Did you ever walk around your house and really see what you have? We have such busy lives these days with work and kid activities, that we can accumulate stuff without even being aware of it.
Visit these pages for the rest of this awakening to clutter series:
How to Awaken To the Clutter in your home – Part 2
How to Awaken To the Clutter in your home – Part 3
From my observation, people put up with a lot of clutter for many years before they actually contact an organizer. It starts out as being a small pile in the hallway or unused room, nothing major. Then the pile grows so big and becomes overwhelming. It's just easier to ignore and leave it there because there's no time to really sit and determine the process. after a while, the clutter becomes part of the home or office space. It isn’t looked at anymore as clutter but as a part of their lives. Humans have a great knack for being able to acclimate themselves to any situation. Clutter in the home is no different.
How to awaken to the clutter in your home - Part 1
Since this process doesn't happen overnight, I have derived a way to reconnect to the clutter in a home and office.
Here are the first steps on how to awaken to the clutter in your home:
First, start with a notepad marked with 5 columns and write the following header at the top of each column:
- Name of the task - be specific and make sure it isn't several tasks. The way to keep tasks manageable is to break it down into very small steps. It may seem like a lot of steps but because it is more realistic, you will be able to handle them easily.
- Can be done now - check this column if it can be completed now. This task would take less than 15 minutes or ½ hour to do.
- Can be done in One Day - check this column if it can be completed in one day. This task will take more than 1 hour to do.
- It can take longer than One Day - Check this column if a particular task has several steps and will involve planning.
- Deadline to complete the task. - Add the date that you want to finish it by. Nothing else. Remember this is only to help you awaken to the clutter.
If you want a checklist made for you and all our other ebooks, please add your information here and I will send you the one I made.
NOW, WHAT DO I DO?
Second, start at the entryway of any room in your house that you wish to awaken to the clutter. Close your eyes and take a deep breath and let it out. Open your eyes and walk into the first room.
Then, start from the right of the doorway and look around the room slowly. Look for signs of incomplete projects like:
- Items that are out of place
- Items that need to be taken care of
- Trash that may need to be thrown away
- Items that need to be given away
- Projects that need to be started and completed
- Projects that need to be completed
Write down on your notepad the uncompleted projects, items that need to be removed, and corrected and assign ‘a deadline’ dates for every task.
Third, schedule the time to complete these tasks.
Do this for each room. Have one checklist for each room. This may take some time to do so don't get discouraged in the process. I recommend having a blank checklist for each room so there is nothing distracting you when looking at the new room. After all, the goal here is to awaken to the clutter in your home and NOT judge yourself for the incomplete tasks in your home.
How do you feel after doing this process? Did it help you look at the room differently? Did it help you determine what tasks you should do first? Please leave a comment below on how this experience affected you. I would love to hear from you.
I will give you a full week to work on this project so come back next Thursday. We will talk about how to start clearing these projects. So, keep your lists stored in a safe place till then.
HOMEWORK: Finish and read over all the room task lists and staple them in order by priority. The most important room you want to focus on should be on top.
I found this article to further help you clear the clutter in your home: How to Get Rid of Clutter in Your Home
Please note these are affiliate links through Amazon, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn affiliate fees if you decide to make a purchase.
It is so true that we just don't see the clutter after awhile. My very first home assessment as an organizer was for two sister roommates. We addressed their areas of concern, then (as we stood in the dining area) I said, "What about the rest of the clutter?" They both said, simultaneously, "What clutter?!" I pointed at the cluttered surface of the sideboard. They both looked and we all started laughing. Lesson learned, for all of us!
I love the step by step nature of this post. It's really a great game plan for tackling clutter and it's very engaging. And I love the reminder about taking deep breaths.
Seeing what is truly around you is such a great first step. Some many people live in the clutter without seeing it after a while. Thanks for the terrific step-by-step.
Very important point you made about not judging yourself! It's so hard not to feel bad when looking around at everything that's accumulated around you. But if we hold on to those judgmental feelings we'll be less likely to deal with the clutter.
Great suggestions on how to start organizing. Sometimes just taking the time to really look at a space is a great reminder of how you want the room to look.
Naming the clutter is a good idea - it is a way to tame the "beastly" projects! What a nice option for people trying to do this on their own:)
I love the way you organize the task list according to how long each one will take. That's a great strategy that should be applied to all to do lists!