Why are you keeping all this stuff?

You know what the real problem is with getting organized?

We have too much stuff! 

It's a lot easier getting rid of things, than it is creating more storage solutions to house those things.

I'm willing to bet you have some things that you (or someone you live with) keep without having a good enough reason.

So why DO we keep so much stuff?

The thing is, it's easier to find excuses for why you should keep something or to just keep putting off the decision on what to do with 'it' rather than making a firm (and sometimes difficult) choice to say goodbye to your 'stuff.'

Here are four often used excuses...

1. "I might need it one day."

Yes, you might. But the thing is most of the items we keep can easily be found or replaced within a day or two. Lots of blokes (my dad included) keep every screw and nail ever created and store them away in row upon row of jars in the workshop.

But what happens is these little tiny items create more and more clutter and it gets to a point where you can't find that little screw anyway because it's like finding a needle in a haystack.

2. "Once I've lost weight I'll be able to wear this again."

I hope if you have a goal to lose some weight, you do everything in your power to make it happen. And when you do, a good (non-food!) way to reward yourself is to find a sale and buy some brand new clothes.

3. "Great Aunt Maud gave me this."

I'm all for keeping memories and items that remind us of people we love.
But the truth is, memories are not in the clutter, the knick-knacks and "stuff" that's packed in a box.

I won't say get rid of everything and it's not always an easy decision. But try and just keep the special things you cherish. Take photographs of sentimental items that you really don't want to or have to keep.

4."I paid good money for this...thing!"

Of course you did. But the thing is, what has more value...this "item" you no longer have any use for or the way you enjoy your house? The item...or your happiness? The item... or your space? Pass it along to someone who will use it.

5. "Oh, I'm just not sure what to do with it..."

Okay then, so maybe it's not worth holding onto. If it takes that much work to figure out what to do with something, you can take a pretty good guess that it may not be worth as much to you as you think.

6. "I can't just through it out. It's useful!" 

If it's not useful to you though, offer it up to someone who may have a use for it. Freecycle is good for this, or donate it to a charity, keep it out of the land fill.

If you can't figure out what to do with something...it's a safe bet you won't miss it too much.

How to start dealing with clutter in the home

There are many people who say they have very nice clothes they love but the don't wear them anymore.

But hang on:  If you value something so much...then don't you think you should be wearing it?

The reality is we are a society who likes to accumulate and, dating back to the Great Depression, we tend to keep everything we believe has monetary value when, in reality, it probably doesn't.

For example, a pretty dress or a nice suit you bought ten years ago that cost you a week's paycheck at the time.

And the problem is you haven't touched it in nine years because, as most clothes do, it went out of style.

Could it come back in style someday? Probably. Styles do often return.

But is that a good reason to hold onto things you don't use...'just in case'?

You feel like, because you spent 'good money on it, you are throwing that money away. But ask yourself this... is it putting money in your pocket sitting there in the back of your closet with dust on the shoulders?

Is it giving you anything? Do you benefit at all from keeping that outdated outfit?

Now ask yourself one more question... will you gain anything by letting go of it and donating it to charity?

You will gain.....

More space to be able to keep the clothes you are going to wear (we only wear 50% of the clothes we own) and you'll be able to see them all too, so you'll remember what you have.

Those items taking up space, yes, you paid for them. But you are gaining nothing by keeping them, except an over-full closet that's frustrating to work with because you cannot find anything.

Here is something you can do right now with items (they don't have to be clothes) you are holding onto just because you paid good money for them.

1. Go and find ten items you can't get rid of because they cost you money to purchase.

2. Grab a piece of paper and make three columns.

3. Write the items you are having trouble getting rid of in the left column. In the middle column, write "why I am keeping this item" and in the third column write "what would I gain by getting rid of this item." (Think of things like more space, less stuff to dust/clean, don't need to get it fixed...)

My guess is you will have a lot more in the right column than you will in the middle.

Be specific with both.

If you can honestly fill up the middle column with more reasons of why you should keep it, and they are good, legitimate reasons, then maybe you shouldn't get rid of it.

But I'm willing to bet that won't be the case.

I don't have time to get organized!

High gas prices, birthday presents, graduation parties, July 4th picnics, school activities, vacations. Who has the time ....or the money......to organize? Every cent and every bit of mental energy is needed elsewhere.

You do!

 Organizing does not have to take forever or cost money. Don’t believe me? Keep reading.

How much time can you spare for organizing?

Half a day or a whole day or a week would be great, but most of us are not that lucky. We've got families, jobs, commitments. But you want to get organized as quickly as possible, so it is worth setting aside a large chunk of time to achieve that if you can. To get twice as much done in the same amount of time, try and enlist a friend, family member, or professional organizer (they are a wealth of experience, ideas, answers).

If you're unable to set aside a decent chunk of time, (at least at the moment), then make use of smaller pockets of time.

Do you find yourself watching TV...including the commercials, riding the train or bus, waiting at the doctor’s office, sitting in the car waiting for the kids, waiting for dinner to cook, or for the washer to finish? The kettle to boil for a cup of tea?

Ideas for small pockets of time:

- If you're heading out the door, take some reading with you, or grab the mail as you head out to sort while you're waiting. Bring your iphone or ipad and write or edit a blog post. Go through your email.

- At home, sort a drawer, go through your magazines and catalogs, clean out the refrigerator, go through your CDs or videos, fill a bag from your closet, clean off a shelf, go through a pile, empty a box, sort out your shoes, delete unwanted email, edit your cookbooks, sort some of your pictures or compile an album, go through a file, go through your linen cupboard or find something else small to organize that is quick and will give you a sense of accomplishment.

