Did you mull over the concept of what should be left in the room and what needs to go? Did you consider where the items in your room fit into the DAILY, WEEKLY, MONTHLY or YEARLY categories? Have you a clear picture in your mind what this room is intended for?
If you can answer these questions then we need to quit talking and start sorting! Let's dig in and start filling those containers labeled STORE, DONATE/GIVE AWAY, BELONGS HERE and BELONGS ELSEWHERE.
The goal is to sort the entire room, one section at a time if need be, filling your baskets as you go and then dealing with the items in those baskets. If you've chosen a challenging room, like your kitchen or home office, you may find your baskets full to overflowing after only doing one section of the room. If you find that to be the case, I would recommend stopping at that point and dealing with some, though not all, of your piles. Some will have to wait for the completion of the entire room.
So which piles will we deal with? Let's look at each of them:
If you can answer these questions then we need to quit talking and start sorting! Let's dig in and start filling those containers labeled STORE, DONATE/GIVE AWAY, BELONGS HERE and BELONGS ELSEWHERE.
The goal is to sort the entire room, one section at a time if need be, filling your baskets as you go and then dealing with the items in those baskets. If you've chosen a challenging room, like your kitchen or home office, you may find your baskets full to overflowing after only doing one section of the room. If you find that to be the case, I would recommend stopping at that point and dealing with some, though not all, of your piles. Some will have to wait for the completion of the entire room.
So which piles will we deal with? Let's look at each of them:
- Throw
- Do just that! Throw it out! - Give/Donate
- If this pile is significant enough to make a trip by the Salvation Army, then go for it. If not, don't waste your precious time.
- If there are items in there you intend to give to individuals, pull them out, bag them and tag them---and get them out of the house. - Store
- If this pile is still insignificant and varied, wait until later. Our goal is for our storage also to be labeled and organized. You may not know yet what size of containers you need for your storage. - Belongs Elsewhere
- Some of these may be quick fixes. Deal with those. Hang the jacket back up in the coat closet. Take the dirty clothes to the laundry hamper. Deal with all those items that have a definite home elsewhere.
- Others may not have quick fixes. You may come across items that don't belong in this room, don't belong in storage, but somehow have been lost in your home without a real place of their own. If the perfect home for this item comes to mind, give it that home. If the perfect home for this item continues to elude you, just leave it there for now. The goal is not to get sidetracked. - Belongs Here!
- Some of these will, as above, be quick fixes. They may already have a definite home within the room. They've just wandered too far. It's simple. Put them back.
- Some of these items won't have a quick fix. They've been roaming at large because they've never yet been designated their own home within the room. As stated above, if the perfect home for this item comes to you quickly, give it that home. If not, leave it in the basket for now.
I've completed a section in my home office/guest room. My baskets began to fill. Some I have nearly emptied. Others I've opted to leave items in for now until I can really decide where best to put them. It's a good start. Another day I'll declutter the next section. But not this weekend. I've a birthday party to put together!
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