Organizing without decluttering is just tidying up
I don’t want to mess around over here so yes, blog post #2 cuts right to the chase. Today we are talking about the biggest mistake I see far too many people make when they decide to organize, including myself.
Are you ready for it? (Go ahead and cue up some Taylor Swift here)
The number one mistake, quite simply, is that you are think you are organizing but you are really just tidying up. What do I mean by this? I mean that you are taking ALL of your stuff and trying to put it away. This isn’t gonna work. Trust me. I’ve tried it myself many times and I’ve worked with a huge number of clients who made this mistake right along with me. Organizing without decluttering is simply tidying up.
True organization *requires* decluttering first. What exactly is decluttering? To declutter is defined as “remove unnecessary items from an untidy or overcrowded place.” (Thank you, Google.) You’ve gotta purge, my friend. It’s part of the process, arguably the most important part of the process. Yes, even more important than your bin selection or how you categorize your treasures.
Take these shoes below for example. Many folks would take a look at this pile, count up the pairs of shoes, hop on Amazon to order an organizing product to fit them all, and call it a day. But I want to challenge you to do it differently!
You see, treasures is exactly what you want to keep in mind while decluttering and in order to determine which items are the treasures and which are trash (figuratively) you have to make some decisions. Don’t worry, I’ve got you. Ask yourself these questions:
- Do I use this item?
- When is the last time the item was used?
- Is it still in good condition?
- Do I want to use it anymore?
- Does this item feel special to me? Do I love it?
In my eyes, if you don’t immediately say “yes” to these questions (or if you said it’s been a year or more since you used the item), there’s an excellent chance it’s time to say goodbye to that item. Whether you choose to donate or sell if it is in good condition or you need to throw it out, keeping items like this that don’t exactly thrill you only serves the purpose of adding to your frustration and overwhelm down the line. Go ahead and release them. You never know when an item will serve a more immediate purpose for someone else. One man’s trash is another’s treasure, right?
So in the example of the shoes, you want to go through those shoes first, pare them down, and only then should you consider a system for storing and organizing the shoes that is more functional for you than this pile.
Think of it this way: every space in your home is real estate (more on this in a later blog post) and YOU get to choose exactly what items take up the real estate in your home. Do you really want to take up that space with things you don’t use or love? Probably not. Because every item you choose to keep requires maintenance–so the more you keep, the more you have to maintain. Conversely, when you pare down your belongings to just the things you use and love, not only do you have less to maintain, but it doesn’t feel like as much of a chore when you can do it quickly and see all the things you love.
If I still haven’t convinced you, it’s because you haven’t tried it for yourself yet. Give it a whirl and come back and let me know how you feel. It doesn’t have to be huge to feel the impact. Try a single shelf in the linen closet or a drawer in your bathroom. You will feel amazing every time you slide that drawer open or see that clutter-free shelf in the closet. Just remember, organizing without decluttering is just tidying up.
Look for the accompanying podcast episode for this post with the Declutter 360 Podcast for more!