Stuff
Now that the tissue paper and ribbon has been ripped from the 1.3 trillion dollars worth of Christmas presents our world spent this year, here are a few questions you may want to ask yourself-
“Where do I put all the new stuff?”
“Does this new stuff add value to my life?”
“Do I just keep adding it to my old stuff?”
“What do I do with stuff I was given but don’t particularly care for (aka guilty clutter)?”
And a harder question-
“Does my cluttered home keep me from being hospitable?”
So today, I’d like to share a method for making space for all the stuff that matters to you. It’s not new to me, but I find it helpful, as do many of my clients who wish to organize their homes. You can use this method to organize anything from your purse to your garage. The acronym is SPACE.
S = Sort
Take EVERYTHING out of the closet/ drawer/ bins, etc. and put like items with like. Eg. sweaters with sweaters, pants with pants. Just seeing the sheer volume of your stuff may be an eye-opener.
P = Purge
Hold each item and ask yourself some hard questions. “Does it fit?” “How many do I need?” “Is there something else I can use instead of this?” Remember the 80/20 rule- we wear 20% of our clothes and use 20% of our stuff 80% of the time. Put each item in one of 4 piles labeled “Donate”, “Garbage”, “Keep” or “Maybe”
*Tip- to avoid confusion, I put donated items in clear or blue recycle bags. Garbage in black bags.
A = Assign
Group items together and assign a place where you use them most. I used to keep coffee beans in our pantry, the grinder in a cupboard with our small appliances and the measuring spoon in the baking drawer. Now they’re all together on one shelf which makes the morning routine so much simpler and more efficient.
C= Contain
I think this is the most critical part, not only for organizing your things, but for keeping them organized. Every piece of your home’s inventory must have a home. If you’re not sure where that home should be, ask yourself, “If I wanted to find this, where would I look?” Even small children can put away their toys each night if the containers have picture labels on them. So “don’t put it down...put it away!” Also, the “one in- one out” rule helps to keep your containers from overflowing.
E= Evaluate
Organizing is never a one time deal. As your life-stages change, so do your needs. It’s important that you always make space for what matters to you. Ask yourself, “Does this item add value to my life NOW?”
And lastly, if you’re feeling stuck or overwhelmed, I’m happy to help. Feel free to contact me at Clutter Busters Home Organizing. Together, we can do this, either virtually or in person.
There’s nothing I like more than helping people create beautiful, functional, hospitable spaces.