Are you organizationally challenged? Do your drawers, cabinets and surfaces overflow with so much stuff that you don’t know where to begin?
I collect clutter like it’s my job. Getting rid of the accumulated items becomes difficult because A. I get overwhelmed by all the things, B. I’m overly sentimental and C. Wait a minute, what was C? Oh yes, I get distracted.
But I want to do better. When I get a space decluttered and organized, I recognize what a huge impact it has on my life.
For instance, consider this kitchen drawer. I got rid of a lot of utensils I didn’t use, and I sorted items into little dollar store baskets. Now I can find the measuring spoon or knife I need in a second instead of wasting minutes digging through layers in a junk-stuffed drawer.
So why don’t I do what I did in my kitchen drawer in other places in my house?
I think my problem is the enormous amount of items I own compounded by A, B and C above. I’m not quite ready for an episode of “Hoarders,” but there are days when I feel like I’m approaching hoarder level.
My dear hubby, the Fix-it Farmer, calls me Random Woman. It’s kinda like my super power.
I’m pretty sure I have ADHD at some level. Most males have the hyper-active/impulsive variety, and more females have the inattentive form. Although I wasn’t diagnosed as a child, I have a lot of the trademarks of inattentive ADHD: lack of focus, forgetfulness, boredom, difficulty with organization and daydreaming. Check, check, check…
This is why I struggle more than the average bear to get organized at home, and I’m always searching for new strategies that work for me. Usually, someone who finds organization easy will have tips that sound good but don’t really work in my life.
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That’s why I like tips from people like me or specifically geared toward people like me. I’m a BIG fan of Dana K. White from A Slob Comes Clean blog and podcast. I wrote about her here and here.
This time I’m talking about one of my favorite people on YouTube.
I just finished the book “Real Life Organizing” by Cassandra (Cas) Aarssen.
Cas is known on Youtube as the Clutterbug. She is funny, engaging and relate-able in how she reveals how her life is often “a hot mess,” but she’s developed ways to go from borderline hoarder to generally clean and organized.
She divides people by their organizing styles and tags them with bug titles: Butterflies, Bees, Ladybugs and Crickets.
Butterflies are visual people who believe “out of sight, out of mind.” They need super simple organizing systems that allow items to be stored mostly in plain view. They tend to be fun, artistic, creatives who have trouble focusing on organizing and flit from project to project.
Bees love projects and hobbies and enjoy having their supplies out in plain sight but are more complex in their organization. They collect a lot of things, and are often busy using some of the things. They key is to get rid of what they are not using.
Ladybugs like to hide their stuff out of sight, but they still need simple methods for organizing and storing items. If a system is too complex, they won’t use it and their closets and cupboards become disaster areas.
Crickets love complex organization schemes and will follow through on them IF they have created their system. Where the system does not yet exist, they will sort and pile and collect.
I’m mostly a butterfly with some ladybug tendencies thrown in. I like some things out in plain sight and other items hidden away. But I definitely get easily sidetracked, which puts me more in the butterfly camp.
Cas has a quiz so you can discern your organizing style. If you’re like me, you love little quizzes like this. If it’s not your thing, just ignore it.
If you like YouTube videos, go watch a few from the Clutterbug. She’s real and helpful and funny.
Back to her book, “Real Life Organizing,” I have several takeaways that I’m trying to implement in my home.
Make decluttering a regular part of your everyday life
I’m putting “CC” for clutter control on my task list almost every day. The goal is to spend at least 15 minutes getting rid of clutter, which could mean either tossing it, putting it where it belongs or placing it in a cardboard box or garbage bag to donate.
The 21 item toss is a good method for an easily distracted person like myself to make progress on purging. The idea is to find 21 items that will leave my house. On some days, I’ve spent my 15 minutes doing just that.
I’ve got 63 items I either tossed or sent to Goodwill. Examples: pairs of socks, votive candle holders, t-shirts, and a beauty appliance I’d been storing since my teens. More on that later.
Find the valuable real estate in your home
This is one of my favorite pieces of advice Cas gives in her book. Sometimes your clutter problem is bad because you’re not looking critically at your prime storage areas. Those easy-to-reach spaces should contain the items you use most often.
Put your main dishes in the cabinet closest to your dishwasher. Place the magazines you like to read in bed on your nightstand. If everyone takes off their shoes at the door, find a container to corral those puppies and store them by the door.
You get the idea. This brings me to the cabinet under my sink. This should be prime real estate territory. But in reality, I was storing a beauty appliance I think I’ve had since the ’80s and probably haven’t used since we started a new century.
It’s my set of hot rollers. Now why would a girl with curly hair want hot rollers? They tame my waves and make them a bit more manageable, especially if you’re going for the Farrah Fawcett look. I think I used them on my wedding day. More than 30 years ago.
I spied them in Nancy’s room in an episode of “Stranger Things.”|
I realized I could make much better use of that space, and I’m sending the Clairol Kindness Deluxe 3-way Hairsetter to Goodwill. They were on sale online for anywhere from $35 to $60. I’m not going to get caught up in that craziness.
Get rid of guilty clutter
Stop keeping items just because someone else gave them to you. I’m super sentimental. But keeping everything my sweet grandmothers gave me diminishes the impact of the items that are my favorites. I should choose my favorites and put them on display and donate those that are gathering dust in the back of my cabinets.
If I’m holding on to an item simply because I paid a lot of money for it, that’s not a good enough reason. The money is gone. If I’m not wearing the $100 jacket, maybe someone else could use it.
Also she says that purging becomes easier the more you do it. Make it a habit to get rid of things you don’t use or don’t really love. Don’t confuse the item with the loved one.
Love the home you’re with
Cas calls this chapter “Bloom Where You’re Planted.” She urges us to take small steps to improve our homes, like painting a room or rearranging furniture. Instead of wishing you could buy that dream home or spend thousands on a kitchen remodel, do small projects, get rid of stuff and clean.
Cas says this is “giving your home a hug.”
Be nice to your home, even if it leaves a lot to be desired.
This is especially important for me to remember as our 1995 builder grade home needs updates in every corner, and we plan to do the work ourselves. That means it will be slow going.
In a few years, our goal is to move to our country acreage in Kansas and build our dream house. But in the meantime, we need to focus our energy on the home we’re living in now.
Love the home you’re with, get it?
What one small step could you do today to improve the state of your home?