01-19-2010 

How to organize your life: THINGS

How do you know it is time to get rid of something? When it is time to let go? What's the difference between keepers and throwaway's? 

Take a look around you. How many "things" can you see from just where you are sitting, that at one point or another, you made the decision to keep forever, "just in case". Well, if your life is cluttered, I am sure you can see quite a few. Let me give you an example of what I mean: 

I go into my garage and sitting in the corner is a stack of wood. This is no ordinary wood mind you; this is the scraps from previous projects. I have pieces of every shape and size here. (Just in case) You never know when you are going to need that "perfect" piece of wood. So I save them. Well over the years, this has gotten to be quite an amount. Now, It takes up a whole corner in my garage.  

The difference between keepers and throwaway's

In the case of my wood scraps, I figured out that I could replace the whole pile of scrap I had for less then 50 bucks. Once I gave the pile a value, it made it easier for me to get rid of it.  I know that I can replace it at anytime without killing me financially. Give items that are lying around some value. Make yourself ask, "Is it worth keeping?” You will really be surprised at all the 5 and 10 dollar items you have been saving for years. (Just in case) 

My 1-2-3 Organizing Plan 

ONE in my house:

If I have an item in my house that has not been used in more then one year, it has to go. Food Processors, "Gotta Have" Cleaners (they rarely work better then the standard cleaners anyway), Clothes, Shoes, VCR's. Whatever the item, my house has a one year law! Use it, or lose it! 

TWO in my garage: 

When I bought my house I had grand visions of parking my cars in a nice neat garage. I live in Minnesota so garages are great when we get feet of snow dumped on us and it is 30 below zero. Well, for those of you like me, I used my garage as a catch all storage facility. Before I knew it, I was wiping snow of my car because there was no room to park it inside!

Are garages made for storage? YES!  Are they made for permanent storage? NO! (There is ONE exception to this rule for me, memory boxes and I will go into that at a later time.)  Two years is the limit for my garage now. When I first starting the weekend clean up, I had no idea how much junk I had in there that has been just taking up space for years. Now we park a car in there.  

THREE years TOTAL 

One in the house, two in the garage. Yes I do put some stuff from the one year list in the garage.  Something’s I am so sure I will need somewhere in the near future, I have to save them.  BUT, at the 3 year mark, I can be quite sure that 1.  I will never use that item and 2. It is not worth taking up the space, where something I might actually use, could be. 

By following the 1-2-3 Organizing plan, there is a continuous flow of item out of your house and garage. Although this is not a perfect solution, it does remove a lot more then you think it would.  You will notice huge differences in your house right away.  Remember the key to becoming an organized person is to take small steps.

Last note: Make sure if you put a box in your garage, you give it a detailed label and put on a date. The label will ensure you cannot say "Oh, I forgot I had that, I will use it soon, now that I know it's here".

Do not make excuses, make trips to donate the nicer items and to the dump with the junk.  

Written by

Shawn Higginbotham