Spring.  The time of year we start thinking about new beginnings.  The winter weather is behind us, the flowers are blooming, and the parkas are getting packed away and replaced with shorts and t-shirts.  It’s also a great time to start thinking about new beginnings in our homes and offices.

Spring cleaning comes to mind, but before you start your cleaning process, plan on doing some de-cluttering and organizing.  No need to clean around things you don’t need to keep.

One of the quickest ways to give our surroundings a breath of fresh air is to reduce clutter and open up our spaces.  If you are surrounded by clutter, your will be more stressed, less focused, and less productive.  On average, people who are surrounded by clutter and are disorganized lose nearly an hour of productivity every day.

De-cluttering and organizing is a great start on the road to a healthier, happier you.

Here are some tips to get you started:

1. Don’t try to do everything at once. Like any project, being thorough and taking the time to do it right is the best way to go.  Do one room at a time, working from the door to the opposite side of the room.
2. Enlist a buddy.  Getting rid of our “stuff” is easier if an honest and objective friend helps us through the process.
3. Take some “before” pictures.  You’ll want these for later to remind you of your incredible progress.
4. Set up six areas or boxes for each de-cluttering project:  KEEP, THROW, GIVE (if you know someone that truly would like the item you are getting rid of), SELL, DONATE, and REVIEW (if you just can’t make a decision, but want to remove it from the space).
5. Keep a few things in mind as you start this process:
   1. Only keep things you use, make you happy, and serve a purpose.
   2. If you’ve made a bad purchase, let it go.  Keeping a bad purchase doesn’t make it a better purchase.
   3. Your “stuff” does not define who you are.  Letting go of things you don’t need that others can use, allows you to share your wealth with others.  It’s far better to give something away than to let it remain as clutter in your home or office.
6. With your boxes and a positive mindset in place, go through the room, touching every item and making a decision about what to do with it:  KEEP, THROW, GIVE, SELL, DONATE,  and REVIEW.
7. Remove everything that’s not in the KEEP pile from the room.  Plan a time to dispense with all other categories.
8. Thoroughly clean the area that you just de-cluttered and put the KEEP items back in place.
9. Take an “after” photo to help remind yourself of how far you’ve come.

To ensure that you don’t get back in a cluttered and disorganized state, these two tips will help with ongoing maintenance:

• To keep clutter from creeping back, devote an hour a week to staying on top of your newly opened up space.  Whether it’s an hour every Saturday, or 15 minutes four times a week, devoting time to keeping your space in order will pay huge dividends.
• Keep a DONATE box or bag close at hand.  Once you decide you really don’t need something, immediately put it in the box so it no longer takes up valuable space in your everyday life.

Congratulations on taking steps to a calmer and simplified life!

 

Cindy Jobs

OrganizeToSimplify.com

Cindy@Organizetosimplify.com

206-707-3458 or 509-674-6643