As seen in the Dayton Daily News on July 19, 2014
Organizing our homes should be easy.
Step 1: Figure out what we want to do for the time we have remaining in this life.
Step 2: Surround ourselves with those things that support this mission.
Unfortunately for many of you, getting organized is very difficult. You place so many emotions on the stuff you own that it’s hard to part with it, even when this stuff keeps you from doing the things you love to do.
When I work with people in their homes, before we ever move any of their things, I always ask, “What are your goals for the future?”
In the eight years I have been a professional organizer, no one has ever responded, “Well, I want to spend my time rearranging my things, moving them from room to room, boxing them up and stacking them around my house.”
Yet, many of you are doing just that. Instead of traveling, reading for pleasure, enjoying your favorite hobby, spending time with family and friends, you are spending the precious time you have left moving stuff around.
Ask yourself, “Why am I taking my time to maintain, stack and trip over items that I no longer use? Why do I allow this excess stuff to take up space in my home and create additional work for me?”
I want you to walk through your home. Instead of letting all the emotions you normally attach to your stuff come out, I want you to start seeing the excess items in your home as anchors. These anchors weigh you down and take up the valuable time you have left.
This simple shift in your thinking may help you part with the stuff you no longer need. No matter how important it was to you.
In fact, if you think about dragging these anchors behind you as you are trying to reach for what’s important, you may not be able to get rid of it fast enough.
The other day I was helping a family organize their garage. The day was very hot. They had their two small children to look after while we worked.
About an hour into our time together, I looked at each of them. Mom and Dad were sweating and frustrated, because their children kept interrupting with the things children that age need. The children were also hot and frustrated, because Mom and Dad weren’t able to give them their full attention.
I asked the couple, “Would you rather be at the pool right now as a family or standing in this hot garage with me?”
The obvious answer was they wanted to ditch me and head to the pool.
I replied, “I want you to remember your choice for the remainder of our time together. Since you chose the pool, you need to get serious about parting with as much as you can or you will be spending another hot summer day with me in this very garage, instead of watching your children enjoy the pool.”
For the rest of the afternoon when they got stuck on an item, I simply had to say, “Pool or me in this garage again?”
Luckily for me, I never took my clients’ choice personally.