Systems & Techniques Archives

Creating Intentional SPACE

by Filed Under: Organizing Projects, Paper management, Systems & Techniques 1 Comment

Creating Intentional SPACE is something that most Professional Organizers do regularly with their clients. Many of us use the SPACE system or something similar when helping clients with the organizing process. This system and the acronym was created by Professional Organizer and Author Julie Morgenstern and it’s a tried and true system that I follow with all my client organizing projects. I’m happy to share how what the acronym stands for below because I find it can be useful in understanding the steps and process that can help lead to a more organized and intentional SPACE.

Sort-This begins by gathering everything in one category together. By doing this you know what ALL you have and can move on to the next step.

Purge-Only when you know what you have can you start to make decisions about what to keep. Purging is really DECIDING what is needed or if you can get rid of it (donate, recycle, trash).

Assign-Now that you have decided what to keep, give it a home.

Contain-You know what you’ve got and where it will live, what would make keeping things in order easier? Do you need containers? Take measurements, make labels…commit these items to live in this space.

Equalize-What this really means is Evaluate…after living with your newly organized system, take the time after a week, a month and beyond to make adjustments as needed. This means setting an intention to maintain the system (and from time to time going back through the SPACE process).

Before you even begin this process, I believe it’s equally important and valuable to set your intention (my WORD for 2019) or reason/goal for the space! Most of us have heard the statement: nature abhors a vacuum (horror vacui) by Greek physicist-philosopher Parmenides that a void or vacuum, in nature, cannot exist, so be careful what you create, or what you leave open…which can quickly get filled with clutter (in your mind and your physical space).

Once you decide, set your intention and go through the SPACE process of implementing this system, use it to support your effort to succeed in maintaining as well! Organizing isn’t a one and done process but it is a Process that’s worth investing in and worth maintaining. How’s your SPACE? Will it be filled by something of your choosing or with clutter? Need help going through this process? Please fill out the “Help me Get Organized” form.

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Your clutter action plan

by Filed Under: Organize, Paper management, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources

What areas of Clutter overwhelm you? It’s important to identify where you get stuck and understand why. This clutter action plan will help you establish order and bring clutter under control. If you’re not clear on this, check out my post on the muddy water metaphor to help you identify with the feelings behind your clutter…then hop back over here or jump in now!

Start with the least cluttered category. Whatever category on your list above feels easiest – small stuff or big stuff (clear a big space)-start easy! By starting with easier items we gain compelling momentum! You will move on to bigger challenges once you’ve made progress in easier areas.

Decide before you begin. Start with a category of items (my preference), ex. all books, all kids clothes, all papers, all kitchen stuff or work by location (one closet at a time etc). There are advantages to each. When working by category you need to gather everything in one place and when working by location you may have to go back to locate things that belong in other categories. Decide before you begin.

Schedule it. Block out distractions and give yourself a deadline (a day a week etc). Set aside the time you think this will take. Estimate it and give yourself a bit of extra but set a limit. If appropriate, schedule a donation pick up, this will motivate you to get it done by the time they come for the pick up!
Gather supplies. Such as bags, boxes, sorters, a label maker/labels, rubber bands, paperclips, a shredder etc and make sure these items are handy if not right by your side).
Create a work zone. This will serve for the duration of your clutter clearing project. Ideally you can leave things (supplies, unsorted stuff, donation stuff) in this location till you are done! Even better if you can close the door on them between sessions if you can’t complete everything at once (a day, a weekend etc).
Make it fun! Put on some great music, light a candle, some incense…whatever will put you in a happy place.
Sort it. Start with trash, toss items if they are broken, don’t bring joy or are otherwise not functional. Make a maybe pile if you aren’t sure. Start with what’s easiest, if you think it’s useful but don’t need it, donate it to your charity of choice! It helps to know your things will be loved and used by others-share your abundance!
Categorize it. (seasonal, where you use it, how often etc). This is where you begin to see your organizing systems emerge. What do you need based on what you have?
Contain it. If you can’t do this all at once the create an area to work through un-categorized items until you’ve finished every last item. It can help to work through one category at a time. Don’t stop till you’ve returned things to their homes (old or new), tossed the trash and donations are out the door.
Reward yourself and Repeat. For each category or location take the steps above to complete the action plan and reward yourself with something small (flowers, a meal out etc).

