Simplify, THEN Organize

I was reading through some older feeds recently, and I ran across this nugget of wisdom from Leo at zenhabits.net:

(#3) Simplify before organizing. Many people try to create complicated organizing systems for all of their stuff, in an attempt to get organized. But it’s much better to reduce your stuff, and to get it as simple as possible, before organizing it all. If you simplify enough, you might not even need to organize at all! (from post titled, “A 3-Step Cure for Digital Packrats, and How to Know If You’re One of Them“)

Have you ever taken on an organizing project, or cleaning out the “dumping room” (where the extra things in the house go to hibernate, like uh, a home office…) and get overwhelmed? Maybe it’s more about having too much stuff, rather than not enough space. Organizing systems won’t do a lot of good if there is simply too much stuff – and can be expensive if you’re paying for the containers to organize the stuff, then find out you need more stuff to put the stuff in, hiring help to do so…. and on and on…  All this for stuff you may not being using! Get the picture?

Simplifying your stuff or life can be a daunting task. Why? Because it requires a bluntly honest look at what you have, why you have it, and if it is valuable enough to keep. Then, it takes courage to let go of things. In my experience, once you get your belongings down to what is truly important to you, you’ll be much happier. Then, you can spend time on what you want to do in that room anyway (and I’ll bet that’s not using a shovel to actually get into it *grin*).

Here’s a short list if you decide to take on a “simplifying” project:

1. Sort. Ask yourself: Do I really need it?  Do I use it?
2. Decide what will go, and what will stay. This works for things you can touch, and what you can’t.
3. Set some boundaries for yourself. For example: if you can’t afford to buy all new furniture, everything that stays must fit properly in your current setup. If it doesn’t fit, it’s time to let it go.
4. Decide where it all goes (aka organize). It’s important to decide where things will go, and then keep putting them there. There’s no sense in editing, cleaning and organizing if you don’t change what you do going forward.
5. Keep it up. Maintain all the work you just did – remember all the work it took to get it cleared out? Make sure you don’t get to that point again.

Simplifying isn’t easy, but it is part of the path to organization.  The degree of simplicity is up to you, your lifestyle and your personality.  Be realistic with yourself and take the path you feel is right for you.  You can do it!