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Decluttering and Cleaning Tips
Decluttering and Cleaning your home- and keeping it that way- can seem an immense challenge! Whether your clutter is mild, or you have a serious compulsive hoarding problem (see the end of this article for advice regarding this), not knowing how to approach the task or where to start, can virtually freeze you into taking no action at all!
Serious clutter and hoarding is probably much more widespread than most people realise, and it can affect people of any age, gender, nationality, financial or lifestyle level... even millionaires! It often occurs in people suffering from depression, OCD or other life traumas. For some people, decluttering can take a long time, a lot of effort (both physically and emotionally) and can almost seem like an impossible task. But it can be done, and is successfully done by many people every day.
We asked some wonderful people who have dealt with, or are dealing with, decluttering/ dehoarding in their own lives. Below are some of the useful ideas and information they have kindly shared with us! My sincere thanks to everyone who contributed.
- Assess the clutter situation as truthfully as you can. Really see it! Not just as you normally do, but as others might see it for the first time. Decide what needs to be done, then prioritize. Make a "plan of attack."
- Remember to assemble the necessary equipment and supplies before you start... make sure you have everything you need to get going with your plan. It's too easy to lose momentum if you suddenly find you don't have something, and have to go to buy it.
- If you have a serious state of over-clutter, don't try to attempt too much at once! It can be completely overwhelming and you can end up going backwards, instead of forwards. Remember that everything doesn't have to be done at once. Divide the overall picture into little tasks. The whole immense job may seem impossible... but a small task can easily be tackled and successfully completed. And another... and another. Baby steps. And celebrate each baby step!
- Think of eating an elephant with a teaspoon - a big job but it can be done, bit by tiny bit! This helps with my feelings of being overwhelmed.
- A lot of inability to cope with clutter comes from perfectionism. I had no idea I was a perfectionist - how could I be if I live in such a mess! But reading about it suddenly it all makes sense! I didn't even bother starting something because I knew that I would never get it perfect, so why bother. Once I realised that, I could see that tidying half the kitchen bench was okay, I did not have to spring clean the whole kitchen.
- Getting started is the most important thing. Don't wait for strong motivation... just get in and do something!
"Motivation follows action!"
- A place for everything, and everything in its place!
- Keep things together that go together.
- Keep things in the room they are most used in.
- No dirty dishes left in the sink, ever, when I go to bed or leave the house.
- The mail must be dealt with every-single-day. Bills in the "bill place," junk in the recycling, etc.
- An item of clothing must either be hung up, folded & put in drawer, or put in laundry basket as soon as it leaves my body.
- Pretend you're moving to a smaller place, and go through your belongings accordingly.
- Have a wastebasket in every room. Make sure ALL the trash makes it to the wastebasket. Empty it when it's full.
- If you take something out of a room to use--dishes, books, craft projects--when you're done with them, the next time you leave the room you brought them to, BRING THEM BACK to the room where you got them.
- My tip is to clean out the smallest IMPORTANT room first and keep it clean. By "important" I mean rooms which keep your life running smoothly.
- Clean the nearest "hotspot" where stuff tends to accumulate.
- Play a game of "Erasing the Evidence." The idea is, if you make yourself a sandwich, before you do anything else, you put away the food, clean the plate, throw away the trash, etc. If you wrap presents, before you do anything else, you put away the wrapping supplies properly. No one should be able to track you around the house.
- Every day, before I allow myself to sit down at my computer (or for you it might be the TV, or whatever) I will do something different that I don't normally do at this time. So I pick up trash, empty trash, throw out papers to recycle, put things away. Just something small and simple... but something! I am calling this doing something different rather than cleaning, because it truly is different in this context of what I normally do when I go in there. And it gives me permission to do something besides cleaning. The clincher is that not until I have done something different, do I sit down at the computer.
- While sorting through things and trying to decide whether to keep an item or not, ask yourself if you would buy it if you didn't already have it.
- If you want to buy something new use the "one in, two out" rule. If you really really really want to keep something, fine, but pick two other things to throw away. Stuff you have already thrown away doesn't count.
- If you're storing things that might be useful, realise that while you are storing them and hoarding them, THEY AREN'T BEING USED. Donate stuff to Goodwill or the like. It's something that got me started doing this- I always grab and save stuff that could be of some use, thinking I'd have it when I or someone else needed it... but in my piles, stuff is LOST and will NEVER get used. it might as well be in a landfill! The word hoarding means to keep things that could be used by others. It's not such a pleasant helpful trait when I think of it that way. So, release the items to bless someone else!
