On Monday of this week I had the pleasure of giving a talk
about being Organized and Decluttering your home. There were about 20 women and
one man there and each and every one of them had organizing and decluttering
issues that I did my best to address.

The event was held at R.O.C.K. (Reach out Centre for
Kids) ROCK promotes positive child development through programs and services
that strengthen the ability of families and the community to raise and nurture
children.

I was surprised at how many of the parents had the
same three issues, Toys (how to
store them) Clothes (having way too
many and lots of laundry) and Space
(for extra storage in bedrooms and kitchens)

One other thing I noticed was their attachment to stuff and their reluctance to let it go.
There was an excuse for a lot of my suggestions, and at times I was forced to
ask the question: Why do you want to keep it all? If you didn’t feel there was
a problem you wouldn’t be here telling me about it.

Having just finished reading Un-clutter your Home by Donna Smallin, I was going to bring what I
had learned and share with this group. It was 7 Simple Steps.
Step 1: Assess your situation; it is helpful to understand how and why clutter
happens and how to recognize how it is affecting the quality of your life.

Step 2: Plan for success: change your old habits you will create lasting
new one’s

Step 3: Lighten your Load; save space and time by letting go of things you don’t
love or need anymore.

Step 4: Contain yourself; Find a place for everything so you can put
everything in its place.

Step 5: Revamp clutter zones. Minimize clutter by organizing your home
and possessions to fit your lifestyle.

Step 6: Simplify with Systems: Organize and simplify your life with
systems that work for you.

Step 7: Ban clutter forever: Learn how to maintain your clutter free and
organized space.

Plannning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now  (Alan Lakein)