begins. Maintain your organization's vigilance by just touching a piece of mail once. If it's garbage, toss it out; if it's important, file it. There are attractive file cabinets that are necessary for keeping documents in order. If you have difficulties remembering addresses, use a rolodex to keep key numbers in and easily add and remove people.
You will be very pleased of yourself now that you know how to be a clutter cleaner. It's a wonderful feeling to complete a task successfully. Having your belongings arranged and living in a clutter-free environment is really powerful. Enjoy the newfound freedom that comes with knowing that your house is in a state that will make you proud if a neighbor drops by unexpectedly, and that you can sit in your favorite chair and read or watch TV knowing that YOU DID IT!