People often tell me that they are overwhelmed by life and after a few questions reveal the fact that they are surrounded by “stuff” that steals their time and energy.
Clothes pile up as teens try on multiple outfits in the morning and throw the ones they don’t want on the floor. When it’s time to get ready for a wash, they just pick everything up even though most of it is already clean. A lot of laundry means a lot of laundry to wash.
Toys everywhere can be very annoying. Paperwork can feel like a burden. Garages can become storage sheds, and bedrooms lose their ability to offer rest when they’re cluttered.
When I was in high school, my Home Ec teacher often said “Have a place for everything and keep everything in its place.” Great concept, but organizing your environment can be a daunting task.
The good news is that there are some foolproof strategies that will help you put things in order. The Internet offers videos on everything from cleaning the refrigerator to organizing the closet. Here are some tips that can help you get started:
- Completely empty the space. It doesn’t work if you think you can just move things around.
- Do a deep clean. Clean the shelves and walls so you can start fresh. You may decide this is a good time to do some painting!
- Put similar things together. Grouping items together will give you an idea of how much you have in that category.
- Get ruthless. Put your emotions aside and throw away everything that is old, damaged or inadequate. You will likely never need this in the future, especially if you haven’t used it in the last year!
- Give items to people who will enjoy them! There is joy in knowing that you can put a smile on someone else’s face.
- Use containers to group things. It’s best to place them so you can see what you have, but if you decide to do otherwise, make sure everything is clearly labelled.
- Show your work to those who share your environment and encourage them to maintain the system.
- Resist the urge to buy more items when you can use the things you already have.
When you feel overwhelmed, look around you and decide if your “stuff” is the cause. It may seem overwhelming to even consider cleaning it, but investing some time and effort will pay off big in the long run.