Remember when you were a kid and you had a special 8x10 box hidden under your bed of your very own prized possessions, a special rock, a piece of pink ribbon, a bracelet you found and a marble you won? Ok, maybe I'm thinking of the olden days, which was probably before you were born. But it's true, not that long ago most people only had what they needed, everything got used until it no longer existed, very little was thrown away. These days, it seems as though everything is disposable toys, clothes, even furniture. Prices of consumer goods have gone down and people have more money to spend for fun. The result, more stuff, so much stuff in every corner, drawer, cabinet and closet.
Living with so much stuff can be a great source of stress for a lot of people. When things get cluttered so do our thoughts, it's hard to focus when there is so much distraction. Many people spend time looking for things rather than enjoying time with the people they love or doing the activities they enjoy.
The good news is, dealing with it doesn't have to be over whelming. If you don't want to you don't even have to get rid of things, although for a lot of people this will help significantly. The important thing to remember when dealing with mess and clutter is to spend ample time now to organize it well so that you don't have to spend time over and over again on the same clutter.
When analyzing the space to get under control consider the height of the shelves. measure if you need to in order to purchase bins, baskets or boxes that will utilize the space most efficiently. Clear bins are cost effective and great for everything from seasonal items, shoes and hand bags. I also love these low front bins that can be lifted down to choose your item and then placed back without disrupting the entire pile.
Investing in a set of matching hangers will give your closet an organized look and remind you when it's time to purge. Out of hangers equals out with items you no longer wear. The key to staying organized is not to stop buying yourself new things but to get rid of the old so that you can feel good about bringing new items in. Velvet hangers are great for keeping items from slipping and wood hangers give a very luxurious look. You can add no slip grips to the hanger ends as well.
Your cabinets are there for you to use, just because they are full of stuff doesn't mean you can't use them. You have to remind yourself they are yours and you need to reclaim your space. Move everything in your desk cabinet up one shelf, get rid of every thing on the top shelf. Create a beautiful space for you to come to when planning your day!
Use a pretty tray for a catch all on the first shelf and make a commitment to sort the items that collect once a month. Use convenient photo boxes and magazine holders for the upper shelves that can be taken down and replaced without having to move things in front of them. Never place loose items on upper shelves, it will only cause clutter.
There are two ways to get started on your declutter journey, just start or hire an organizer to help you get started. If you want to give it a go on your own choose an area you want to tackle, then remove the items that you use regularly, arrange them by category, then remove the things that you hope to use or can't imagine parting with make a second pile, and last get rid of everything that is left. The important thing to remember is that it is just stuff and more than likely getting rid of something that you may have to purchase again down the road won't cause the headache that keeping everything just in case will. So go, declutter and enjoy your new found space and freedom from stuff.