clutter Archives - Page 3 of 6 - Clear Space Organising Services

What a PO can really give you

July 27, 2015 by Mick Mezzino Leave a Comment

If you’ve ever wondered why Professional Organisers charge a lot more than cleaners do, let me tell you why…

1. We coach and teach WITH you, not do it for you

2. We understand that decluttering and organising is an individual thing

3. We know how to design systems that suit you; not us and not anyone else

4. We aim to set you up for future independence

5. We help you understand the relationship you have with your stuff and how to make it a productive and comfortable relationship

6. We understand the psychological issues involved

7. If we are in over our head re #6, we know it and we know when you’re better off with another service provider.

We work with you, not for you.

If you get someone who is saying that they can organise or declutter for you at cleaning rates or less, please be aware you get what you pay for. By all means try them if you want, but keep my warning in mind to avoid getting at worst, psychologically damaged and at best, one or two hundred dollars out of pocket for nothing. Or thousands, in the case of one of my clients before she found me.

Also make sure the PO you’re thinking about using is a member of an industry association (www.aapo.org.au, www.napo.com, www.organizersincanada.com, www.apdo-uk.co.uk or google your country and “professional organizer”) because that’s proof that they take their job seriously and are invested in making sure you get the best service possible.

We don’t cost more, we give you more.

Filed Under: Decluttering, Psychology Tagged With: clutter, decision making, excuses, family organising, habits, home, organised, organising, organized

What kids really need. And it’s not toys…

July 5, 2015 by Mick Mezzino Leave a Comment

I’m going to come straight out and say it – our (western) kids have far too many toys.

Even families that I meet with financial struggles have too many toys in their homes.

Too many toys causes significant stresses to families and can have negative effects on children (or at least take away some opportunities for positive growth).

A lot of parents feel like they are robbing their kids of a fun and fulfilled childhood if they minimise their toys. They feel that giving toys shows they love them. This could not be further from the truth.

Minimising toys teaches kids how to improvise, to use their imagination, to be grateful for what they have, to spend their money wisely and intentionally, to not be so uncomfortable when unstimulated (or “bored”) and to be resourceful and content.

According to one study, when children had reduced toys:

“The lack of toys provided time, space and liberty to make new experiences. The children perceived each other in a new way. They quarrelled less and co-operated more. The playing groups grew, younger children, boys and girls mixed in the games. The children learned to express their personal needs and to say” yes” or” no”. The dynamic processes in the children group changed completely. The children spoke about their problems and needs, they discovered individual strong and weak points and learned to appreciate both.”

Some parents justify it by saying “But they play with them all”. This is a fair statement. I don’t argue with that as the parents always know their kids best and it’s likely to be true. Because after all, kids do play with toys.

Yes, if your kids lived in Toys’R’Us, eventually they’d play with all the toys – simply because they are there!

BUT…

That doesn’t mean they NEED ALL the toys in order to be happy and healthy.

Your kids’ favourite plaything is you. And you are free and don’t take up much space. Next time you think about buying your kid something, instead give them a hug, tell them you love them and ask them what they’d like you to do with them for a bit of fun.

Filed Under: Culling, Decluttering, Family organising, Kids, Psychology Tagged With: clutter, decision making, family organising, habits, home, kids, organised, organising, organized, play

“No-Brainers” declutter list

June 24, 2015 by Mick Mezzino 4 Comments

When I’m with clients, I’m always on the lookout for what I call “No-Brainers”. The things that should be culled (recycled, donated, sold or trashed) without thinking about it.

Without negotiating with yourself, and without worrying about it, they can go.

Here’s my top 10:

Clothes you wouldn’t wear in public
Things you didn’t know you had and don’t know how you got them
Things you have to google to figure out what it is
Cords and cables from long-gone devices and appliances
Odd (that have been odd for aaages) socks
Broken, damaged, soiled things
Things you’ve kept to “upcycle” or “do up” when you “have time”
Expired food, toiletries, chemical, medicines, sunscreen, vouchers, coupons, tickets etc
Things that belong to other people. You’re not a storage facility!
Old magazines and newspapers. They recycle the stories anyway – you’re not missing anything.

Do you have any No-Brainers you’d like to add to the list?

Filed Under: Culling, Decluttering, Wardrobe Tagged With: clothes, clutter, decision making, decisions, declutter, excuses, home, organised, organized, wardrobe

Decluttering or organising?

