Uncluttered Room
I used to devote a day or two clearing my clutter and organizing my home. This usually happens either when I have company coming over or when I can’t barely move around the room causing me so much emotional stress. Yes, I dreaded those days so I procrastinated and did not do it often enough. When I finally committed myself to simple living lifestyle, I poured over magazines, books and Internet postings about how to declutter and get organized. I came to realize that clearing your clutter needs not only determination, but a practical plan from start up to maintaining the uncluttered room .
The best way to clearing clutter is to do it in baby steps, following a Kaizen way of personal life. This way, the task does not become overwhelming and it does not take all your time to create an organized, uncluttered room for your simple living lifestyle. While in the process of clearing your clutter, put your buying binge on hold. Do not go out and buy organizing tools like crates, shelves and the like (sorry, Container Store). I used to think that buying more boxes and shelves help me organize. Was I wrong! They add to the clutter if you have not yet managed your existing cutter. A cluttered room does not look clean no matter how much air fresheners or scented candles you have around the room to make it smell clean.
Here is the step-by-step method I used in de-cluttering my home inspired by a quote from William Morris:
Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful
or believe to be beautiful.
- William Morris
Before you start, have the following at hand:
- Three (3) boxes or bags to hold items that need to be rid of – throw away (trash/recycle) or give away (donate) or sell (online or yard sale). It is best to label the boxes/bags so there will be no mix-ups.
- A laundry basket to hold items that belong to another room. It would be easier to cart around your displaced items to the proper room(s) using a basket with handles.
- A small box for “Not Sure” items; those that you can’t part with at the present time. This is for temporary storage only and we will deal with this box in my other post.
- Makers and labels to identify the contents of the bags/ boxes
- A timer set for 15 to 20 minutes
Once you have all the items above, you are ready to clear the clutter.
- Pick a room to organize. This could be the one that you feel the most cluttered room or the one that is least cluttered. The choice is up to you.
- Decide the function or purpose of the room. Identify what activities are performed in this room.
- Take a good look around the room. Depending on your answers to Step 2, preliminary scan what stays, what needs to be rid of and what belongs to another room.
- Focus on the room you chose to de-clutter. Visually divide the room into smaller areas and eliminate clutter one small area at a time. The size of the area depends on how quickly you can pick up and sort items within the time period you have set yourself (see #5).
- Set your timer for 15 to 20 minutes. Start at any point in the room. Move clockwise around the room as quickly as possible, picking items one by one and decide which container they go in until your time is up. Remember where you left off. This is where you will start on your next de-cluttering day, preferably the following day.
Here are guidelines for the categories:
Throw Away – Items that no longer work or broken where repair will cost more than the value of the item. Also our “lazy clutters” – things that creep in our home that we do not have time to throw away such as old magazines, junk mails, etc.
Give Away/Sell – Items that you no longer need or like, but still in good shape or working condition. If the item can fetch you a good price and it is sellable, put it in the sell box/bag, else give it away or donate it to charity. More about donations in my next post.
Keep – Items you need, you like and/or you use. Make sure that they are located in the right place. For example, your DVD or Blu-Ray movie collections should be close to your DVD/Blu-Ray player.
Displaced – Items that you want to keep, but does not belong in the location where you found it. Put these in the laundry basket. Do not attempt to move them to their rightful place, yet. Remember, focus on this room and do not get distracted by bringing the misplaced items to the other rooms.
Not Sure – Items that you feel conflicted over. You are not sure if you should keep or dispose of it. To help you decide, ask yourself:
When is the last time I used this? (if it is more than 12 months, get rid of it)
Do I have more than one of these? (If yes, get rid of duplicates)
Is this something I need to keep for legal reasons? (If yes, keep it)
Does this item add to the function and purpose of this room? (If no, discard)
- If after asking questions like the above still did not help you to decide whether to keep the item, place it in the small box for storage. These are “treasured clutter” which can be stored temporarily and we will deal with them later in my other posts.
- When your time is up, toss out the garbage or put in recycle bins, if the items are recyclable. Return misplaced items to their proper homes.
- Do not let the boxes for donation or for sale linger in your place. Get rid of them within a week or two or they will find themselves cluttering your space again in no time. Call your favorite charity for a “pick up” appointment or bring them to donation sites if they are in your way to work or close to you.
- Designate a logical place for the items that stay. Remember the old adage – “A place for everything and everything in its place”. A logical place will be near where it is used.
- Congratulate yourself and give yourself a small reward like a glass of cold, refreshing drink after all that work. Make sure you do not reward yourself by buying “things” that will add to your possessions until you have gone through de-cluttering your whole home. Yes, it will take time to clear the clutter, but it also took a long time to get your home and mine get cluttered. So be patient, but relentless in removing the clutter and maintaining a clutter-free home.
Photo Credit: Home Design Inspiration