When you have cleared all of your clutter, you can be of greater service to those around you.

-Michael B. Kitson

What are Clutter Magnets?

by Filed Under: Organize, Systems & Techniques

What are clutter magnets? They are those spots that tend to accumulate clutter no matter what you seem to do to change them! Maybe they look something like this?

WHERE::Let’s identify some possible areas that might be clutter magnets in your home.

By the front door, on a table or bench, anywhere in the “Drop zone”.
Kitchen or Dining Room tables, any vertical surface is in danger of becoming a clutter magnet and tables, no matter how we try to keep them cleaned off always attract stuff.
Kitchen counters, especially if you have an entrance near by.
Bags! Sweep it into the bag, never to be seen again!
Your Car? The kids extra toys, clothes, trash and more…
Desktops, some stuff should land here just make sure you are constantly addressing it.

WHAT::This is the stuff that tends to accumulate in the Clutter Magnet zones. Could be just about anything but here are some commonly “magnetic” items.

Keys/keychains
Mail
Wallets
Backpacks
Purses
Umbrellas
Clothes/accessories
Sports equipment/toys
Books
Lunch bags, water bottles and other snack/food items
Projects (paperwork, hobbies, homework etc)

WHY::Can we be honest about why these zones are like this?

Laziness, put stuff back where it belongs! (I’m not judging…I’m just saying!)
Homeless stuff, if you don’t know where to put it then it will land just about anywhere.
Bad habits, these can be changed.
Too busy-this really isn’t an excuse if you have created solutions for your stuff-take the right action (see Laziness:).

HOW::Can we change this behavior?

Turn these clutter magnets into clutter free zones!
Identify what lands in your clutter magnet and decide where everything belongs.
Create homes for the homeless stuff.
Use hooks for keys, bags (purses, backpacks etc)
Shelves for electronics, wallets and other “pocket contents”.
Baskets or boxes for mail… better yet drop what you don’t need right into recycling and take the rest to your desk “action” file or inbox.

I”m not going to lie, this may not be easy but you can change this habit by paying attention to where, what and why. Then implement a plan and practice, practice, practice until it becomes a new habit.

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Is your clutter overwhelming you?

by Filed Under: Organize, Paper management, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources

As much as we all might like to live a totally clutter free life it may not be entirely possible. If your is Clutter Overwhelming you, taking a look at what clutter categories are in our lives can help us understand what triggers our overwhelm.

**clut·ter verb ˈklə-tər**

intransitive verb

: to run in disorder

transitive verb

: to fill or cover with scattered or disordered things that impede movement or reduce effectiveness

There are many kinds of clutter in our lives. Take a moment to evaluate each category and decide where you can reduce clutter. Know that it might get worse before it gets better...all that dirt that may emerge by way of emotions and literal mess might not be pretty! Hang in there and you will be rewarded if you are can be open to the process. As your thinking about each of these categories, imagine them as you want them to be-intentions are powerful!

Mail-incoming and outgoing (try reducing it by removing subscriptions to magazines, junk mail and catalogs).
Kids-school bags, sports equipment, books, toys, clothes etc…get your kids involved and create a place for easy pick up and storage of transient items.
Office-paperwork, files, receipts, mail etc. Create one designated area and consider using a type of action or tickler filing system to corral it all.
Digital-photos (delete the impulse pictures that don’t turn out well and you would never print!), email (removed yourself from subscriptions and consider creating multiple email addresses for different purposes), digital computer files (create a file hierarchy similar to your paper file system).
Household-things that you have sitting around but don’t love (rotate displays or give items away to friends and charity with no strings attached).
Mental-those endless thoughts that run in circles in your mind, find a way to tame them by taking notes, writing in a journal and releasing them if the are out of your control!

