But in a family of four, if you don't keep up with the 1 in, 1 out rule (getting rid of a similar item when a new one comes into the space), your nicely organized home can quickly snowball into an unruly amount of clutter!
And just because I'm a professional organizer does not mean that my house is always completely free of clutter. It has a lot less than it might otherwise because I am constantly decluttering!
I'm not a big fan of cleaning. I'd rather organize a medicine cabinet than sweep and mop the floor. Obviously cleaning is a necessity in life, so if our space is kept organized (for the most part), it makes it easier more bearable to clean. I guess some people say "clean" when what they're really doing is decluttering.
Unexpected call from a friend saying that she's stopping by in 10 minutes...do you clean--or declutter? You know, the "run around and throw everything that's laying around into a box and shove it into your bedroom closet" kind of cleaning...not mopping the floors kind of cleaning.
If you can keep things in their place, then there is no need to run around like a chicken with your head cut off when someone mentions that they're going to swing by shortly. Don't get me wrong--if you show up at my house unannounced, you will see things laying around (most likely Legos and dishes)--but unless someone in the house has been sick for a few days, there won't be piles of stuff, just scattered stuff.
So, how do you keep your home free of clutter?
To start, you have to get rid of stuff. That's the reality of being clutter-free....and the part that most people don't want to hear, think about, or do. But you need to.
Moving stuff to another room ≠ decluttering.
Decluttering means getting rid of unused items (even if you love them!), and organizing the remaining things in the space. Daily items within arms reach, weekly items stored just farther away, and things used less than once a week (seasonal, etc) in deep storage (garage, basement, attic).
Once your home is free of clutter, it's just a matter of maintaining it.
(Remember the 1 in, 1 out rule?)
But how do you get it decluttered in the first place?!
Start by assessing your skills:
-Can you go through stuff on your own and clear out things that you no longer want, need, or use?
-Can you finish what you start and not leave a pile to finish later?
If so, (and you have a lot of stuff) try doing a month-long decluttering challenge, like this one.
Or...are you overwhelmed and don't know where to start? Have a history of not finishing a project?
If that's the case, you could benefit from hiring a professional organizer to help you tackle your clutter (wink, wink).
There is no shame in hiring a professional to help you declutter...you may think that you should be able to "do it yourself." But if you haven't--and you can't--then hire someone to help! If you're not a plumber and your sink sprung a leak, you'd call a plumber--right? Well, if your stuff is in a state of chaos, and you haven't been able to get it under control...call someone who knows how to get it organized!
Once your space is decluttered and organized, it's a matter of keeping that way:
Have a place where everything goes.
Set up a system that works for your personality.
Acknowledge that you're human--praise yourself for hard work and try again for slip-ups.
Reevaluate if things aren't working.
Declutter again if needed.
Keep going.
And remember, even professional organizers have to declutter their own homes...
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