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You might think there are some magical secret tricks organized people have to stay organized. Well, you’re pretty much right. We do have tricks, but they don’t have to stay secret and the magic really exists in the follow through. I have written extensively about how to follow through with one of my recommended declutter programs or cleaning routines, but right now I’m going to let you in on the top secret of the organized.
People who are able to organize their homes and keep them organized usually have this secret in common. It’s only a secret because no one talks about it but I’m going to change that now.
The secret is simple: HAVE LESS STUFF.
You could be thinking “duh” or you could be thinking “I thought organized people just had pretty containers and clever ways of storing all the junk.” Certainly organized people can have lives and hobbies and stuff that comes with that, but maybe they don’t still have leftovers of most things they’ve ever owned. Whatever you think, I am here to tell you what is true: The less stuff you have, the easier it is to get and stay organized!
Clutter causes what is really important to get lost in the sea of unimportant. Imagine you have a stack of papers and most of those papers are unnecessary or trash, and then inside of that stack of papers are super important documents like birth certificates and social security cards. All of the unimportant stuff makes the whole pile seem unimportant and it is hard to find the important stuff you actually need. Or the opposite happens, the few valuable items gives the entire pile of trash a false sense of importance. Either way, everything mixed together makes it hard to find things and hard to figure out at a glance if you should get rid of a pile. This might be what your whole house feels like, as kitchen stuff you use every day is mixed with things you haven’t used in years or clothes you would wear are hiding behind stuff you don’t want to wear. It’s hard to feel organized in this kind of chaos!
Remember that there is an actual cost associated with everything you keep – monetarily, physically, and mentally. Consider that you are paying “rent” for the valuable space all of your belongings take up. These belongings also rob you of the peace you could feel with a clutter-free life.
As Henry David Thoreau said: “Simplify, simplify, simplify.”
The truth about too much stuff:
- Clutter slows down productivity and causes stress. It is hard to focus with so much competing for our attention!
- Clutter causes sickness. When your home has too much stuff, none of it gets the cleaning it really needs, which leaves dust and germs around to wreak havoc.
- Belongings become confused with relationships, which then diminishes our relationships.
Be honest with yourself.
“Maybe in an alternate universe youāll finally go camping with the tent in the basement, whip up a scrapbook with your stash of 10-year-old craft supplies and reread every book on the over-stocked shelf. But what about right here, right now? āHolding on to things ājust in caseā provides comfort and a sense of security, especially when so many have lost so much in these uncertain economic times ā¦ But think about what youāre sacrificingākitchen counter space, room in the garage for the car, a ready-for-guests living room. Youāre swapping your quality of life for some imagined future. Instead of worrying that you might miss an item, think how relaxed you and your family will be amid all the free space and order that youāre creating in your home.ā (Meredith Janson from Family Circle Magazine)
I know for many, we have guilt associated for not being the person that would use the tent, or make that scrapbook, or re-read a classic. Unfortunately, keeping that stuff around doesn’t make us more likely to use it, just more likely to feel bad every time we see it. We don’t want the stuff in our homes to make us feel bad. Our homes should be the place we feel best, a sanctuary from the chaos of the world. It’s okay to let go of a version of ourselves that isn’t realistic to embrace what might actually be a better version of ourselves – someone who isn’t hanging on to old guilt and has room in their lives for new experiences.
William Morris has a famous quote that is used in organizing writing a lot, but that is because it is the most common sense advice told so succinctly: “Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”
When you aren’t overcrowded with clutter, you can be more organized. You can have those cute matching containers to store the stuff you keep and use. The vision of an organized home begins with less stuff.
From my home to yours,
Mary
Originally published 5/22/2013.
Have this and other decluttering inspiration read to you –
This is so true! All that stuff just feels like weight holding you down. It does create a false sense of security, which is the allure of holding on to it all. Less is truely more! Thanks.
When I read the sentence about not getting rid of a pile of junk because you know there are a few important things in the pile – I knew that was me! My brain never articulated that thought before though. Thanks!
I am so in this same situation as so many people out there but just don’t have the help I need to clean out and sort through the boxes after moving last year. I have decided that I am going to find a friend or hire someone to help me sort out what can be sold or donated. I hope everyone is inspired as well.
Lyn, good luck. I’ve done this without help, if you have too much, call an estate sale company to help pare down. Sometimes there comes a time when you just can’t do it and the big guns have to come out.
Thanks so much for your comment! I am so glad you were inspired!
I love the quote by William Morris. Less IS More. xo Morgan
I am a firm believer in a clutter free home. You can have a little dust and dirt but clutter makes a clean house look dirty. I still have way too much stuff but I have a rule about clutter.When my kids were small they had to pay part of their allowance to get back the stuff they left out.Everyone knew where we kept the scissors ,the nail clippers, ect. No clothes on the floor ever! Now I help organize others. You can have stuff but you need to have a place for it. I am guilty of having boxes of memorabilia but it is well organized. And I purge once a year.My house has magazines and books but not over four months old. I ‘m guilty of some recipe books even though I know I can get them online. I stopped buying books when I got my Kindle.But I’ve kept stuff for years because I paid good money for it.
