This is a guest post by Genyne Vinson of Time2Spare. Genyne is an organizational aficionado, future blogger and “to-do” list killer. With Spring Cleaning and tax season upon us, she shares tips on decluttering your home and office.
Mental clarity can be greatly affected by our physical clutter. Have you ever gone on a cleaning spree and afterwards you just felt lighter…like you could breathe deeper and think clearer?
Well, it’s happened to me numerous of times, especially when I’ve just let my clutter get completely out of control. Letting clutter get out of hand happens to the best of us. The good part is that you don’t have to remain stuck in that space and continue to pile on the clutter.
What helps me is to really get in tune with how my clutter makes me feel. Now I know some of you say, “I work better in clutter.”, or “It doesn’t bother me.”, but at some point for most busy people it becomes unproductive to always have to search for something, especially when you are in a hurry.
When you are organized you can think better, because everything is in its rightful place. It cuts down on the mental angst that we go through when we know something is there but can’t put our hands on it.
Ok, so if this is you, here are a few tips on “do it yourself” de-cluttering:
Visualize how it will look and feel when you are done. Imagine your space being clutter free and organized. This is a good motivator to finally go ahead and get started. Or just really turn in to how the clutter is bogging you down and wasting your precious time…that should get you moving.
Break up the clutter into piles, stacks or categories that make sense to you. There is no right or wrong answer. In whatever way you want to identify “your stuff” that is easiest for you to remember then do that. Don’t worry about organizing the separate piles of clutter just yet, just get it all separated.
Look out for things to give away or throw away. Either throw away unnecessary stuff or donate it if it could be useful for someone else. If you are unsure about what do with it make a “not sure” pile and leave it until the end. In other words, keep it moving.
Address one pile at time and finish it off. Whatever it is…if it is shoes, income tax papers, or books…put all the shoes away, place all the tax papers into a labeled file folder, or put all books on a shelf or in the space just for the books. Don’t move on until you have completed the last pile.
Be decisive and determined to clear the clutter. Don’t linger too long on what to with something. Make a decision and put it in a logical spot that makes sense to you. Get rid of what you don’t need and remember your vision.
These steps allow you to see progress as you go along, especially if the clutter is way out of control. It also compels you to commit to finishing because the piles should seem more manageable in smaller defined chunks.
Once the dust is cleared and the piles are gone, mental clarity returns, something you thought you lost is now found, and productivity flows more freely.
Happy de-cluttering…