- I think for me, one of the things that is helping is to be actively aware of my thinking processes, especially at the times that active "hoarding type" thoughts are occurring. I'm trying to monitor my thoughts actively, *catch* myself going wrong, and change it to the correct thinking pattern. For example- I finished a bottle of dishwashing detergent and I began to think "I'll save this empty bottle so I can put some in it for when we go away next, to take along." Then I stopped and said NO!!! And threw it in the recycling. I can buy a NEW small bottle of detergent to take away! :) Nipped in the bud!
- For me the most important step was accepting that I live in a society of abundance. It is easier to let go when I know that most of the stuff is easily replaceable even on my budget: discount stores, thrift stores, freecycle.
- I focus on how I want to live, what is important to me now, and what I'm likely to actually do. Then I try to get my living environment to reflect that and only that. This is the hardest part for me and I'm still struggling; this is where a lot of the emotional baggage and guilt is. Getting rid of stuff that was important to me feels like I'm abandoning part of myself, but at the same time holding on to things that I don't need, use, or want makes me feel like I'm failing myself. I try not to force it and very slowly I'm winning the battle with nostalgia and misaligned intentions.
- Setting goals both large and small, and writing them down, has helped so much. When I started out my big goal was pretty much the same as it is today: freedom from feeling burdened by my stuff. Smaller goals that I have met have included: being able to wear anything in my closet with little thought or effort, having an efficient kitchen, and assigning homes to everything. Current goals I have are: dealing with all the paperwork, stop hoarding consumables, and maintaining a cleaning schedule.
- The biggest pitfall is expecting quick lasting change. I've "cleared out the clutter" dozens of times, but some things are really hard to let go (old hobby supplies), other things have passed under the radar (large stockpiles of consumables), and as my interests and needs have changed, so has what items are clutter.
- Forming habits takes time. When I first started I did the shop and drop thing, followed by the throw unopened perishables away thing. What helps me is working on very specific aspect of a new habit first: putting refrigerating items away right when I get home. Then after I have that down I add putting everything else away to the habit. By working on a two tiered approach I've limited a lot of the damage backsliding does because I only backslide half the way.
- Letting go of perfectionism (for now) has also been a great tool. I focus on what makes the most visual impact so I have clean counters, but not as clean floors. Keeping the garbage out has trumped recycling everything. Removing clutter has more visual impact than dusting.
- When you go to sleep, think about tomorrow. What jobs need to be done? Make a "list" in your mind for tomorrow- or on paper to stop it *playing on your mind*, or in case you forget. Then just do it!!
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Compulsive Hoarding can be a serious problem and often requires expert help to successfully deal with. Just clearing out the hoard won't solve the complex emotional issues that are at the root of the problem. If you, or a loved one, suffer from a serious hoarding problem, ask your doctor to refer a specialist who deals with this issue.
An organising expert may also be of help, to deal with the clutter, and keep it under control, by setting up proper systems. Seek out a professional organiser who has had experience with compulsive hoarders.
Visiting one of the following websites/groups can also be of immense help with the long journey ahead.
http://takeonestepatatime.proboards80.com/index.cgi
This is one of the best sites for anyone who wants support and understanding in their decluttering/dehoarding efforts! Very active posting forum, plus live chat allows real time support and decluttering *challenges*! The people there are friendly, supportive, non-judgemental (no matter how bad your home is!!) and really understand what you are going through. Well worth a look!
http://squalorsurvivors.com
Although no longer actively updated, this site has excellent information for people dealing with decluttering and dehoarding in their own lives.
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Messiness-and-Hoarding/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Declutter-Support/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/messiestalk/
Excellent active Yahoo groups for people with messy/ clutter/ hoarding problems.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mates-of-Messies/
Yahoo group for people in a partner relatopnship (married or otherwise) with a person who has messiness, clutter or hoarding issues.
http://www.childrenofhoarders.com
A very useful site for adult children of hoarders, or other relatives or friends trying to help hoarders.
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/childrenofhoarders/
Wonderfully supportive Yahoo group for adult children of hoarders, or other people dealing with friends/relatives with hoarding problems.
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