Posted by blewis on February 15, 2011 under Hoarding | 
Hoarding is a problem. There are many hazards that come along with hoarding. Some of them are health issues (mold can easily breed in this environment and cause health problems), embarrassment (you can’t have people over to your house), and self-esteem (you can think that you are a bad person because of your clutter).
The good news is that you can take back control of your house. You can get rid of the clutter and conquer your hoarding problem. Below I am going to list some tips to help you tackle your hoarding problem and get organized.
- Start small. Starting is the hardest part. Tell yourself that you are just going to work for a small amount of time (even five minutes). Once you get started, you will find that it’s much easier to keep going.
- For every new item you bring into your house, get rid of one old item. Make this rule and stick to it. This will prevent the continuation of your hoarding.
- Start your efforts in an area that you use every day. Start organizing your kitchen before your garage.
- Assign a specific place for each item in your house that you are keeping. This will start the organizing process and will allow you and your family to find items when they need them.
- Use organizers in your drawers and hooks on your wall for items like your keys. This is much more organized and keeps you from having to search for important items every time you need them.
- If you are having trouble finding motivation to get organized, think about how it affects the ones around you. Your family members probably do not enjoy living in this kind of environment. If you can’t do it for yourself, do it for them.
- Some easy things to get rid of immediately: Expired foods and medications, old magazines and newspapers, unused books such as cookbooks, clothes that no longer fit or that you rarely wear.
These are just a few tips to get you started. Like I said earlier, starting is the hardest part.
I learned all of my organization tips and strategies from a book called Declutter Fast by Mimi Tanner. This book is a great resource and if chock full of tons more organizational tips to help your hoarding situation.
Tags: be organized, clutter, compulsive hoarders, compulsive hoarding, declutter, declutter your house, decluttering, get organized, hoarders, hoarding, how to declutter, how to organize, organization tips
Posted by blewis on under Learning Organization |
Don’t psyche yourself out. You can do this. Learning organization is a lot easier than most people think it is. Does that clutter in your house seem like an impossible task? It isn’t. Let me show you how to get started getting your life back in control is just six easy steps.
1. Don’t try to take on too much to start. Getting started is the hardest part, and if you set an unrealistic goal, you’ll only end up quitting before you start. Choose one small section of clutter to focus on. Doing small amounts at a time will not only keep you motivated, it makes it easier to see the progress you are making.
2. You will be sorting your items into three different categories: throw away, donate, and keep. Hint: The keep pile should be the smallest. You need to change your thinking right now about keep stuff. The more items you put in the donate and throw away pile, the easier it will get to do so. Keeping too much stuff is what got you in this situation in the first place.
3. Jump right in. Grab an item and decide which pile it is going to go in. If it’s in good condition and you think someone else could get use out of it, put it in the donate pile. Donating items will not only help you declutter, it will also help out someone else who is in need. Keep this in mind as a motivating factor to donate items instead of keeping them.
4. Try to keep your “keep” pile as small as possible. You should only be keeping items that you absolutely, positively cannot live without. If you are having trouble with this, just think about how long it’s been since you’ve used or even seen the item in question. Most likely, it’s been buried for quite a while and you have been getting along just fine without it this whole time. You probably don’t really need it. Just donate it or get rid of it.
5. Dispose of your three piles often. This will help you out mentally. Getting the donate and throw away items out of your house will show you how much progress you are actually making. The cleared out space will motivate you to keep on trucking.
6. Don’t try to do it all in one day. This is hard work, not only physically but mentally as well. If you feel like you need to take a break from working, take a break. Come back fresher and more energized to get back to organizing. But, make sure you KNOW that you WILL be coming back to keep working on the project. Don’t take a permanent break. This is too important.
These six small steps are the key to learning organization. It’s that simple. You can do it.
I learned all of my organization and decluttering tips and strategies from a book called Declutter Fast by Mimi Tanner. The book is an incredible resource and it goes into much greater detail on learning organization and decluttering, as well as gives many more tips for getting it accomplished.
Tags: be organized, clutter, compulsive hoarders, compulsive hoarding, declutter, declutter your house, decluttering, get organized, hoarders, hoarding, how to declutter, how to organize, learning organization, organization tips
Posted by blewis on under Clutter, Declutter |
Clutter is a bad thing. Clutter is chaos. Clutter is unhealthy. Clutter is embarrassing. Clutter can take over your life and the lives of those around you if it gets out of control. If clutter is running your life, you need to take back control. This post is going to give you the basics of getting rid of the clutter.
I know that decluttering your house can seem like a never-ending process, but it’s not. It’s completely achievable and truly something that needs to be done. There’s no room for clutter in your life.
Getting started:
1. Choose one small area to focus on to get started. Don’t try to do the whole job at once. This will only make it harder and you will likely just end up giving up.
2. Designate one area for throw away items, one area for donate items, and one area (the smallest area) for items you will keep.
3. Dig in and start putting items in the different areas you designated. Anything that is in good condition, donate it. There are always people that need stuff. Not only are you getting rid of your clutter, you will be helping out others in the process.
4. Only keep items that you ABSOLUTELY need. Keep in mind, this stuff has been buried for who knows how long and you have survived fine without it this whole time. This is part of breaking the hoarding mindset. The further you go along, the easier it will be to donate or trash items.
5. Once you have separated a decent amount of items, get rid of the trash pile and take the donate items to your place of choice. Having that stuff out of the house will make it easier to see the progress you are making, and will keep you motivated to keep at it.
6. Don’t overexert yourself. If you need to take a break or quit for the day, go ahead. Just make sure that you know you will be starting again as soon as possible.
Getting rid of clutter is definitely something you can do. Getting started is the hardest part, but if you follow these simple steps, you’ll be clutter-free in not time.
This is just a simple instruction list. I learned all of my decluttering and organizational tips from a great book called Declutter Fast by Mimi Tanner. Her book goes into much greater detail with tons more tips and strategies.
Tags: be organized, clutter, compulsive hoarders, compulsive hoarding, declutter, declutter your house, decluttering, get organized, hoarders, hoarding, how to declutter, how to organize, organization tips
