/improve/ - Self Improvement

When organizing your house, you can, and should, try to achieve perfection. Try to get to the point where you really do have "a place for everything and everything in its place". Ideally, you won't need to tidy at all at this point, because you can put things back immediately after using them. If you get discouraged, keep in mind that just the fact that you want to clean up badly enough to read a book about it shows that you have what it takes to do it.

Finish discarding first, *before* cleaning up or making space for things. Look for excuses to get rid of stuff, not excuses to keep it.

"When you come across something that’s hard to discard, consider carefully why you have that specific item in the first place. In fact, that particular article of clothing has already completed its role in your life, and you are free to say, “Thank you for giving me joy when I bought you,” or “Thank you for teaching me what doesn’t suit me,” and let it go."

IMHO people with a hoarding problem will be more sympathetic if you frame discarding as "Bye-bye Mr. Sweater" instead of "why are you still wearing that old crap?"

You should try to clean up everything at once, "at once" meaning over the course of a week to 3 months. This way, new stuff doesn't have a chance to accumulate.

Don’t let your family & friends see, otherwise they'll be tempted to keep stuff "because you're throwing it away anyway". And clean up your own space before confronting your family members about their own sloppiness. They often feel inspired enough to clean up on their own once they see that you managed to do it.

Sort by category, not by location: e.g. sort all books, all tools, all clothes, etc. simultaneously. For each category, pull out all items from all locations and arrange them on the floor or where you can see them all at once. That will make it easier to judge how much you want to keep them. For every item, ask yourself "does it spark joy?" This doesn't apply to everything, so save things like official documents and mementos for last. Once you get rid of all the stuff you really don't care about, you will be better prepared to say whether you still need the documents and mementos.

The best cleanup sequence is this: clothes first, then books, papers, odds and ends, and lastly, mementos.

Clothes:

Don't be tempted to keep something as "work clothes" or "loungewear". If you don't use it now, you probably won't feel like using it as loungwear either.

Fold as much clothing as possible, since it takes less space. Consider storing your folded clothes *vertically* against the walls of your dresser. That way you can access every item individually without pulling stuff out.

Clothing that needs to be hung on a rack should be sorted by length, e.g. coats on the left, shirts in the middle, ties on the right.

Store summer & winter clothes in the same place. If you have clothes in a separate location, they run the risk of being forgotten and piling up.

Books:

Keep in mind that libraries exist, and that most people only read books once. Only store the books that you read regularly.

For people who accumulate books: the right time to read a book is when you first get excited about it. Finish it at once, or send it back. "Someday" means "never".

Papers:

Throw away by default. If you have to keep them, separate into three categories: currently in use, needed for a limited period of time, or must be kept indefinitely.

Papers that need action (bills, magazines, etc.) should be limited to one spot in the house. Ideally you would not have anything in this pile at all.

Consider throwing away bank statements, receipts, old warranties and manuals. Nowadays a lot of this stuff is available online.

Miscellany:

It's best to sort in the following order:

CDs, DVDs

Cosmetics

Accessories

Valuables (passports, credit cards, etc.)

Electrical equipment and appliances (digital cameras, electric cords, anything that seems vaguely “electric”)

Household equipment (stationary and writing materials, sewing kits, etc.)

Household supplies (expendables like medicine, detergents, tissues, etc.)

Kitchen goods/food supplies (spatulas, pots, blenders, etc.)

Other (spare change, figurines, etc.)

If you have many items related to a particular hobby, treat these as a single subcategory.

Common types of things that can be thrown away:

Unwanted gifts

free samples

electronics boxes

unidentified cords

broken appliances

bedding for the guest that never comes

spare buttons

products from the latest health craze

free samples

Cash in all loose change and put it in your wallet.

Mementos:

Don't be tempted to use your friends & family as a dumping ground for mementos.

Organize photos the same way as other items. Pull them all out, look at them all at once, and keep the ones that "spark joy".

Follow your intuition to decide how much to throw away. Reduce until you reach the point where something "clicks".

Organizing:

Avoid scattering storage space. Try to keep things in the same category together as much as possible.

Store items so that they can be retrieved individually, without moving others. Don't stack anything.

Avoid buying things that store other things, like DVD towers and wine racks. If something can be stored without an extra container, it should be.

When you buy new stuff, unwrap it and store it immediately before it can be forgotten.

The best way to store bags (including handbags, duffel bags, purses, etc.) is in another bag.

If you have a purse or duffel bag, empty it every day so things can't accumulate in the bottom.

Keep things out of the tub, sink, and shower, even shampoo bottles and washcloths. It's easier to keep everything clean and mold-free that way.

Use the top of the bookcase like a personal shrine, for items that inspire you but don't need to be retrieved.

Use the inside of the closet for things that use up floor space, and for things that you enjoy but don't really belong in the open (anime figurines, justin bieber poster, etc.)

Don't underestimate the "noise" of written information, particularly if written in your own language.