INTRODUCTION
Confession: I am kind of a hoarder. You might be able to relate. I have so much stuff, and people know who to unload their junk on . That would be me. I am also obsessive about organizing. It's like living in the twilight zone. I never really get anything done. I just move junk from room to room. Parts of the house look OK and other parts look like this:
INFORM
I am sick. I don't look sick, and I don't always feel sick. But I have a brain and a body that just won't cooperate with the Type A side of me. I think I've finally figured out how to work around it. Go Me.
First on the list is to purge all of the stuff I've hoarded over the years. I was trying to continue a grueling schedule of overtime and shift work, while running a scout program and a wrestling program, getting my MBA, and coaching Tee Ball. As you can guess, there wasn't much time for housework or home maintenance. My home shows it.
Purging has some rules. Following rules cancels out the hoarding tendency by removing the emotion. Hoarding, for me, is based partially on sentimentality and partially on hippie-ness. My justifications include, "This reminds me of Grams", "I may need this for _______", or "There is nothing wrong with it". You may relate. What are your emotional reasons for keeping stuff?
Purging needs to start small. Even when you follow the purging rules, you will still feel emotionally drained when you are done with a job. It's OK. Think of the positives of purging:
- Less stuff to move around.
- Less stuff to clean.
- Ability to enjoy the things you love rather than feeling guilty for not being able to get to all of it.
- Passing usable items to those who will use it . . . Giving items new life.
- Freedom.
Before you begin, choose what you are going to give yourself as a reward, and determine when you will get rewarded. Will you reward yourself between jobs or when you are all finished with the house? Here is how to get it done:
- Sort and Inventory (Set papers, magazines, and clothes aside)
- Designate boxes or sections of a room as items to keep, repair, sell/donate/return, or toss.
- Remove everything from the room or section of room you are working on. Work on as big or small of a space as you feel comfortable with. You can also clean while you are purging, but I will outline those steps on the cleaning page.
- Decide what to do with the object you've removed. See the flow chart below for help deciding.
- Remove the trash.
- Make repairs and sort those items into the keep or sell/donate/return areas.
- List items for sale, set up a yard or garage sale, donate items or return them to where they belong. Make sure to set a deadline for selling items. Whatever is not sold at that date gets donated.
- Return the keep items to their rightful places.
- Tackle the paperwork
- Stop the papers (optoutprescreen.com).
- Sort the pile into recycling / garbage or file.
- Recycle or toss what you don't want.
- Sort and label like piles to file.
- File papers.
- Purge your magazines (on and offline)
- Sort into recycling/ garbage or keep.
- Unsubscribe from those you no longer wish to receive.
- Recycle or toss the garbage.
- File or reference those you want to keep.
- Set up a system to handle future papers. You can save space by making your system online if you have a scanner.
- Get a binder and put a notebook, chore and discipline charts, schedules for childcare, sports, school etc., important school papers, goals, wish lists, recreational inventory, fitness, menus and recipes.
- Store important papers in a fire box.
- Keep receipts for taxes in a file folder or envelope.
- Keep bills in a folder for 1 year.
- Follow the OHIO rule: Only Handle It Once (do it, file it, forget it)
- Go through your clothes
- Decide whether to keep, fix, donate or sell, or make them into rags by asking yourself the following questions:
- Try it on: Does it fit? If yes, go to #3. If no, donate or sell it.
- Does it have holes? If yes, put it in the rags or fix pile. If no, go to #4.
- Is it stained? If yes, put it in the rags or fix pile. If no, go to #5.
- Do you like it? If yes, put it in the keep box. If no, donate or sell it.
- Fix the stains or holes.
- List items for sale, set up a yard or garage sale, donate items or return them to where they belong. Make sure to set a deadline for selling items. Whatever is not sold at that date gets donated.
- Cut up rags.
- Put all the clothes you are keeping away.
Congratulations! Reward yourself for work well done.
EXPLORE
If you don't like my plan, do some research and make your own. I've also added the checklist I use below:
If you don't like my plan, do some research and make your own. I've also added the checklist I use below:
ACTIVITIES Complete the checklist. Make a schedule, do it in little bits, or block a vacation week, but make sure you do it in a way that is manageable to you. Repeat until your home is purged. Create an inventory of what you keep. Make sure you have the appropriate insurance on the contents of your home. ASSESS Share your thoughts in the forum, if you wish. How do you feel? How much did you purge? Why is it important to you to continue to purge items you don't use or need? What can you share with others to help them? ENFORCE If you still have an area of your home that needs some work, take the time to do it now. ENRICH Help a friend or family member purge an area of their home. EVALUATE How will you keep up with purging your home? |
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