de-clutter Archives • Page 14 of 23 • Helpful Organizer

Keep or Not Keep

May 15, 2017/2 Comments/in Blog Posts/by Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®

If you had to guess the dollar amount of new, unopened items in your home, what would you guess? Don’t count food or paper goods. Count surplus items, unopened gifts, new clothing that hasn’t been worn, backup items, unopened craft items, new shoes that haven’t been worn, unopened tech toys, new books that haven’t been read, and any other such items. What would your guess be?

It’s estimated that the dollar amount of new, unopened items in the average American household is $7000.00. Do you believe it? I didn’t until I started counting. So, start counting? What do you come up with? Please share.

There are many reasons we purchase things that we don’t end up using, just like there are many things we hold on to for no valid reason. Making decisions on what to keep or not to keep can be challenging. Are you having trouble making decisions? Is it a struggle for you to get rid of things? I’ve devised a Keep Quiz that will help. Here are the instructions. Ask yourself the following ten questions. Please answer them honestly, and then follow the rest of the instructions.

Is it practical and will definitely be used?
Does it hold value and significance to me?
Does it fit my lifestyle and is exactly my taste?
Would it be very expensive and time consuming to replace?
Is it a genuine treasure and irreplaceable?
Does it help me live the life I want to live?
Is it one-of-a-kind and unique?
Was it hand-made just for me?
Does it hold tremendous personal value to me?
Does it bring me joy?

If you answer yes to 6 or more of the questions, yeah for you. It’s a keeper. If you answered yes to only 1 or 2 questions, it’s time to let it go. If you answered yes to 3-5 of the questions, give yourself 3 months to use the item. Put a sticky note on the item with the use-by-date. If, in 3 months, it hasn’t been used, let it go. However, if the item is meant for display, put it in a prominent place for 3 months. At the end of 3 months take the Keep Quiz again and see if you get different numbers.

How did you do on the Keep Quiz? Did it prompt you to take some action? I hope so. Please share.

Determine, Decide, Dispose

April 15, 2017/0 Comments/in Blog Posts/by Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®

How easy is it for you to get rid of stuff? Deciding what is worth keeping and what needs to go, can be difficult. I follow a three step confirming process. These three steps help me confirm what I have, and decide what I need, use, and want. The first step is to determine what I have. The second step is to decide what stays and what goes. The third step is to dispose of stuff. Let me explain how this confirming process works.

The first step is to determine what I have. This means gathering and assessing. I pick a small group of items to work with at a time. Instead of working with all my clothes, I work with just my spring wardrobe. Another example is instead of working with all my books, I only work with my organizing books. This helps reduce the time needed to complete the process, and helps prevent procrastination. Once I’ve chosen which category I want to work with, I gather the items into one location and assess them.

The second step is to decide what stays and what goes. I find it helpful to have criteria for what items stay and what items go. I call them my confirming guidelines, and they help me make decisions.

Examples of confirming guidelines:
1. It has to go if it’s broken, damaged, or missing parts, and you’re not going to fix it or pay to have it fixed within 3 months.
2. It has to go if it hasn’t been used in the past 3 years and won’t be used in the next 3 years.
3. It has to go if it is more than one size too big or too small.
4. It has to go if it’s torn, stained, or moldy, and you’re not going to fix it or pay to have it fixed within 3 months.
5. It has to go if it doesn’t reflect your current lifestyle. (Use 3 year timeline.)
6. It has to go if it’s very similar or identical to another item. Keep three favorites and the rest have to go.
7. It has to go if you’ve already purchased a replacement for it.
8. It has to go if it’s something you don’t like, or something that never worked right or fit right.
9. It has to go if the reason you’re holding onto it is not a good, valid reason. (See blog articles)
10. It has to go if it brings negative thoughts or causes self doubt.

The third step is to dispose of the stuff. It helps to schedule a day for removal, whether it is donations, items to be recycled or items to be given away. Voila! Confirming process complete.

Decide to Decide

April 1, 2017/0 Comments/in Tip of the Month/by Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®

Are you procrastinating and making excuses for holding onto stuff? Are you clinging to material possessions for no good reason? Things that are merely taking up valuable space aren’t worth holding onto. Decide to decide, and let go of these things. You’ll feel lighter and brighter.

Exit Strategy

March 15, 2017/0 Comments/in Blog Posts/by Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®

Do you have a plan for getting rid of stuff? If you did, would you get rid of more stuff? I have found that having a plan for getting rid of stuff helps me keep control of all the things I bring into my space. I call this plan an exit strategy, and it helps me stay organized. It can help you too. An exit strategy is the steps taken to remove material possessions from our spaces that are no longer needed, used, appreciated, or cherished. The end result of an exit strategy is that a particular item is gone from our space, and we no longer need to do something with it or think about it.

Example #1 – exit strategy for any type of invitation

Receive invitation. RSVP to invitation. Put details of invitation on calendar. Recycle paper invitation or delete email invitation.

Example #2 – exit strategy for any type of toy

Acquire toy. Play with toy. If toy breaks or pieces go missing, fix or replace pieces within 3 months or get rid of it. Donate or sell toy within 1-3 years if it’s no longer being used. A wonderful place to donate small toys is Cradles to Crayons in Brighton, MA.

Example #3 – exit strategy for any type of coupon

Receive coupons. Immediately recycle any coupons you know you won’t use. Store the rest of the coupons in a specific location until they can be used. Two storage options for coupons are in a basket on the refrigerator, or in a zip lock bag in your purse. Sort through coupons on the first of every month and recycle all the outdated ones.

Example #4 – exit strategy for any type of electronic device

Acquire electronic device. Use electronic device. If electronic device breaks or pieces go missing, fix or replace pieces within 3 months or get rid of it. Donate, sell, or recycle electronic device within 1-3 years if it’s no longer being used. (Want ideas on what to do with the box that the electronic device came in?) A great place to recycle electronics is Indie Cycle, and a place to sell electronics is Decluttr.

Example #5 – exit strategy for any type of kitchen gadget

Acquire kitchen gadget. Use kitchen gadget. If kitchen gadget breaks or pieces go missing, fix or replace pieces within 3 months or get rid of it. Donate, sell, or recycle kitchen gadget within 1-3 years if it’s no longer being used. (Want ideas on how to organize a kitchen junk drawer?)

An exit strategy helps us stay organized and in control of what comes into our space. Planning ahead is key to being successful. One way to plan ahead is to establish your exit strategies with a list of donation options attached.

Prevent Clutter

January 1, 2017/0 Comments/in Tip of the Month/by Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®

A great way to prevent clutter is to stop it from coming in the door in the first place. Put a trash can, recycle bin, and shred container in the garage, and use them to clean out the clutter from the car, your purse, your work bag, and school backpacks. Also use them to toss or shred as much mail as possible before bringing it into the house.

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