Disorganization is a reality for many people. Whether it’s their homes, desks, or closets, clutter can creep up on you. Set a couple of pens here, an extra sock there, and eventually, disorganization will become a big problem that needs to be handled as soon as possible.
The first step to organize your life is to declutter it. With more organization, you can get more done because you don’t have to look through as much or worry that you have lost the thing you need. With a clean environment, you’ll process and memorize information, easier.
Here are eight tips to declutter your life.
#1 Discard
After removing everything from its container including all pens and sticky notes, discard the things that you don’t use or need. If you haven’t used it in a month or won’t need it in the coming month, you should get rid of it. This method will make it much easier to organize your home, desk, or closet.
After you’ve done this you may feel a bit overwhelmed because your space will be full of things that you pulled out, but, take a breath, this is just the first stage to organizing your life.
#2 Categorize
Rather than organizing your things by room, organize by category. When you enter a room and decide to declutter, you may want to, for instance, organize by books, papers, or clothes. This is more efficient and a lot less repetitious than organizing by room.
#3 Mementos
Save all of these emotionally-laden items for last. These will severely slow down your progress because of their sentimentality. You may get stuck in an hour-long or two-hour long session of looking back as soon as you pick up these items. Place these items in a box marked mementos as soon as you come across them. Don’t talk about them or think about them for longer than it takes to put them in this box. When you’re finishing decluttering the rest of the area sort through your mementos and discard ones that you have duplicates of, don’t add any value to your life, or that you’d be okay having a picture of, instead.
#4 Papers
Homes and offices can be filled with papers. Discard all papers, except those that belong in the categories laid out at the end of this paragraph.You may have old bills, newspaper clippings, junk mail, and bank statements. Get rid of them. For those things you do, or will, need, it’s best to sort these items into categories, just like the other areas. Three overarching categories include papers:
- you need now
- you will need for an unspecified amount of time
- you will need indefinitely
#5 Storage Bins
When placing your items in storage bins you’ll want to sort them by family member and by type. Rather than putting each storage bin in a different room, you’ll want to store like items in one place. For instance, keep the toilet paper, rags, cleaning items all in the same place. It makes it a lot easier to find items and take an inventory of how much you have left before going shopping. This also applies to storage spaces. Make spaces in your home designated spots for certain items.
#6 Your Computer’s Desktop
If you have no idea what the background picture of your computer’s desktop is, you have too many files on it. At any given time, you’ll want to have the majority of that picture showing. Even if it’s just a color, your desktop shouldn’t be covered in files. This is a digital form of disorganization.
A great habit to organize your computer and increase productivity is to remove every file from your desktop by either deleting the file or putting it in one master folder. At the end of each day, you’ll want to clear your desktop.
If the clutter is on your smartphone, you’ll want to delete any unused apps. Not only will this make your smartphone go faster because of the reduced space being taken up, but it’ll also keep your phone customized rather than a dump all for every app you’ve ever downloaded and no longer use.
#7 Unsubscribe
Your email can easily become a place of clutter. Inboxes should, preferably, have no unread messages. Just like your computer’s desktop, each day you’ll want to go through your emails and clear out your inbox. once a week you may want to go through your sent messages, draft folder, and trash folder. Keep this clean, as well.
While you’re at it, unsubscribe from any emails you’re not interested in. If you don’t read them, then you don’t need them.
#8 Each Day, Give Away
To keep your space free of clutter, you’ll want to give away one thing each day. This’ll boost your mood by making your home, office, and car more open. With more space, you’ll find your mind has more space to create. This increased creativity may get excited about old projects or new ways to do things at work. another benefit if that you will teach your children, or significant other, these organizational methods. they can then use them to get all of the benefits you have.
These are just a couple of ways to increase the organization of your life. With a few simple adjustments, you’ll find that your mind is less cluttered and feels lighter. This will lead to less stress, increased productivity, and possibly, a higher income. Organization of your space reflects organization of your mind.
A final tip: Scan each room before leaving. All surfaces and floors should be clear. If they aren’t, put the misplaced item back in its place. Teach your children this same method. For instance, if a child plays video games, have that child take out one video game and when finished swap that video game with another. This will keep his/her space much cleaner and organized. After all, he/she can only play one video game at once. By committing to this small act you, and your family, can keep your space free of clutter and excess items.
