I really enjoyed this motivational article from LifeHack.org: 9 Things to Declutter from Your Life to Be Happier New Year’s resolutions are just around the corner and this article gives you ideas for both emotional and physical clutter in your life.
One of my favorite lines in the article was , “Some people have closets or entire rooms written off as “storage”, but you know what it really is.” How many of you have that “storage” room which is really the procrastination and indecision room in your hous? My husband and I just spent our first free weekend at home cleaning out our own “storage” areas and it was amazing how many random items get thrown behind a closed door in a basement, closet or attic in the busy rush of preparing for guests or rushing through life with kids. Most of what gets thrown in these rooms are items that you don’t have ample storage for in your main home or you just don’t feel like making a final decision on.
My best advice as a professional organizer is to visit these areas at least 4 times a year. Make sure that you have the right containers to hold the items in the space. For instance in our basement, we are always shuffling kids clothing in various sizes and seasonal decorations. The winter is a great time to spend some time looking through your bins, purging/donating what you don’t want, buying more bins if items are spilling out of the top and making sure everything is clearly labeled.
I also like to keep in mind the rule, that if items end up in our basement, it is likely we will not use them because they aren’t out in the open. The area should only be used for long-term storage or once a year items. If you put an extra kitchen appliance down there that has no room in your kitchen, the reality is you will find a way around using it rather than taking the extra steps down to the basement to find it, wash it and use it. The harder it is to get something, the less useful it is to you.
Remember the next time you throw something in a closet, attic or basement to ask yourself if you are just procrastinating figuring out where it really belongs in your life.