Think It Through
Less truly is more. Having a little more room to move and to think goes a long way. Now, it's time to re-imagine your home and make your possessions serve your life, instead of vice versa. Take your vision for your life and make it a reality. Here's how to create a shared vision everyone in your home will love.
What You'll Need to Get StartedDownload a room function chartHow to Create a Shared Vision
Think it through. In order to get the home office and bathroom you want, you and your family going to have to let go of some stuff. It's easy to accumulate bathroom products—your skin will be so soft; your hair will grow back, filling in that bald spot. Your lashes will be thicker and longer than ever! To keep your bathroom clean and clear, you are going to have to let go of those hopes and dreams, no matter how much you spent on them. You'll be surprised how good a clean bathroom can be for your complexion!
As for the home office, what's amazing is if you think about the paper that fills your office—the books, magazines, files and mail—you'll realize that most of it is stuff you'll never use again. Establish a basic premise. The best way to enter a tough discussion is to establish where you stand at the start with love and understanding. Before you talk about the clutter, talk about what is important to all of you. Discuss what you want the final outcome of this cleanup to be. Agree on ground rules, and return to this initial conversation when things get difficult or uncomfortable.
Don't make it personal. As you discuss your hopes and goals for the rooms in your house, make sure you don't start blaming your spouse, partner, roommate or children for the mess. Instead of focusing on whose mess it is, think of it as a group problem that you're going to solve together. Don't use words like "yours" and "mine." Talk about the clutter and challenges surrounding it as "ours."
Don't point your finger at others. The goal is to reframe the discussion away from the item itself to its significance in your lives. Here are some questions to help you make decisions about what to keep without starting arguments or passing judgment. Instead of "Why don't you put your shoes away?" ask: "What is it that you want from this space?" Instead of "Why do we have to keep your stuffed animals?" ask: "Why is that important to you? Does it have meaning?" Instead of "There's no room for all of your stuff in there," say: "Let's see how we can share this space so that it works for both of us." Instead of "Why do you have to hold on to these ugly sweaters your dad gave you?" ask: "What do these sweaters make you think of or remind you of?" Instead of "I don't understand how you can live with all of this junk," ask: "How do you feel when you have to spend time in this room?"
Complete a Room Function Chart. Download a copy and give one to each member of your family. Fill them out individually, then meet to compare your results. At this stage, it is best to simply hear what everyone has to say without dismissing any idea. The more comments, feedback, insight and discussion, the better! Welcome surprises and be prepared for some interesting points of view.
Peter’s Room Function Chart
After you've tackled the superficial clutter and cleared a little space in your home,
you should be able to see what is really possible. Now, it's time to put it on paper!
Print out a chart for each room. If you're organizing with a partner or your entire
family, print a copy for each person so you can all describe what you envision for
your home. Then, get together and start working to make it a reality.
Room:
Current function:
Ideal function:
Who uses it?
Who should use it?
What should it contain?
What has to go?
Think F.A.S.T.!
F: Fix a time. Schedule a time that suits everyone involved. Cleaning up is a family affair, so get everyone on board by scheduling your kick-start at a time that works for everyone and make attendance mandatory! Set aside a Saturday or a Sunday, or a few hours every day, to start the process.
A: Anything not used in 12 months. Face it: If you haven't used an item in the last year, it is highly unlikely you really need it or that you are going to ever get enough use out of it to justify it cluttering up your home. Take the plunge and get rid of it! Ask yourself these questions as you encounter each piece of clutter: Do I use this?How long has it been since I've used it? Will I use it again? Is it worth the space it takes up in my house?
Remember: The objective is to get stuff out of your home, not to move it into another room. You will be amazed by the sheer volume of unused and unneeded items in your home. Don't spend time inventing reasons to keep these things.
S: Someone else's stuff. It's bad enough when clutter is your own, but it is totally crazy when the clutter belongs to someone else. Your house should not contain anything that doesn't belong to you. If it's something you've borrowed, give it back. If you've ended a relationship or gotten a divorce, now's the time to let your ex's belongings go. If your kids have established their own households, it's time for them to pick their stuff up.
T: Trash. The trash can is your friend. It is your very hungry friend. Take pride in how much you throw away and make it fun. Compete with your family members to see who tosses the most or award a prize to the best purger. Remember the goal: You only want to keep the amount of stuff that makes sense for your space.
Create and Maintain Zones for Your Home Office
Rooms are used for different purposes—often at the same time. In order to decide what should stay and where, you need to identify the different activities that take place within each room and divide them into zones. Once you begin organizing, these zones become the center for specific items related to the designated activity. Then, it becomes immediately clear where things belong, where to find things and where to return them.
Sample Zones for the Home Office:Bill paying
Reading
Studying
Computer work
Mail files
Scrapbooking
Crafting
Quick Tips for Your Home OfficeStart slow. It's taken months or years to build up the clutter. Organize one section at a time.
Find out the best times of year to clean out the black holes in your home and more.
Create a paperwork zone. Designate places for the main types of paper in these spaces—unopened mail, magazines, bills and receipts, and important personal information. Put mail and bills near each other, along with envelopes, stamps, your checkbook and other items you need regularly. Find out the best time of year to organize your paperwork.
Keep horizontal surfaces clear. Keep your office uncluttered by ensuring that any desk surface, countertop or table is clear of paperwork. If you don't start piles, they can't grow.
Go digital. Organize your computer files, delete old ones regularly and back up important ones. Whenever possible, use the Internet to pay bills, which can help reduce paper clutter.
Minimize junk mail. Treat junk mail like the intruder it is. Get rid of it immediately. To minimize junk mail, contact the Direct Marketing Association at
The-DMA.org; to activate the mail preference service or call 888-5OPT-OUT to stop those annoying credit card offers.
Keep track of bills and receipts. Buy a 12-month expanding file, and file all bills or receipts monthly. You'll come back to each one a year later. If you haven't needed it by then, get rid of it!
Maintain a good filing system. A good system can keep anything organized. Suggested categories are: automotive, education, financial, health and medical, home and real estate, insurance, legal, work and taxes. Keep frequently used files handy.
Control scrapbooking and crafting. Many people use their home offices to do crafts and work on hobbies. Supplies for these hobbies can create a lot of clutter. If you choose a craft or hobby, then make sure it's something you really enjoy. Do it because you want to, not because others expect it of you or because it's something you once liked or because you don't want those materials you bought to go to waste.
Create and Maintain Zones for Your Bathroom
Sample Zones for the Bathroom:
Cleaning supplies
Personal products
Extra products
Shared products
Medicine
Figure out the best zones. If the bathroom is shared, zones can be dictated by person instead of purpose. Give each person a section of storage or a bathroom caddy to keep in a cupboard or their room. Otherwise, use caddies or clear plastic bins to store like things together, such as medicines, haircare and cosmetics.
Keep flat surfaces clear. Cleanliness is extremely important in the bathroom. Steam, moisture and condensation promote mold and mildew. Add clutter and you have all the ingredients for an unhealthy and unsightly room.
Use vertical space. Install hooks or towel rods on the back of the bathroom door for towel storage. Purchase an over-the-toilet cabinet or install shelves to neatly store other bathroom items.
Purge unused products. If those mini shampoo bottles you brought back from vacation last year haven't been used, they never will be. Every six months, check what's in the bathroom and get rid of all bottles or tubes you haven't opened or used in that time.
Check expiration dates. Cosmetics and medications both have expirations dates. Make sure you aren't using them when they are no longer safe.
