Tuesday's Tip...Clutter

If you are at all like me, you suffer every now and then from a cluttered living space. After time, you loose the motivation to clean it up. It can be overwhelming. You look at a pile of stuff and think, "I have no idea where to even start." Trust me, most of my messes give me this feeling. There are even shows that focus on the problems of clutter and hoarding. While my problem is no where close to that extensive, I feel that they usually approach it all wrong. Typically they say to start with three categories: keep, dontnate/sell, and throw away. Two of those categories are forcing you to part with your things right off the bat. Disclaimer: this tip is not for those unable to live a normal life due to their clutter. Those people need to be in the mind frame of getting rid of their crap! Anyway, back to the point. Automattically you are going to experience some anxiety because you are overwhelmed by the thought of getting rid of something that is rightfully yours. My theory is to start by looking at the space and asking yourself, "What do I see the most of in this space?" It could be anything: clothes, trash, magizines, books, craft supplies, holiday decorations, dishes. After figuring out what you see the most of, you attack that problem first. You pull out and organize all of that item that you see, and then step back and see your progress. Then you ask yourself the question again. Soon enough you will organize the whole space. In the meantime you may find yourself getting rid of somethings because you see how having a certian amount of that one thing creates a mess.