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Check Your Home Settings: Are You Running Out of Space ?

outside clutter_optWhether it be in our homes or on our smart phones, it seems that we are constantly vying for MORE space.  Our virtual space is easier to manage by merely increasing our megabyte storage to gigabyte, or even storing data to the Cloud. Ah, thank G-d for the cloud. There’s infinite space up there.  More importantly, there’s no pain and no heart wrenching decisions to make.

But the reality is that we do have finite spaces in our homes.  We live in an over-acquired society and without a practical exit strategy for our undesirables, we are in danger of running out of space.  We fill our attics, basements, and garages with overflow, and when those spaces are maxed out, many even resort to storage units to accommodate their overabundant spillover.

While purchasing storage units are certainly a vial option for specific situations, it’s not the ultimate fix.  If their sole purpose is the result of decisions not made on unused items, then there will be no end to the amount of units to manage. Entering dangerous territory, for sure.  More often than not, I’ve met many paying clients that have no idea what items are living in their storage facility, or have never needed to access their contents. Ever.

When we consider maintaining our things within the confines of our home, there is work to be done for sure. Busy households are crowded with multiple people and activities, and must accommodate many diverse possessions.  All the more reason that managing the incoming and outgoing be paramount. Failure to discard old, broken, or unused items will only result in untamable cluttered spaces.

You may not realize this right away, it accumulates very slowly. Suddenly, one day you look around and are overwhelmed and not quite sure how you lost control, right?

When lack of time marries procrastination, it’s a perilous combination.  All the while,  the unattended stuff  (that rarely returns to their home) accumulates.  The mounds of paper piles grow taller, and the new and preferred incoming items barricade the old.

But there is a bigger picture here.  The challenge is more about managing your spaces, not at all to do with the size of your home. When “busy” encounters “not today,”  you can run out of room very quickly even in the largest of homes.

Ultimately it’s rarely about the space at all, it’s more about the “relationship” with your things and the ability to let them go.

If you’re yearning for a more serene setting in your home, consider applying these very basic principles to your thought process.  It may evoke change.  Without this call to action, your personal spaces will potentially remain cluttered and be at risk for overwhelming your life.

No doubt, negotiating things and space will require some challenging decisions.  The hard-hearted may have an easier time; others may need to enlist help with these methods.  To reclaim your spaces, you’ll first need to clear space.  Here’s how:

  • One in, one out. (limit multiples)
  • Use it or lose it. (toss or donate what no longer provides you with value)
  • Keep only the items you use and love.
  • Identify the most active spaces in your home. Designate and discriminate what appropriate items and activities align with those spaces.
  • Consider the zones. Create specific homes for like categories.  Tame the clutter routinely.

 

We all aspire for a Home Sweet Home setting.  Making our home a place of sanctuary is very achievable.  We must remember that it’s an ongoing process and requires maintenance and family cooperation.

Look around.  What do your spaces look like?  No need for push notifications, reminders,  or alerts.  You will know.  If it feels crowded, then it probably is. This could be the wake-up call you needed to smack you in the face.

Now you’re ready to ask yourself,  is it time to change your settings?

 

 

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The Synergy in Thoughts & Things; How and When To Let Go

balloons_opt-2As a Professional Organizer, I’m called upon to tour and evaluate your cluttered spaces. I’m in your closets and I’m in your intimate drawers.  I can see the physical overwhelm and implement manageable solutions. But what I cannot see, is what’s inside your head.  Your closets may be bulging but perhaps your brain is about to explode as well.

Thoughts and things go hand in hand, therefore the challenges and strategies of organizing them are very much the same too.  Here’s another way to assess them.

Consider your brain the “closet” that stores your thoughts. Take a look and ask yourself;

  • Is it crowded?
  • Is it disorganized?
  • Are you overwhelmed ?
  • Is it impeding on your productivity and life-balance?

What’s abundantly clear, is overabundance.  Whether it is physical clutter or mental clutter, too much is still too much.  Both can be paralyzing if you don’t routinely clear out these spaces.  The accumulation of outdated possessions is as much a burden as a brain full of to do’s or negative thoughts. When your life-balance is threatened, it’s the opportune time to consider purging.

Although the purging process of thoughts and things may look a little different, they both still need to be organized and managed.

Thoughts.  Write them down randomly as they emerge.  Out of the head and onto a piece of paper is a quality brain dump.  Think of it as a mind/body cleanse, like any healthy nutritional cleanse. Clean house and create space in the brain.

Sort and categorize your thoughts. Some thoughts might require an immediate call to action, others might be just an idea that needs to marinate, or perhaps it’s those nagging emotional road blocks that you’ve been avoiding. Beware that when left unattended, these thoughts tend to get lumped altogether in one big pot,  just like a messy junk drawer.  This causes the overwhelm to mount and that’s when the pounding headache emerges.  Recognize that all thoughts cannot be of equal importance. Everything can’t matter in the same way. Break them down and prioritize them.

Take a pause and look them over at another time. When you step away and revisit thoughts, your perspective may change. Give your brain a chance to process all that is on your mind. This will help segregate the minutia from the significant.

“Seeing” your thoughts on paper is a great way to really “look” at your brain, and even more-so,  a very effective method to organize it. A brain needs to be organized too.

Things.  Assessing the relevance of your things in your life today is the best measure to discern their value, and is an integral part of the letting go process. Faulty thinking can often interfere with this decision-making process so it’s always helpful to recruit an objective voice to talk it out.  This process is much more complex but inherently is guided by parameters of finite space. When your systems break down (or you don’t have any), it may be that “too much” is why you are losing control of your things. The less is more and use it or lose it principle will provide you with a life with less to manage.

As you see, thoughts and things are linked so closely and they typically slip and slide together.  Chances are that if your closets are overflowing and overabundant with clutter, your brain is experiencing similar chaos.  And vise versa, if your thoughts are jumbled, there’s a good chance that your spaces will reflect some evidence of disorganization.

So are your closets bursting at the seams? Does your head sometimes feel likes its going to explode? If you are overloaded with thoughts and things, try exercising that letting go muscle.  More room to breathe,  more life to live.

It may not be realistic to do a closet cleanse daily, but I would recommend a brain dump nightly at bedtime.  I promise you a more restful night’s sleep.  It really works. Would love to hear your thoughts about things.  What’s on your mind?

 

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