Can't afford a custom closet system, garage system, pantry, etc?

Go shopping, in your house

- Do you have wood scraps from previous projects? Use three pieces to create a free-standing shelf to better utilize wasted shelf space.
- Are your hair accessories a jumble? Use a ribbon, old belt, or something similar that hangs to clip your barrettes and keep them separated. You can even use an extra hanger to separate ribbons.
- Do you have random screws and nails? They make great hooks for light weight items.
- Are there empty baskets, containers, or shoe boxes? These can function as low-cost pull-out drawers.          - Would you like to find something in the junk drawer? Create drawer dividers with card board, wood, empty plastic containers, etc. or bag up small similar items into one zip lock bag.

Ah, once your house is organized, you will feel so free!

You need your own reasons for organizing your home

Firstly, you need to know that organizing your home is different for you than it is for someone else.

Some households don't have a lot of clutter and junk but they need to know how to organize what they do have.

On the other hand, some homeowners have piles upon piles of ...things. A big mess, things that really should go but they still think it's just a matter of needing more storage.

Really, storage is the last thing you need. Well, you do need a little, no one wants their clothes living on the floor and their dishes on the bench of course. But the first step needs to be getting rid of clutter, rather than adding more storage just to keep the clutter in..

The thing is, once you start organizing your home, you'll see how fabulous the benefits are:

-It's less stress by having order and discipline.

-It's more space by keeping clutter out for good.

-It's simplifying the way you live at home by creating useful systems that work for you.

-It's more time to do the things you enjoy.

Quite simply, when you finally start to implement the simple changes that lead to organization, it all adds up to give you more room to breath so you can enjoy your family and friends more.

Being organized isn't a matter of being rich or poor, young or old. We don't get taught organization in school and, in fact, we're taught to multi-task and go in too many directions at once.

This was how we're told to live.

These last 2 years, I have gone through my house and life with an eye on keeping only what we need. If something is not being put to use or it's out-of-date... it's getting sold, donated or thrown out.

We create storage to keep only useful items and we're teaching our kids the value of being organized at a very young age (at least, we're trying to!) It makes it easier on them and on us to stay on track about organization.

The funny thing is I don't think I was raised to be particularly organized. We lived in a massive house that my Dad built, with storage everywhere. I had my own room and plenty of storage for all my 'stuff'.

But somewhere along the way, I changed. I like to be on time and being organized makes that possible. I don't like wasting time looking for things, like the other shoe, the camera cord or the kids birth certificates.

Being organized makes it all a lot easier. 

And it gets us out the door on time for school.

It won't necessarily  make you rich, but it will certainly save you money by avoiding duplicate purchases, replacement documents and late fees at the library.

It's not going to make you any younger, but it will certainly give you more time to do things you might think you don't have time to do.

Being organized isn't going to give you a bigger house, but it will clear clutter and open up some space so you'll feel like you have a bigger house. There will be open spaces and less congestion and 'stuff' covering every available surface.

There may seem like there is a lot to getting organized and over the next few days I'm going to share with you even more tips and tricks to getting and staying organized.

Why do I need to organize?

 Have you planned to organize one morning but do not know where to start or are just not in the mood? Are you caught in a vicious cycle: as soon as you organize one room another one has turned to chaos?

Prioritize: With most of our lofty goals in life, we are not striving for perfection, what you want is progress and improvement. Most of us do not have time to achieve perfection in everything we do and still live a happy, fulfilling life.

When you set goals, make them achievable, attainable.
When you make that progress, create a visual way to track it or remind yourself of all you have accomplished (i.e. stickers on a chart, a check list, a flower/penny/or other item to represent each task you have completed). Since we will never have more than 24 hours in a day, we may have to say “no” to some activities and tasks.

As you list each goal, task, or activity, ask yourself these questions:

• Does this support my ultimate goals?

• Will any other activity or person will be negatively affected if it does not happen? 

You may see your list shrink before your very eyes. 

If you are not sure how to narrow your list, search the internet, ask a friend, or consult a professional organizer (they help with both the tangible and intangible).

Motivate
Do you start the day with the best of intentions to sort out the 'bathroom' only to lose your drive because it's 'just not worth it'?

What is worth it to you?
What do you value and why?

 These questions may not seem to have much to do with organizing, but they can be the key to your motivation. How much time do you spend on activities that relate to your values (i.e. spending time with family, exercising, eating healthily, etc.)? Many of us would probably answer “not enough”. Why then would you ever spend time on an activity not related to you values, such as organizing?

The answer: 

Being organized allows you to focus more on your values. 

Organizing means less time searching for the other shoe, fewer arguments over who last used the stickytape and did not put it back, less time cleaning around the junk . . . and with less time wasted, you have more time to be with family, exercise, eat healthily, and pursue those life goals that really do matter. The next time you wonder why you would ever make time to organize, remember that organizing is a means to an end. If you find a task that seems pointless, ask yourself how that task can bring you closer to what means the most to you. It is amazing how a change in attitude and knowing what is “in it for me” can motivate.

Ask for help

Most of our chores and daily tasks are not fun and are often repetitive. They can be too much for one person. Solution: spread the responsibility among the whole household. What is boring to one person may be fun for another. One person’s weak spot may be another person’s strength. Some people have time in the morning to help everyone get ready for the day, and others have more time at night to help everyone get ready for bed.

When you do ask for help, just remember to be specific and be prepared for things to be done differently than you would do them. Giving others a choice and allowing them to find their own way, within reason, may even make them more willing and productive.

You're on your way to an organized life!