The First Step
You may be surprised to read that the first step in organizing is not getting organized. The first step is letting go!
Finding storage solutions, taking up storage areas or prime living space for items that you actually don’t really want is a time (and space) waster, no matter how great the organization system for it is. A well labeled storage container full of unwanted items is still clutter.
Most people (no matter how organized or unorganized) would agree that letting go is the hardest part of the organization process. In some cases it requires one to ask very tough questions and be very honest with themselves. Letting go can mean accepting that something of the past is not going to be part of your future. Letting go can make someone feel guilt or shame. Letting go can remind someone of lost opportunity or wasted money. All these feelings are very negative, but letting go does not only have to be a negative process. Letting go can mean opening up space for new opportunities. Letting go can make you feel lighter and happier when you step into your space. Letting go can give you a sense of empowerment.
Once you have determined “keep or go” , you can start the act of setting up an organizing system. Items now stored in well labeled storage containers are not hiding negative clutter, they are storing items that you want and use. They are storing keepsakes that are reflective of a past you want to remember.
So, before you think your home does not have enough storage, or that you have no idea how to organize your stuff, start with the first step – letting go.
Most importantly, do not think you have to go through the “letting go” all alone. Reach out and let a Professional Organizer help. The right organizers are trained to ask the right questions and understand the attachment that stuff can have. They can even help you find your discarded items, a purposeful place to go, or the proper disposable channels for inoperable items.
“If you don’t own it, you don’t have to organize it.” (author unknown)
