The Categories for Conquering Clutter
Find four boxes and label them with these categories:
The Four-Container Method
Working room by room, sort items into the appropriate boxes. Work with one item at a time determining its proper place in your newly organized life. Do not forget to go through closets, cabinets, and storage spaces. While removing clutter from rooms like the kitchen and bathroom may be easy, rooms with storage containers and closets may take a lot more time. Work on one room at a time to provide yourself with an easy stopping point for interruptions. When you come to a stopping point, dispose of the trash immediately. Box up the storage box. Place the giveaway/sell box in the garage or out of sight. If you allow yourself to contemplate the decisions you have made, your brain can trick you into rescuing the clutter.
Things To Remember
Items aren’t memories: While you know that items are not equivalent to memories of the person who gave them to you, pruning items with an emotional attachment can be difficult. Consider carefully if you need the item to have the memory or emotional attachment. If you simply aren’t sure, consider storing items on a trial basis, or giving them to another family member for safekeeping. Think about taking photos of the item that will store more readily, but give you tangible proof of the memory. If you really feel the need to keep items of this nature, don’t fight it, but instead try to incorporate these memories into decorative displays or organized storage.Don’t keep clothes that don’t fit: Get rid of old clothing even if it’s the size you used to be and hope to return to. It’s tempting to keep them for when you reach your goal but consider rewarding yourself with a new wardrobe instead.Purge items you don’t use: Don’t force yourself to keep sets such as dishware, glasses, or even sweater sets or other clothing if you only use part of the set. If you cannot bear to break up a set, at least store the portions you do not use.Organization trumps “someday”: Keeping things just because you might need them someday may seem like a good reason for clogging your closets, but remind yourself that what you really need is space and organization.
