PonderEthereal

The REAL first step to organizing a room is to figure out why you are disorganized and find the motivation to do it. I’m going to assume that stuff is done. The next step is the start over. I go through this step in November with my kids to clear their stuff out to make room for new stuff for Christmas and usually mid-spring. They are becoming pros! :)

You Need

1. Clear your space completely out. Remove everything from the space.
2. Get three trash bags. and have more on standby. One bag is is trash, one is give away, one is sell. Anything you are going to keep can go into a pile in the space.
3. Bring your camera with you.

The rules are :

1. Anything that is broken, missing pieces, is torn or is otherwise unusable must be thrown away
2. Anything that is easily broken or torn but salvageable but you haven’t done so in 6 months, is given away or sold depending upon the value
3. anything that you dont want or need any more and hasnt been used or thought about in six months is give away or sell.
4. Anything that ‘you might use someday’ but haven’t used it in six months is give away or sell
5. The give away bags must be given away or dropped off at goodwill within a week.
6. Clothes that don’t fit and you haven’t been able to wear in 2 years are give away or sell, depending upon value. Chances are, IF they fit again (they haven’t in two years), your style will have changed - or the style of the time will have changed and you will not wear them again.
7. Clothes that fit but you haven’t worn in a year are give away or sell, depending upon value. The exception to this is dress up clothes like a nice dress or a suit that still fits and you only need it once in a blue moon but is expensive to replace.
8. You have 5 reprieves. If it’s got sentimental value but otherwise should be given or thrown away, you may keep 5 of these items. If you reach 6, one item has to go.
9. When the bag fills up, replace it with a new one and keep going.

How to do it.

1. Pick up each item one at a time, no matter how small.
2. Even go through things stashed in boxes, bags and drawers.
3. In 3 seconds, make a gut instinct decision.. trash, giveaway, sell or keep.
4. If you hesitate, take a LOGICAL, not an emotional look at the item and make a decision.

Tips

• For sentimental items that you really don’t want or need to keep around anymore, snap a picture of the item.
• Have a friend help you. They can talk you down off of your emotional ledges and they are good at keeping you on task.
• If it’s a good quality item that you dont need or want around any more but too sentimental for goodwill, think about giving it to a friend or family member who would like it.
• If you’ve got lots of sentimental paper items (like little joe’s crayon drawing from his 3rd grade art class), these can sometimes be stored in a tub or box later. But you might also want to consider taking photos of them and getting rid of the originals if your load of papers is too big.

Stay tuned for step 2. :)