|
Back Issues |
|
House
& Home . Spring
Cleaning Help: You’ve been cooped up in your house all winter long. Quietly, secretly, stuff has been creeping into your life. It is in every corner of the house. The hall closets are overflowing with stuff for sports you’ve never even played. The basement is piled high with mystery boxes. Not to mention the garage! It hasn’t had room for the car in years because it is so filled with ... with ... What is all that stuff in the garage anyway!?! ... But now as the sap begins to flow and the (foolish) robins return. Something stirs inside you. You begin to imagine. Just imagine what it would feel like ...
What to do? ... What else!?! Get organized. ... Think
small Of course you’ve wanted to rid yourself of clutter forever, but it feels overwhelming. You may have wondered, “Where do I begin? ... And when do I find the time to do it?” Becoming organized is a process. It certainly doesn’t happen overnight, especially when you’re dealing with year’s worth of accumulation. Have realistic goals, ones that you truly can attain and feel good about. And think small. If you plan to start in the hall closet, just do one shelf. Or simply give yourself a 1/2-hour. Don’t overdo it on day one, or you may never want a day two. Plan to spend a little bit of time, a few days a week, for a month or two. If your home isn’t as organized as you’d like by then, take a break anyway. It’ll still be there a month later! Eight steps to help you along the way ...
Step 1: Pick a space to organize and decide what you want it to be used for: For example, suppose you choose to organize the hall closet, which at this point holds everything from linen and towels, to photos of your high school prom, to that coffeemaker with the little electrical problem. You know. The one where, if you ever were to catch up with your laundry, you’d never fit all the bath towels in. Let’s say the closet is close to the bedrooms and bathrooms. So, it feels realistic to you to have the towels and sheets located there, and that’s all. Nothing else. Terrific! ... There’s your answer. Step 2: Take everything out of the area to be organized: Go ahead, don’t be afraid. Pull it all out of the closet, every last dust ball. You get to keep any loose change you find. Vacuum and dust the area. Now you have a clean slate to work with. Step 3: Make decisions about what you want to put back in the area: So, it’s going to be all the towels, blankets and sheets that aren’t in use right now. But wait! Don’t be in such a rush to put it all back in. When was the last time you used those Donald Duck sheets? Can a towel with that many holes actually dry someone? Is there a reason you haven’t used that ugly old blanket in the last ten years? ... Now you get the idea. Step 4: Take the time to make honest decisions about the stuff going back in: Now comes the hard part. In getting organized, just as with so many other things, the most important thing you can do is to be honest with yourself. Often, and for a lot of different reasons, we're reluctant to part with things. We say: “Maybe I’ll need it some day.” ... or “Someone gave that to me as a wedding gift 30 years ago.” ... or “ I've been meaning to fix that thing.” But ... If you haven’t used it, you don’t remember having it, you don’t like it, you’ve been meaning to repair, it smells horrible ... or you don’t even know what it is any more ... LET IT GO! We tend to be so afraid of getting rid of things. But ask yourself, "What's the worst thing that could happen if I throw this out?" Sometimes, of course, it helps to know where something is going; then it’s easier to say good-bye. So ...
Just as often we need someone to tell us it’s okay to throw something out. If that sounds like you, seek help. Surrender to the will of a non-packrat friend. Step 5: Put things in their new home by category: Put face towels with face towels and beach towels with beach towels. Or, all red towels together and all blue towels together. ... You may want all pillowcases together and all top sheets together. Or you may want each set of sheets together. The right way is simply the way that feels right and makes sense to you. Step 6: Categorize the things that will not be going back into the organized space: What do you do with all the cute little baskets and old appliances that were stored in the closet? Go back to Step 4 and you may find that you end up having nothing left. If you do still have things, ask yourself where you are most likely to use the items and how often you are likely to use them. ... Is it memorabilia to be stored? or something beautiful that you want to look at every day? Is there already a place where you store baskets or batteries? ... Put the items where it makes sense to you to put them. Don’t worry just yet about organizing that space in which you just put the extra stuff. You can do that another day. Remember, we're thinking small, so this day is simply meant for the hall closet.
Step 7: View your masterpiece of organization and congratulate yourself: You did it! You organized a space in your home. Now enjoy the order ... the spaciousness ... the efficiency. Show off. Find a pillowcase to match that sheet in seconds. Lay your hands on the fluffiest towel of all and claim it for your own. Step 8: Set a date and time to organize the next corner of your home. That's it. ... Even the longest journey begins with a tiny first step. So look around. Now is the time to begin, before you find stuff piling up next to your favorite armchair, or claiming a place at the dinner table, or hiding your favorite shirt. Just 8 simple steps, and you can continue to recover your space and your home ... not to mention your sanity. ******* ******* About the Author ... Jane Agran ******* ******* If you would like to submit something for our House & Home section, don't hesitate to let us know. Simply e-mail us at house@downstreetmagazine.com. The e-mail should contain your name, address, and a phone number where we can reach you. You may also send a copy of your proposed article. The text can either be included in the body of the e-mail, or you can send it as an attachment in just about any word processing format. If your piece is accepted, we will pay a small honorarium for your interest & your time. [See Freelancers Wanted for more details.] ******* ******* If you would like to advertise in this section, or throughout the magazine, please visit our Advertising Info Pages ... or call, write, or e-mail ads@downstreetmagazine.com. ******* ******* |
|
*******
******* ******* ******* For more information, contact DownStreet Magazine by ...
Phone
(802) 453-5124 All
material copyrighted © 2000-2001. All rights
reserved. |
