Feeling overwhelmed in your own home is not uncommon. Sometimes life just seems to pile up - working late, no time to do laundry, the stack of bills to go through, having to clean the bathroom, etc. We often post about ways to help manage the clutter, stay organized and just how to feel good in your own space. When the overwhelming feeling at home occurs, we keep this perspective in mind.....
Your Home Is In Your Control!
...your home is in your own control! We recently saw this idea highlighted on a tivo'd episode of Oprah and wanted to share it with you. When life outside of your front door seems a bit crazy, step inside your home, manage it and make it the most comfortable space you can. Check out these easy tips to help you manage your space.
Tip 1 - Dedicate just 10 minutes a day to declutter.
1) Dedicate 10 minutes a day (time yourself) to an area that may feel overwhelming and throw out anything you have not used in one year. Focus and be realistic about it - if you haven't used it in the last twelve months, you probably don't need it. The year time line allows you to let go emotionally to these objects.
2) Enlist a friend who will encourage you, keep you on track and help you manage your daily organizing goals. When it seems too much, this person will remind you "...only 4 more minutes to go to clean this area out." Working with a friend or partner makes a huge difference.
Tip 3 - Use and label storage boxes for easy finds on home goods.
We love Chez Larson's organized office!
We love Chez Larson's organized office!
3) If you have a ton of stuff (yes, simply stuff) lying around, get some boxes and categorize them. Dedicate a bookcase or closet area for these boxes and stack them in an organized manner. Next time you are looking for a lightbulb or the manual for the dvd player, you'll know exactly where to look.
4) Need a place to hang things that you don't want to forget about (like bills, pictures of family or invitations), why not try hanging carpet floor tiles on the wall? These days, companies like Flor, offer a variety of colors + selections to choose from. A little double-sided tape and you can adhere these fun tiles to your wall in any size and shape you want.
5) Home swap with your friends. Ok , not your literal homes but the things inside. Professional organizers often create categories - Donate, Trash, Keep - so it's easy to place your things in the one that works for you. Create a Home Life Swap category. Pick a location, invite a a few friends and swap goods. Anything left over - donate.
6) Think about how much you value yourself. Your home is a reflection of where you are in life at the moment so look around your space. Do you have clothes on the floor, a dirty kitchen, a messy space? If this is the case, maybe your own emotional state is also feeling overwhelmed. Take the time to reflect on your home and your mind.
Check out more organizational tips from Apartment Therapy here:
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Great post! It is ideas like this that originally attracted me to Apartment Therapy.
view Lizzy's profile
Great tips, but I'd strongly suggest 20 minutes on the timer... but the timer itself is KEY.
Also a big fan of "grouping like things with like" to take stock and to turn the mountain into, well, at least a mountain *range.*
And try to resist the temptation to "buy organization" before you know how much of any one kind of organizational aid you need.
The one issue I still have trouble with is not the "get rid of it" part (granted, not easy...) but with the "ok, so where does it go?" Sure, it's easy to just toss something down the garbage shoot. But I just can't live with making my decluttering a problem for someone else, or contributing still-valuable stuff to a landfill. Trips to Housing Works, and/or listing stuff on Craigslist or eBay is a whole other job...
view patrick (the other one)'s profile
I love the premise of the article, but some of the tips are lacking. I needed the affirmation that my house is (well, should be) under control and that it was possible to achieve. I do often feel overwhelmed when I see so much that needs to be done, so this reminder is good for me.
I do not understand tip #4. Where did this idea come from? I can think of many better ways to keep track of important items rather than tacking them to carpet tiles (????!!!!).
I think #5 is kind of iffy and requires a good amount of organization and coordination to achieve. If I was organized enough to be "life swapping" with other people, I probably wouldn't be feeling overwhelmed by the lack of organization. I don't see how this would help the situation as much as some of the other suggestions.
view KWorld's profile
Ten minutes a day really works... and when you manage fifteen you feel like you have over achieved! Gradually over time stuff can be gotten through... I tried ten minutes three times a day recently, I had a serious cluttering problem to resolve... worked like a charm!
view se7en's profile
I think one of the best tips to deal with clutter and also not to let clutter come back after you've tidied up is this:
Find a place for all the things you have (and want to keep) and once you have used something but it back in its place. Because once you have a cluttered area it somehow attracts more clutter.
view Nina79's profile
I have found it helps, if I have a small bag near the door. I drop anything in it that I need to do - shredding, paying bills, etc. and take it to work with me. I find it's easier to do these kind of things at work - since I am awake longer at work than when I am at home.
view AT4H's profile
One of Oprah's organizational experts preached "zoning" a few years back, and that's helped me tremendously. Looking at a messy room or house can be totally overwhelming, so try to visually divide it up into "small projects." I focus on clearing the couch and putting everything away there, before I move onto the table, etc. Seeing my own progress after just a few minutes keeps me going.
view gquaker's profile