I know how you feel. I am an organizer, but I struggle with all of these human impulses just like everyone else. I find it so helpful to remind myself of the “keeping rules” and I often say “what would you tell a client?” That usually does the trick. š
I always feel sooooo good after I declutter, deep clean, organize a space. Just did 2/3 of my nasty pantry. No time to finish, well, maybe Sunday afternoon, after church council meeting. Will be sooo good to get THAT monkey off my back. Have made great progess in not aquiring anything new, well groceries, lol, unless it meets the useful/beautiful rule. That has saved me tons.
Clean pantries reward you several times a day as you use your kitchen. Good job!
This sounds so easy but for me it isn’t. I have to detach fr my stuff so I can get rid of stuff! I need to do this !!! Thank you !
Yes, you are not your stuff! Remember that. I’d also suggest this ā¦ http://maryorganizes.com/2013/08/your-junk-or-your-life/
I have heard this do many times and I believe it is true, but every time I make some progress on getting rid of junk I get stalled before it is done. I think I start to feel guilty about throwing out things I bought. We are planning to move across the country in two years (once I’m done with school). I am looking forward to taking the bare necessities and starting over.
Try reading this post, I wrote as an exact response to the issue you’re having. http://maryorganizes.com/2013/08/your-junk-or-your-life/
It is worth it to keep trying, as much as it takes!
I wish I had figured this out earlier in life! The more I de-clutter and organize, the easier my life gets. It’s very liberating.
I’m hoping to teach so many people just how liberating it is! š
I have already started! 12 boxes ready for garage sale. Living room is 3/4 painted and am painting the bathroom tonight! So excited to get rolling on this.
Look at you go! Go with the motivation while you’ve got it, but don’t expect yourself to sustain this level the whole time. If you start to feel yourself burnout, just step back and do the simple daily tasks. š
I have a whole dang room in my house that I avoid because it’s where all the clutter goes when people are coming over. I really want to turn it into a functional, pretty, and calm guest room and den. I’m full of hope for the next 91 days!
Hope is good, commitment is even better. You can and you WILL do this!
It is so hard to part with family items passed down to you with older family members now deceased…
Yes, that is difficult. Will you bring this up in the Facebook group? I think people could help brainstorm ways of working through this. š
Painfully true.
So, so true. Painful now, but it won’t always be.
So…would this be the right time to mention that my social security is temporaily hiding somewhere in my house? So glad I signed up for the 91 Day Declutter.
Well, now you have a target to shoot for – find that card!
Love this:) thanks for posting.
THANKS! š
Thanks for this. Where do I find more secrets? I searched your blog, but didn’t find anything. Or is this the big one-and-only secret?! (Cuz I’m cool with that, too! Less for me to correct that way!)
Ha! The rest of the secrets have been an eBook in progress. I am basing this on a presentation I often give at public speaking gigs. I need to find the time to finish that eBook!
Mary – just found your website – LOVE IT. I used to live in NWA myself and work at WM corporate. Miss the area. Anyway – just wanted to tell you that I recently started with this idea in mind. I am the one who keeps the scrapbook supplies I bought 10 years ago when I as pregnant with all the great plans in mind (Ha!) and the other “stuff” I think I will use again one day. I’m starting to declutter and following your challenge. Thanks for writing an interesting blog and ideas. So wish I was still there in NWA, I could hire you to come help!
Barbara
Thanks so much for your comment. We love it here in NWA. It is such a beautiful place to raise a family!
This article really hit a nerve for me. I have a storage unit that I use to store stuff for my business….. plus….I need to go through and get rid of it this year!!! Am hoping with your system, you can help me with your 91 day plan. I am soo motivated. Snow is about the only thing that is holding me back right now. Thank you in advance.
I’m so glad you’re joining us! You are definitely not alone and you can definitely do this!! Please keep me updated on how you’re doing!
After cleaning my living room after Christmas and loving how clean and open and clutter free it is, it’s my favorite room in the house. I need to just get rid of things but it is difficult to let go. I’m going to work on this!
A little bit more every day. Overtime, with effort, your perspective on stuff really does start to change!
I love how you get right to the point. I could have read an entire 300 page book that says what you just did in a short blog.
Thank you so much! I’m so glad it resonated with you.
Any advice for art studios? I don’t thrive creatively with clutter…have been working on donating, trashing, instead of organizing clutter. It’s been a challenge. .I get stuck in the “perfect?” Place for things. But am gaining confidence in what I’ve done so far.
Last year I converted our guest bedroom into my studio. I am so excited to show it on the blog during the craft room week. That may give some ideas, but since I’ve noticed every artist is so different in their medium, I can’t imagine any art studio would be cookie-cutter. Honestly, I go through what you go through. I am constantly re-arranging the “stuff” in my studio, not the furniture, but the “stuff”. I think this is normal, though, and actually fuels me creatively, because after my rearranging sessions, I always have a surge of creativity. Maybe it is a way of being reminded of all the different things I have to work with that it allows something to spark my interest. I do think there are methods of organizing studios that allow for this re-arranging without having to constantly buy new containers, etc, and I will show that in my tour. The most important thing for me, and it sounds like for you too, and I think for many artists, is to get out the extra stuff!! I can’t feel creative in clutter either.
Sorry for my very unhelpful answer, but hopefully the tour coming up in a few weeks will help. š
Mary, you helped a lot. .just the fact that you can relate! Looking forward to your tour.
I have some “messy” drawers and one big cupboard in the kitchen containing stuff I don’t know what to do with. They could be put to much better use. Better buy some trash bags š
Yes! How exciting to get all that under control!