Organizing by Cheryl’s Top 10 decluttering and organizing tips (5 of each!)
Decluttering
If the following statements are true, then donate or ditch it:
- Something doesn’t fit (e.g., jeans that you had hoped to fit into, but it’s been 15 years now)
- You own two of the same thing (e.g., two blenders)
- It’s tattered or a dust-magnet (e.g., that high school hockey team t-shirt; that eucalyptus wreath you’ve had on the wall for 19 years)
- You just don’t love it (i.e., it doesn’t “spark joy” to quote Marie Kondo or it doesn’t “add value” to quote Joshua Fields Millburn)
- It’s expired (e.g., medicine, food, batteries) or outlived its purpose
Organizing
- Store like items together (i.e., have a system for storing things) like camera stuff with the camera and hiking boots with hiking gear
- Label boxes and bins clearly and store the bins with the labeled side facing out
- Don’t overstuff drawers; to paraphrase Marie Kondo: to keep clutter from accumulating, items must be just as easily put back as they are taken out
- Daily-use items should be stored within reach (but not out in the open cluttering a counter)
- When in doubt, keep multi-use items (e.g., a large knife: it can chop and the side of it can be used to crush garlic) and get rid of gadgets that have only one purpose; you probably never use that melon baller anyway
Other things to keep in mind…
20/20 rule
For those “just in case” items, if the thing is less than $20 to replace and you could rebuy it within 20 minutes of your home, then donate it (20/20 rule courtesy of theminimalists.com).
Sharing apps and other “sharing” ideas
There are lots of music and other online sharing apps and sites where you can “borrow” music, articles, etc. without actually owning the physical items. There are also car sharing companies (e.g., Zipcar) where you can reserve a car for a few hours or days; this is good if you live in a city where parking is expensive and/or difficult.
Paper (e.g., receipts, documents, forms, etc.) accumulation ideas
Buy a scanner app (e.g., Scanbot about $6) for your Smartphone; many of these apps scan documents beautifully, then you can email them to yourself or send them to a computer folder.
Sentimental items
Take a picture of them, then donate to those who could use them now; keep only a few of the things you have, ditch or donate the rest; find a new purpose for the item (e.g., an old blanket; turn it into a scarf, a cleaning cloth, or a handkerchief); or just get rid of them and be ok with it.
Cheryl Russo
June 2017