What keeps you from getting organized? It's not sloppiness, laziness or incompetence. Odds are you're held
back by one or more psychological obstacles, such as...
Need for abundance. You may have a deep-rooted need for possessions. Your need for abundance could
have evolved from deprivation as a child. The thought of getting rid of anything fills you with anxiety.
Don't try to overpower this need by throwing things out. You'll just start collecting again. Instead, learn to
organize your stuff.
Need to conquer chaos. You might like your spaces disorganized because you love to create order out of
chaos. You might have developed this as a survival skill from having grown up in challenging circumstances.
Try redirecting your talent for fixing things. Use your free time to focus on more meaningful tasks.
Sentimental attachment. When items have special meaning, it's hard to let them go. These things may
represent another time, person or part of yourself that you feel will be lost forever if you let go. When objects
define you, you wind up living amidst clutter.
Your identity comes from inside, not outside. Although objects serve as reminders, your memories of the past
are inside you, too. Get rid of objects that are no longer an active part of your life, such as old clothing, and
papers and other items from college, a former career, a dead spouse, etc.
Strategy: If it's difficult for you to throw things out, move some of the old stuff to an attic, basement, garage or
rental storage facility.
PURGING
My system of organizing focuses not on getting rid of things but on identifying what is important to you and
finding homes for these items. Define what items are essential to your home or job so you'll have direction in
sorting and purging. How...
Identify "big picture" goals. Decide what really matters to you -- joy, satisfaction, accomplishment. Then test
each item against your goal by asking yourself, "Will this help me to further my goal?" Keep only "yes" items.
Use the 80/20 rule. You use only 20% of what you own -- the balance are things you once used, feel you
should use or think you might someday use.
If you have trouble identifying the 20%, once a month stick a red adhesive dot on every object you handle every
time you handle it. Also put a dot on every knickknack that makes you feel good when you look at it. After a
month, you'll know which items really count, making purging a breeze.
Sort, purge, assign a home to, put in containers and maintain your system. Do every step in order -- sort,
then purge and so on.
In purging, you can choose to toss out, give away, sell, put elsewhere or store. "No-brainers" -- items in bad
shape and worthless to others -- should be thrown away.
To motivate yourself to purge, think about what you'll gain -- more space for things you use and love... more
time (by not having to search through clutter)... more money (you can sell items of value or donate them to
charity for a possible tax deduction)... and more satisfaction (by giving items to family, friends or charity).
Caution: Check with your accountant, lawyer or office manager for retention guidelines on tax and legal papers.
If you use a file system at work, put a pencil dot in the upper right corner of each file folder every time it's used.
Once a year, review your "dots." Throw out or archive folders with no dots.
NO-BRAINER TOSS LISTS
At the office...
Product solicitations -- if you're not ready to buy right now.
Old magazines, books and articles -- if you haven't looked at them in at least 12 months.
Old research materials -- keep the source, not the paper. Maintain a list of sources in your Rolodex.
Duplicates of documents -- keep the original in a plastic sleeve and no more than one copy.
Early drafts of proposals -- retain only the final version.
Supplies -- get rid of supplies you don't use.
In a home office...
Information you already know -- save only new information you can learn from.
Outdated vendor brochures -- again, keep the source in your Rolodex, not the paper.
Stationery you no longer use -- keep one sheet in a job-history file and toss the rest.
Old receipts, bank statements, auto records -- toss unless needed for tax purposes.
At home...
Junk mail and old catalogs.
Expired warranties.
Grocery receipts, invitations to past events and recipes you haven't tried in five years, if ever.
Business cards from people you don't remember.
Clothing/linens that are stained, torn or no longer fit.
Broken tools, appliances, furniture, dishes.
Mildewed or moth-eaten items and dried-out paint.
Obsolete baby equipment.
Old college textbooks.
Expired medicines.
Games, books, compact discs and cassettes you haven't played, read or listened to in years or that are
damaged.
Suggestion: It can be hard to toss items of children who have grown up. So save the best of these by creating
a memory box -- a time capsule of a limited number of keepsakes (drawings, report cards, awards, etc.). Take
pictures of items too large to fit (old team jersey, a shelf of trophies).
DOWNSIZING
Moving to a smaller space can be challenging. You need to...
Analyze. Take stock of your current situation (where you are, where you're going, what's holding you back) and
why it's important to downsize.
Strategize. Create a plan for transforming your space.
Attack. Sort, purge, assign a home to, put in containers, maintain your system.
Store. Downsizing may mean storing some things temporarily -- until you gain a clear picture of your new
space or because you can't part with some items.
Some ways to accommodate your things...
Add storage units -- some furniture (end tables, for example) can act as storage units.
Make better use of shelf space -- move shelves closer to each other, stack things.
Install floor-to-ceiling shelves.
Store items in bins under beds and below garments in closets.
