You Don’t Need To Spend $$ To Organize

Posted by: Terry on: July 14, 2009

• In: Decluttering | Organizing
• 1 Comment

I am a firm believer that any old run down house can have curb appeal with a new paint job and some nice landscaping.  With a few simple things that don’t have to cost a lot of money, old things can be made to look new again.

The same rule applies to the inside of a house.  I have seen lots of beautiful, large, and expensive homes look really messy and just plain bad inside because the homeowners were too cluttered and disorganized.  On the opposite end, I have seen very small, inexpensive apartments or homes look very nice when uncluttered and tidy.  By removing the clutter and clearing out the excess it is possible to have any house made to look clean, beautiful, and cheery. 

All it really takes is a willingness to let go of the unnecessary stuff and establishing a place for the stuff that is going to remain.  Now that may seem like a tall order but it really isn’t.  

The first mistake that most people make when they want to organize their mess is to go out and buy a lot of products like bins, containers, beautiful gadgets,  how-to books, etc etc.  That is the worst mistake you could make in the beginning.  Why?  Because you don’t know what kind of containers and how many you will need until you get rid of the stuff that you don’t need or want any longer.   Face it, you know what is clutter and what is not.  If for some reason you struggle with that question, you will need to take a closer examination at your stuff piece by piece.  You should only start shopping for containers when you have cleared out all the clutter.  You will be surprised at how little you will need to buy. 

Decluttering is also a mindset that you must live every day.  That doesn’t mean it has to be hard or time consuming.  It simply means that during the course of your daily lives you should always be thinking “Is there a better way to be doing this?” or “Will this make my life easier?” or “How can I make my life in this area easier?”.  You might be surprised at how creative you can become when you start to think like this.

If it doesn’t add to your life or on the other hand subtracts from your life, consider changing the habit or behavior.  Think outside the box.  If you are tired of your kids leaving their backpacks all over the house only to be wasting time in the morning looking for them, consider hanging some hooks inside the room where they enter the house after school.  Tell them that they must hang their backpacks on the hook.  That way you will know where they are at all times.  If you are always losing your keys, hang a key hook.  Are you tired of cluttered kitchen countertops?  Look at what is cluttering them and think hard about what you really need on top of them and what can go up onto a shelf or cupboard.  I have a really old stand up mixer that my mother in law gave me a few years ago. It doesn’t really work anymore.  It is sitting in a cabinet in my kitchen.  It’s not really bothering me by being there but it is of no use so out it is going this week when I call a charity to come and pick up some kids clothes that I am giving away.  If you don’t use it or it hasn’t been used in 6 months, you should consider if you will realistically ever use this item again.  If not, out it goes.

When you start to declutter your life and your home you will start to feel a sense of peace and tranquility because things around you will feel less chaotic and less stressful.

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Tags: Decluttering, destressing, homes, Organizing, peace, tranquility