The New Year is here again, and like most Canadians, you probably hope to do something better this year! Short of calling this a new year’s resolution (a recipe for failure?), let’s just say you aim to live more clutter-free in 2013.
I get asked a lot what the ‘cardinal rules’ are for staying organized. So, I’ve boiled it down to three easy-to-remember principles that anyone can work towards this year:
1. Get rid of stuff you don’t need.
- If you don’t use it, don’t like it, it’s broken, it doesn’t fit, you don’t know why you have it, etc., just let it go.
- Charities and thrift stores thrive off of these donations – so feel good about that and don’t focus on the fact that you spent money acquiring it.
- As you work on this step, try to move towards reducing how much ‘stuff’ you bring in to your home in the first place. “Less is More!”
2. Every item needs a home.
- Everything you own should have a place to ‘live’. Nothing should be ‘homeless’ because that means clutter (and we all know clutter begets clutter.)
- Keep in mind the idea of ‘prime real estate’ and find places to keep things near where they are used, with the most-used items easiest to get at.
3. Get in the habit of putting things where they belong.
- Once you’ve determined where things should go, get them squared away: use bins, baskets, boxes, etc and label them where appropriate.
- This is the step that you repeat on an ongoing basis: get used to putting things where they belong and you’ll find it gets easier all the time.
- You’ll love how much easier it is to put your hands on what you need, when you need it!