August 8, 2014 by Mick Mezzino 5 Comments

There’s a difference between decluttering and organising.

Decluttering is removing things permanently from your home, organising is grouping like with like and storing it somewhere (and “stashing” is a whole other beast entirely!).

If you’re living in chaos, your first step is to declutter. Don’t try to skip over it to organising (I know you would love to have it all looking beautiful in lovely matching storage but hold out a bit) because unless you declutter, it won’t last.

Filed Under: Organised Tagged With: clutter, declutter, excuses, organise, organised, organising, organized, shopping

Un-organising

April 3, 2014 by Mick Mezzino 3 Comments

I read a recent article about certain spaces you shouldn’t bother trying to keep organised in your home. They included the junk drawer, kids’ toyrooms, laundry cupboards, your utensil drawer and photos.

It had an impact in my industry, with lots of Professional Organisers saying “WHAT??? WHY?? NOO!!!!” to the ideas expressed in the article.

But I agreed with the article (most of it, anyway, I DO think the laundry should be fairly well organised because having an efficient clothes-washing system and routine has a flow-on effect to the rest of the house). I agree because I think we place too much pressure on ourselves to have our spaces organised to the “nth degree”. To have all our drawers neatly divided and our books colour-coordinated. To have all the kids’ Lego sorted by colour. To have a house that looks like the ones on Pinterest.

I think life’s too short for that.

To show you how it’s possible to let go on some of these high standards, I’m going to show you my stationery drawers. They are sorted into broad groups (writing, drawing {my art}, attaching, labeling, personal and technical) and labeled all neatly on the outside. Now, that’s pretty organised; I always know what’s in those drawers (or what should be in them if I’ve been good and put stuff away!).

When you open the drawers, however, it looks like a bit of a shemozzle; it’s all just chucked in. And I think that’s fine. It still takes me no time at all to put my hands on what I want, and isn’t that what organised really means? I can see there are a few things that shouldn’t live in a couple of those drawers, but they aren’t bothering me right now so I don’t really care. I can find what I want when I want it.

Organised chaos. That’s my thang.

The same goes for my son’s Lego, which is in one big long, shallow tub. Not sorted. Not at all. He doesn’t care one iota. And neither do I.

And my utensil drawer – everyone just throws the stuff in anyway, so why bother trying to keep it tidy? I keep it decluttered so that it only holds what’s necessary, but… tidy? Not worth the effort!

So chill out. You don’t have to have everything lined up with the labels all pointing outwards to have an organised home. You just need to be able to find things when you want them, and have only what you can fit easily in their space.

So, if you want to throw stuff willy-nilly in your top bathroom vanity drawer, go for it. If you want to just throw your undies in with your socks all messy and unfolded, feel free. If you want to have your hairbands in the same box as your clips and bobby-bins, go your hardest. If you can’t be bothered putting your books in order of genre or author, that’s completely okay. You are free to have a jumble if you so wish.

You’re welcome.

Filed Under: Disorganised, Family organising, Kids, Maintenance, Organised Tagged With: clutter, family organising, habits, home, kids, laundry, organised, organising, organized, washing

Letting go of useful stuff a necessity for some

February 4, 2014 by Mick Mezzino 6 Comments

When I’m coaching clients through the process of decluttering and letting go, I use these questions initially:

“Do you NEED it?”
“Do you USE it?”
“Do you LOVE it?”

These questions help people decide if they really are going to keep the item.

Sometimes, though, you can have such a high volume of “stuff” that an item can fit that category but still need to go. It might be used, it might be needed, it might even be loved, but it can still need to go in order for you to achieve your goals.

It’s a very hard concept for people to get their head around, but if you want your house to have less clutter, it’s just going to have to happen.

Filed Under: Culling, Disorganised, Hoarding, Organised, Psychology Tagged With: boundaries, clutter, decision making, decisions, excuses, hoarding, organised, organising, organized, overwhelmed

Can you declutter your complexities?

November 7, 2013 by Mick Mezzino 2 Comments

A common theme amongst my clients is complexity.

They have a lot, they do a lot, they want to do a lot, they help others do a lot, they accumulate a lot in order to do what they want.

They have rules about how they do things (or not do them), which complicates life. They can’t say no to others, which complicates life.

Do you insist that certain conditions be met before you take any action? Why? What do you gain? What do you lose? Are your rules helpful to you or unhelpful?

