On average every one of us owns about 10,000 things. That is a lot of stuff to handle, quite literally. Chaos theory isn’t really a theory in a busy Mum’s life – it is something we all experience first hand, everyday!
‘I’m probably the only person on this planet who hasn’t got a proper filing system in place’ you might think - but hey, we’re all familiar with that scenario: The desk has disappeared under heaps of dodgy bits and papers have therefore developed a life of their own and spread out into all sorts of funny places (like shoe boxes in kitchen cabinets..!). The kids’ toys seem to weirdly spread somehow and duplicate by the hour. Getting the wardrobe doors to shut turns into a new exercise regime - and once you’ve managed to open them up again, you don’t seem to be able to find any clothes you’d really fancy wearing right now??So here we bring you some top tips by professional organiser Birgit Medele on how to remain in control of the clutter.
Often the most difficult step about clutter clearing is to make a start at all. It is of vital importance not to be overambitious and kid yourself into thinking you’ll sort out a room full of boxes or a storage area that has gone out of control “this Saturday afternoon/when the kids are in bed/when I have time”. Make an appointment with yourself, and show up! To pencil in half an hour is realistic and achievable. Only ever tackle one small area at a time: one drawer, two shelves in your wardrobe. And with that success under your belt, you’ll find yourself all fired up to move on to the next project!
Clutter Clearing can be regarded a chore. You could however, see it as a means of clearing the energy of the space around you, so you can be closer to your vision and goals - and how exciting is that!!
So, let’s start – out with the old and in with the new (please note, new here as in: experiences or friends – not necessarily shoes and handbags!)
● Clear by using different boxes and bags: rubbish, recycling, charity, returns, repairs – create your own categories.
● Wear a colour that cheers you up and listen to your favourite (upbeat!) music.
● Start off with easier clutter like old magazines, then slowly progress to more challenging sentimental stuff like presents or photographs.
● Always clear from the inside out (however tempting it might be to just tidy the surfaces, for real clearing success you need to create storage space first: everything must come out of that drawer or cupboard. Be aware of the fact that it will get worse before it gets better and have a cup of tea and/or supportive friend at hand to see you through this slightly chaotic stage of the clearing process.
● One mum summed up what all of us encounter sometimes: “Even after a major tidying session, just give it a week or so, and everything seems to be muddled up again because there doesn’t seem to be a system of where things go.” The challenge is indeed: to find a place for everything and to keep everything in its place. If toys haven’t got a dedicated storage place to live in, children are not able to tidy up. They simply don’t know where things go. Tip: Try to reorganise while clearing - find a permanent home for every thing; store similar items together; keep things near where you are going to use them
● Filing: again, always work from the inside out - which means, first go through all your existing folders, shoe boxes and plastic bags and weed out the unnecessary paper - you will be pleasantly surprised how much that is: tons!!! Only then can you proceed to step two, and start dealing with the intray/kitchen table/wherever your filing happens to live at this point in time. While you are filing, create a system that works for you: you can tell if a file doesn’t work if it is either too fat (needs breaking down) - or too thin (can go in with something else). Popular categories are: bank, tax, car, utilities, contacts, health, kids, phone/s, insurance, mortgage. Treat yourself to an inspiration file! Have fun customising.
● Kids: You blink and they’ve outgrown their clothes yet again or are bored with their toys – there is always some clearing to do. Many mums find it difficult to let go of their kids’ baby clothes. Tip: take a picture of your most loved items – that keepsake takes far less space than the real stuff.
Not only children outgrow things, we do too! And that’s what makes clutter clearing so deeply philosophical - here’s a little story. A tourist travels through a mountain monastery and asks the monk: excuse me please, where are all your belongings? Well, says the monk, may I ask, where are yours? The tourist replies: But I’m only travelling through! The monk: Well, so am I.
Clutter clearing can be the most fascinating journey of self-discovery: slowly unearthing what it is about you and your billions of books or bags... - What do they symbolise for you, what do they stand for?
Final inspirational tip: if anything takes less than two minutes, why not do it NOW! (reply to an email, light a candle...)
And most importantly: while clearing, always focus on what you have achieved already - not what is still to do. Congratulate yourself on how far you have come!