These simple rules are only effective if you apply them daily. Think of them as the brushing your teeth rule. You probably clean them at least once per day.
Keeping your home clutter-free and clean is a commitment to yourself and your family. Once you make a decision that your home is important to you, you will find a way to keep it organized and beautiful.
I have seen many people who have made that choice celebrating and enjoying their home for the first time in many years. Here are the tips that might help you to enjoy your organized home:
Find a place for belongings
The last thing you need is tons of homeless items scattered on the floor, being stepped on and damaged. When you’re done using a tool or whatever else, don’t put it temporarily on the table, counter or another random surface. Put it back in its designated home. You do have one.
Create a shopping criteria
Shopping can be an emotional and impulsive event. If you see something at the store you just have to have, don’t buy it until you know where you’re going to store it, that you have the means of buying it, and that you really need it.
Keep things you love and use
If you have things you never use or don’t care for, sell them or give them to people who will use them. Something you don’t like or use is taking valuable space in your home. If you sell your home, you will get paid for the space, not your stuff.
Use the rotation system
If you have lots of sentimental pieces but can’t display them all at once, keep a rotation box in the basement or a closet. Display some things now and store others in the boxes. When the season or mood changes, rotate some items out of the box, and those currently on display go back into the boxes. You’ll be able to enjoy everything and be envied for your decorating talents.
Be brutal with clutter
A big part of getting and staying organized starts in your mind. If you constantly apologize and justify your cluttered home, chances are it is only going to be organized to some extent. However, if you’re firm about following techniques that will help you eliminate clutter, then the clutter will never have a chance. It’s up to you; you’re in control.
Keep a donation box
Keep a cardboard box in a hidden corner. Every time you have an item you don’t need, put it in the box. At the end of every week, deliver to the community thrift store.
If your family and friends insist on giving you gifts, ask for gifts that don’t clutter. Some possibilities are a gift certificate for a manicure, facial, movie tickets, books or sports games. Organizing and cleaning is a practice, not a project.
Life coach Ranka Burzan owns a professional organizing company based in the qathet region and has written several books on reducing clutter and becoming more organized. For information, go to solutionsorganizing.com.
