The professional organizer I hired came today and WOW! That woman holds no punches! She gets right in there and confronts the clutter head on and, while she acknowledges emotions that are involved in the process, she will not let them get in the way of GETTING THE STUFF OUT!
We worked in the kitchen and the boys’ room today. Those two rooms took all day because of the sheer amount of STUFF that had accumulated in them over 5 years. That, and the boys’ room looked like a disaster area.
Things I learned today:
1) If you don’t use it or love it, throw it out!
2) If you have another one, throw it out!
3) If you use it once a year or less, throw it out! (This was especially helpful for things like lasagna and roasting pans.. she pointed out that if I get a wild hair and decide to make lasagna, I can always go buy a disposable one).
4) Stations of a kitchen: baking, cooking, corded appliances, silverware, dishes. Like goes with like.
5) Everything must have it’s own home where nothing else may go. For example, in the cabinet where the plates are, the dinner plates are on their own shelf alone, the salad plates are on their own shelf alone, the bowls are on their own shelf alone. If there aren’t enough shelves, you have too much stuff for your space.
6) NOTHING on the countertops (I was allowed to keep my pocket dragons out, but only because they are meant to be seen and enjoyed). This includes small corded appliances! No toaster, no George Foreman grill, nothing! Everything must have it’s own designated place under the counter, even if you use it every single day.
7) Drawers can be removed, dumped, cleaned, and replaced (and it’s not hard)!
8) It is not difficult to remove the screen from the range hood, nor is it difficult to change the lightbulb.
9) It is OKAY to put the screen from the range hood and the burners from stove in the same hot soapy water where your dishes are! The “cleaning police” will not arrest you.
10) It is OKAY to use Formula 409 to clean almost anything in your kitchen, laundry room, house. You do NOT have to buy a separate cleaner for everything in your house. Who is going to know that you didn’t use the “right” stuff, as long as it’s clean?
11) Containerize EVERYTHING. Use drawer inserts and keep like with like (sharp knives in one, non-stick utensils in one, measuring cups/spoons in one. Buy more than you think you’ll need, organize everything, then return the ones you didn’t need.
12) Nothing on the floor… brooms/mops/swiffers need to be hung on the wall. They actually make special holders for this!
13) Use removable 3M hooks on the inside of cabinet doors to hang things on if you can’t use nails.
14) Things that must be done before sleep: wipe down countertops, wash dishes (dry and put away), sweep the floor, take out the trash. You’ll know it’s clean when there is nothing left on the counter, not even the dish rack.
15) Kids only need the toys they play with most often. It’s okay to throw things away.
16) Kids only need enough clothes for 1 outfit a day plus 1-2 spare. That’s it.
17) Children will not learn to clean unless you’re modeling it for them. Children learn to do what they see.
18) Once everything has it’s own home, you can’t bring anything in without throwing something else out, because there’s no room (you can’t make room, you’ve purposely left empty space around things so that their homes are easily identified).
19) Decluttering is an emotional and physically draining process. I could not have done this alone. The sheer volume of STUFF that left this home (and we’re not done yet) was prohibitive to me doing it alone. Even the organizer had to enlist the help of a man she knew who had a truck, just to haul the bags to the dumpster. If you have a LOT of clutter, you really NEED to find help. The help of a professional would be ideal! They’re objective and they have experience in dealing with clutter like yours. You have to convince them that an item’s worth keeping (and that’s not always easy)! A friend or family member may easily be swayed by your emotion-based arguments, but not so a pro!
20) There is no shame in cleaning out the clutter. The shame would be hiding it and pretending it wasn’t there, and avoiding the wonderful things in life because of it. At one point, one of the maintenance men that works for the landlord stopped outside and spoke with the man who was helping haul things away. I felt panicked that soon the landlord would show up. The professional organizer calmed me down and explained to me that, while the landlord might be disappointed that I had so much stuff in my apartment, ultimately I was paying to live there and if the landlord thought anything at all about me hauling all the stuff out of the apartment, it would probably be relief that I was taking care of the problem!
So, in conclusion, I still have a lot of work to do. I have homework tonight (washing/drying/folding/putting away the boys’ laundry, mopping the kitchen floor, cleaning the baseboards, wiping down the fronts of the appliances, washing the dishes, taking out the trash, and cleaning the windowsill in Sebastian’s room), then tomorrow is day 2. I have a feeling tomorrow is going to focus mainly on the living room and my bedroom. YIKES! But it will be okay. Already I’m feeling empowered. I have new standards that aren’t my overreaching, impossible to maintain standards that cause avoidance and fear. They’re simple, clear, moderate standards that someone else has given me so that I know exactly when things are “good enough.” That, coupled with the medication I’ll likely receive when I visit the doctor on the 16th, ought to help curb a lot of my cleaning anxiety.
From my home to yours,
Andrea
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