Rich Schmitt/Staff Photographer
By NANCY DROBNIS | Special to the Palisadian-Post
Welcome to 2018: Many people tell me that they want to declutter and become organized but don’t know where to begin.
The trick to getting and staying organized in the months ahead is to determine specific actions and habits that can help you reach your organizing goals. Small changes make a big difference.
If you have the desire to get organized but lack a plan, this article is for you. These eight easy tips are for starting the decluttering process and maintaining the results.
Start small. If it gets overwhelming, you will lose interest and momentum. Pick one or two of the smallest areas where you spend the most time, and tackle those first. Think medicine cabinet, front closet, refrigerator, handbag or briefcase. You can get them done in an hour or two. Do a little bit every day—continuity is key.
Make sure everything has an “address.” If you avoid putting something away because you don’t know where to put it, think about similar items and store them all together. Decide where they should go and consider storing them in bins. Labeling makes items easier to find. Store infrequently used items on high shelves, and keep often-used things close at hand.
Become a minimalist. If you don’t need something, let it go. Children’s art projects, greeting cards and souvenirs from vacations are tempting to keep, but can’t the memory of the art, card or souvenir be treasured instead of keeping the physical reminder? You can take a picture of objects you want as a keepsake, utilizing the storage space on your phone or computer rather than in your house.
Time management. Wake up earlier, put the difficult tasks first, spread tasks throughout the day within a specified time frame and batch tasks a few at a time (e.g., four phone calls, three emails, etc.). Try scheduling a time to answer email and return phone calls rather than throughout the day.
Create a system for paper once and for all. Set up automatic payments for monthly bills. Scan the documents you need and then promptly recycle them. Remove yourself from mailing lists by contacting the Data and Marketing Association and individually unsubscribing when necessary. Regularly recycle newspapers and magazines. There are very few documents you actually need and most are accessible online. For what you need to save, create a filing system and pare it down frequently. Keep sentimental papers such as greeting cards in a single plastic container. And always hold to the rule that when something new comes in, reconsider what you have been keeping.
Set goals. Be specific about what you want to accomplish and put the list in writing. Schedule dates on your calendar to tackle specific projects. You can ask a friend to be your accountability partner. Explain the tasks you need to accomplish and let your partner hold you to your finish date for each task.
Purge frequently. Underlying almost all disorganization is an imbalance between what we bring into our homes and what we take out. Use the one-in/two-out rule: For every one thing you bring into the house, let two go. Decluttering frequently makes the work less taxing—both emotionally and physically. Don’t wait until you have five bags of clothes before making a trip to your local donation center. Even if you have a couple of bags, drop them off.
Maintaining de-cluttered spaces. To limit what you bring in, thoughtfully consider every purchase you make. It will save you money, too. When going to a store, only buy what’s on your list. Think about what purpose something will serve and where it will go, and don’t be drawn into buying something simply because it’s on sale. Hold on to what brings you joy and what you truly need.
I help with the functionality of the space—for example, by making sure that frequently used items are stored in easily accessible areas. Or by implementing a system to manage bills that arrive in email.
I am always teaching my clients how to manage other areas of their space or lives when I’m not there. I encourage clients to make sound choices about their overwhelming belongings.
The benefits of being organized are endless. Discretion is very important and all work is confidential. I take an unusable space and make it usable again, or empower someone to take charge of an aspect of their life that was not working for them. Despite the grime, emotions and all of the “stuff,” I wouldn’t change my job for the world!
Drobnis, MBA, is a professional organizer and owner of The LA Organizer. Drobnis has particular expertise in home organizing and serves a wide range of clients, including people who are chronically disorganized, are compulsive buyers, have hoarding tendencies or have ADHD. Drobnis frequently gives lectures and presentations to local meetings and leads small-group workshops on organizing. She has been a resident of Los Angeles for more than 20 years.
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