Dig Your Way Out of the Clutter!

Though I no longer make New Year's resolutions, I usually get a burst of energy following the Christmas holidays when I put away the tree and all the decorations. After looking at all of the new "stuff" that was brought in for Christmas, I looked around and had this sense that if our house didn't explode, I might! So I began plowing into reorganization of everything in my home and office that wasn't serving me.


If you read my e-book, "The Realist's Guide to Dealing With Clutter, Once and For All," you'll know I don't subscribe to the notion that I can overcome my tendency to clutter. Ever. Instead, when I see a problem area in my physical environment, I think about how I want that space to function versus what is happening now.


Here's an example. Yesterday I looked at the row of phone books in my kitchen windowseat that is always sliding away from itself and which is viewable from the street (never mind that it has been that way for three years!). We live in a suburb of a large metro area so we have our city book, one for the county, one for the large city nearby, the at&t version, the Verizon version, etc. etc. I decided I couldn't take it any more! I do need the phone books in that location because even though I rarely use them, I do still consult them on occasion when I just want to find the number for a local business and don't want to sit down to conduct an internet search.


So, the answer to my own question, "How do I need this space to function?" was that I needed the phone books to stay in the same spot near the phone, but I would like for them to remain upright when I remove one and I would like for them not to be visible from the street! The solution? I measure exactly how wide and deep the space is that holds the books and bought an attractive basket that holds them all neatly and out of the way.

So what, you may ask. Why is this blog-worthy? Because sometimes the most annoying clutter problems are solved so easily, yet they tend the ones we put off because they aren't as big as some of the others. Lining up phone books doesn't seem as important as cleaning out the entire storage closet or painting the bathroom. And because those projects are so intimidating and we can't block off the two full days we think we need to complete them, we don't handle any of it!

So, my encouragement to you today is to tackle one or two small but persistent annoyances in your environment. Change a light bulb that is burned out, dust a windowsill, clean out a drawer. Not only is it pretty quick and easy, it's way more rewarding than you expect! Had I known how thrilled I would be to no longer see that mess of leaning phonebooks I would have handled it three years ago!