Eliminating Clutter – The Key to Organization
Elimination is the Key to Losing Clutter
Have you ever tried to de-clutter and organize over and over and over again and thought it is just a lost cause? You’ve brought in help, paid them for their services and only experienced the continual re-emergence of the clutter. Have you ever thought about why this happens?
There is one cause that keeps you frustrated with the continuing re-organizing of clutter. That reason:
Lack of elimination!
Simply reorganizing your clutter does not allow changes to be made. You have to be willing to give up items in order to enjoy your space. Without the elimination of items, you may as well claim insanity…”doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result”. Nothing will change. Think about the items that you have continued to bring into your space year after year – even though you haven’t used them, worn them or, in some cases, even taken them out of the original packaging. The clothing, toys, shoes, and electronics that have been brought in – without anything leaving – can cause the overabundance that most homeowners experience.
When I am contacted by a homeowner to help them become organized there are two things that I want to know:
First – Are you ready for a change? Are you ready to live differently or will you continue old habits once our work together is done? Change is difficult and takes work. It means forming new habits that will take time and energy. Things don’t change overnight just as your space didn’t become disorganized overnight. It can be related to losing weight…those 20 pounds didn’t appear on your hips in 24 hours, it was a gradual process that you may not have realized even happened until your clothes just didn’t fit quite right and to make the change to lose the weight will take dedication, change in habits and “work”.
Second – Are you willing to eliminate items? If you aren’t ready to get rid of things, you would be wasting your money and now is not the time to hire a Professional Organizer. I recommend that you try contacting a friend or relative first if you are not ready for the experience of a Professional Organizer. The typical response I hear from those who work with family and friends is that they just “reorganized” their mess. Working together for just a few hours will tell you if you are absolutely ready to begin the elimination process. You will yourself simply folding all of your clothes and putting them right back into your closet and, if this happens, call someone for help.
My personal closet record with a client was the removal of 14 bags of clothes to be donated in 90 minutes. This is a person who was absolutely ready to make a definite and permanent change in their life. Even with the large amount of clothes that were taken out, she still had a large amount of clothes left that were still in style, fit perfectly and together we found some items that she had completely forgotten were in the back of the closet, carefully hidden and tucked away.
When you are ready to make change, eliminate “stuff” from your home or office and live without chaos, overwhelm and clutter…then call a Professional Organizer/Organizing Consultant. They will guide you through the entire process, help you know where to begin, how to begin, how to maintain your space without clutter and change your thought patterns about how you can and should live. We’re there to help you make permanent and lasting changes to your life and space.
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