For example, do you insist on reading all the junk mail before you throw it in the recycling? Do you buy the latest issue of your favourite magazine despite not having read the last two yet? Do you insist on using a new towel each shower? Do you buy a new outfit whenever you have a special occasion to attend? Do you buy designer clothes for your 2yo tomboy? Do you entertain several nights a week? Do you volunteer for several committees? Do you only buy bread from a bakery 30 minutes’ drive away?

These are all examples of complexities that you impose upon yourself. They may or may not be helpful: that’s up to you to decide.

The more simple your life, the happier you’ll be. Trust me.

What complexities can you step away from today?

Filed Under: Culling, Disorganised, Goal setting, Psychology Tagged With: boundaries, clutter, complexity, decision making, decisions, organised, organized, simple

Celebrate your achievements

July 2, 2013 by Mick Mezzino 1 Comment

All ready for the RSPCA

When I went to see my client yesterday, we started off as we usually do, chatting about what he’d achieved in the fortnight since I’d last been.

He was disappointed in himself, and complained that he hadn’t achieved anything. He had been too busy working (he works shift work).

Then through more probing on my part I discovered that he had cleared out a great deal of his bedroom and there was a big expanse of carpet on display (yay! I did a little dance in it to show him how big it was). He had also delivered a load of old towels and sheets to the RSPCA, and decluttered and cleaned his bathroom.

Now, for someone who is a hoarder and is crippled by procrastination, that is a LOT achieved!

I told him so, and he agreed. So the lesson here is don’t be too hard on yourself. Any progress is a step forward.

Don’t forget to celebrate your achievements, or at least NOTICE them!

Filed Under: Culling, Disorganised, Hoarding, Procrastination, Psychology Tagged With: clutter, habits, hoarder, hoarding, organised, organized, overwhelmed, procrastinate, procrastination

Will it stay or will it go?

June 27, 2013 by Mick Mezzino Leave a Comment

When you’re trying to reduce your belongings, it can be hard making the decision to keep or discard an item.

Here’s what I ask my clients:

1. Do you NEED it? This one is relatively easy to answer once you get the hang of it. If it’s a bike bell and you don’t have a bike, you probably don’t NEED it. Notice I didn’t say “want”. Be careful you don’t confuse the two – western society has a pretty warped sense of need these days.

2. Do you USE it? If you don’t need it you still might use it. I don’t NEED a white coat and a brown one, but I do use both of them regularly throughout winter.

3. Do you LOVE it? Is it neither a necessity nor used? Is it a teacup that belonged to your grandma’s special set? Not needed, not used, but certainly treasured.

If it fails all these tests, then it has no place in your life. Period.

Be careful: it’s at this point that the “other” criteria pop up in your head because fear kicks in….

“I might need it one day”

“I really should finish that project; I’m a failure if I just discard it now”

“What if Cath notices the frame that she gave me isn’t on display anymore”, or

“But I spent good money on it and now I’m wasting that money by giving this item away”.

None of these are good enough reasons to keep something. Don’t let the fear take over.

If you don’t need, use or love it, it’s making life that little bit harder for you. That little bit more cramped, that little bit more complex. Let go of the fear and experience the freedom!

Embrace the idea of less stuff so you can have more of life.

Filed Under: Culling, Family organising, Hoarding, Home, Organised, Procrastination, Psychology Tagged With: clutter, cull, culling, decision making, decisions, declutter, organised, organising, organized, overwhelmed

Avoiding isn’t the answer

April 10, 2013 by Mick Mezzino Leave a Comment

You’re cluttered. You feel out of control and overwhelmed. You want to escape the house. You aspire to a beautiful, organised home but despair that you’ll never get it. You’re anxious.

When you’re anxious, going shopping can make you feel better – every girl knows that ;). But we also all know that it’s only a short-term hit, like a drug.

Sometimes you even buy organising products to try and get around that feeling in your gut that tells you to stop bringing more stuff into the house.

But more stuff, even if it is a useful container or set of shelves, will NOT fix your problem.

The only thing that will fix your problem is taking action on what you have got around you. The only way out is to stop avoiding your stuff and face it. To defeat it, you must take action.

When you next get the urge to run away from your home and seek solace in shopping, realise that the ONLY WAY to get the home you want is to stay in it and face your demons. Sort that pile, toss that stuff, create the life you want rather than buy it.

You CAN do it, I know you can xx

Filed Under: Culling, Disorganised, Procrastination, Psychology, Shopping Tagged With: boundaries, clutter, decision making, decisions, excuses, family organising, habits, home, shopping