As much as we all might like to live a totally clutter free that’s probably not realistic. Understanding our limitations and having realistic expectations can help us decide where to start. Once you’ve evaluated the clutter areas in your life, prioritize them from worst to best and get ready for action.

“Clutter is a physical manifestation of fear that cripples our ability to grow.” ~H.G. Chissell

There are so many kinds of clutter in our lives. Take a moment to think about each category and evaluate which areas trigger your overwhelm.

Mail-incoming and outgoing (try reducing it by removing subscriptions to magazines, junk mail and catalogs)
Kids-school bags, sports equipment, books, toys, clothes etc…get your kids involved and create a place for easy pick up and storage of transient items
Office-paperwork, files, receipts, mail etc. Create 1 designated area and consider using a type of action or tickler filing system to corral it all
Digital-photos (delete the impulse pic’s that don’t turn out well and you would never print!), email (removed yourself from subscriptions and consider creating multiple email addresses for different purposes), digital computer files (create a file hierarchy similar to your paper file system)
Household-things that you have sitting around but don’t love (rotate displays or give items away to friends and charity with no strings attached)
Mental-those endless thoughts that run in circles in your mind, find a way to tame them by taking notes, writing in a journal and releasing them if the are out of your control!

Once you’ve evaluated the cluttered areas of your life, prioritize them in order of worst to best join me this month for the Clutter Purge Challenge! On day one we will release 1 item, on day 31, we will releas 31 things! That’s almost 500 physical manifestations that are holding us back! Click here to join the challenge, you can join in at any time!

“When you have cleared all of your clutter, you can be of greater service to those around you.”~Michael B. Kitson

7 Simple Steps to your Cleanest Kitchen (Special Holiday Post!)

by Filed Under: Organize, Organizing Projects, Systems & Techniques

Don’t you want to start the holiday season with your cleanest kitchen?

This time of year is a good time to deep clean the kitchen and fridge, especially after summer trips to the farmers market and before all your holiday cooking, baking and entertaining…when everyone lands in the kitchen, right?! I’m not planning to host any big holiday meals but I do have family and friends visiting and I’ll definitely be doing some baking and cooking over the coming months.

Kitchen Deep Clean in 7 easy steps

Re-arrange as needed for things that might not be working well in their current spots-I just moved appliance I don’t need further out of the way and made baking items more accessible over the weekend.
Purge– including out of date food (toss), things you don’t like (give away) things like plastic ups, containers-missing lids (recycle) and cozies that somehow made their way home from summer festivities. No thank you Freebies!
Tidy and sort food and other items by category. Add containers to corral and labels to identify items as needed. Post purge is the best time to do this!
Give everything a sanitizing wipe down including the cabinets, switch plates, counters-moving everything out from the walls and wiping the backsplash.
Clean out appliances such as the microwave, oven, toaster and make note of anything broken or missing that I might want to add to a wish list.
Take a quick look through the pantry and make a list of staple items needed for upcoming baking and cooking (sugar, flour, chocolate chips, spices, herbs etc), this way you can be spontaneous when the urge to get creative in the kitchen strikes!
Finally, the Fridge! Remove and wipe or rinse everything including contents, the shelves, and drawers. Toss expired food. If you can, remove the “parts”, clean with your favorite kitchen cleaner and scrub the crevices with an old toothbrush and baking soda. Repeat the process for the freezer, defrosting according to your manufacturer instructions if needed. If you have a water filter built in, it’s a great time to check and replace that too.

You can take each step above and break it down over a weekend or a whole week (7 steps-7 days!) depending on how much time you have. As I do this, I pull things out and try to use up leftovers (especially in the freezer) to make room for all the great new food I’ll be preparing and eating over the holiday season.

If you ever question keeping or tossing, HERE is a great list of food expiration etc. follows. Safety and common sense should prevail…BUT I will say that in the age of “toss it” mentality there are probably lots of things you-should-never-have-bought AND may not need to go but I’ll bet some are on this list. Use your judgment, and follow your intuition…and FYI-Sugar never expires!