My life has radically changed over the last 2 weeks because I have been on a total tear of tidying up! I just finally had it with clutter – couldn’t do it anymore, and so I downloaded a few books on the subject, consulted with a few uber – organized friends, and put a strategy in place.
I’m also a firm believer that if you want to welcome anything new into your life: relationships, money, new job etc, you have to make space for it, both literally and energetically.
And a final good reason for having a massive tidy-up is that during the Holidays a lot of stuff makes its way into our homes: more food, more people and their stuff, gifts, decorations etc. This can be overwhelming and stressful, so streamline now for a happier Holiday season.
Here are my tips to get the job done:
- One room at-a-time: I took one room at a time. Basically spent one session or one day just focusing on either my bedroom, or the kitchen, or the bathroom.
- Ruthless: Picked up every single item and asked myself if it gave me huge pleasure/joy. I was ruthless about this because otherwise I hang onto things out of guilt or fear. Everyone that didn’t give me joy had to go. I filled 18 trash bags and decided where they would go (a women’s shelter, thrift store etc). I had to constantly remind myself that my mother/aunt/husband etc would never know if that item they gave me was missing.
- Don’t Put It Into Storage: I realized that everything that I had put into storage never saw the light of day again. All the winter clothes that I put up in the attic last year are still there! Why? Well, because I wanted new/different, and truth be told forgot about them because they were buried in a box under a box. The only items I store are things that I want to keep forever.
- Rectangles! This is the most life-changing tip that I learned from the wonderful book, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up: Instead of folding things and laying them in layers on top of one another in drawers, I fold each garment (despite its shape), into a rectangle, and then store them vertically in a drawer. This gives me 3-4 times as much space inside each drawer, and also enables me to see everything at a glance
- Think Vertical: It’s always best to store everything vertically as opposed to horizontally. Stacking papers will have the ones in the bottom of the pile go unnoticed. Same with clothes. So, whether you are using box files to store your papers vertically, or stacking your clothes vertically in drawers (see my photos below).
- Vision Board: Once I had de-cluttered, I started a fresh vision board. I like a physical board (in place of a viral one such as Pinterest) because I can rip out pages from magazines and have it on the wall by my desk. On this vision board, I stick images of things that I want to invite or welcome into my life: places I want to visit, spiritual practices I want to embark on, foods I want to learn to cook, and even people who inspire me etc.
Let me know if you have any organizational tips to add to this list, and if you haven’t already, please subscribe to my weekly dose of Goodness!
