How did it get like this?

Written by Karen Jessee

We all have that spot.  It’s a drawer, desk top, closet, room, garage, basement; a space so cluttered, so unorganized, so filled with stuff and nonsense that it is no longer functional.  And one day, for some reason, we look at it all with new eyes, dismay, and wail out loud, 

"How did it get like this?”

We can successfully prepare for milestones because we see them coming and they have deadlines: a wedding, a move, a baby, college, a job, even the seasons. But the every day habits of putting papers into baskets, flinging mail onto the kitchen counter, shoving the holiday decorations into the attic, storing new purchases in the corner of the closet, buying in bulk and tossing it into the basement, hanging the clothes on the exercise machine, piling the magazines and newspapers into corners are something else. These temporary and fast solutions for the chores we promise ourselves we “will get to some time later” are daily motions that are the equivalent of a bird building a nest.  The movements are small, quick and repetitive. When we don’t get back to that space,  we eventually encounter massive clutter and constipated spaces that no longer have a function or purpose.  At least the bird gets a home; we’ve destroyed ours.

 If that spare room is a towering mountain of things, do you want this to be an organized storage room or closet?  If so, then setting up for success might mean attractive shelving and storage units or clothing bars mounted to the wall. If clothing is hanging from the exercise equipment then the question is, are you using this piece of equipment and if not, would it be handier to have a clothing rack or set of hooks and shelves here?  Be honest.  Don’t pretend you’re going to use that bulky exercise equipment that has become the elephant in the room if you prefer long walks outdoors or exercising in groups for the support. Let it go and reclaim your real estate.    Will you continue buying in bulk?  Great.  Did you set up storage space that is accessible?  If it isn’t, you’ll buy more before you reach for what you already have. Kitchen appliances?  Photographs?  Recycling? Toys?  Where will you set up for success so the bits and pieces don’t pile, crawl and meander through your living space?

The largest space invader for most people is paper: the magazines they promise to read and the newspapers containing coupons.  We’ve all heard about the woman who saved $10,000 a year using coupons. $10,000 a year is a part-time job with a system. She created a daily, organized routine to get those coupons from the newspaper into her purse, out to the car and through check out before the expiration date.  Do you really use coupons? Set up a system for success or toss them.  Is there really a life-changing article that you’ve missed lurking inside those 200 old magazines?  What a reading chore to go back through all those issues. It’s just paper. Can you recycle? Can you cancel some subscriptions?  Can you start anew?  Think how wonderful you will feel when that guilt-inflicting pile is simply gone.

Finally, there is nothing anyone can buy –  shelves, bins, files, boxes, or  baskets-  to help keep clutter at bay that is better than establishing a routine or better habit: think of the coupon lady. There’s a woman with priorities. What routines or rules would make a difference for you?   A little honesty about how you function in your space and how you want it to look  will go a long way in helping you find successful solutions to coping with clutter and reclaiming your valuable nest.