“Decluttering,” first used in 1950, is everywhere, thanks to Marie Kondo, who has her own Netflix show and whose name — used as a verb, no less — even made it into Orange is the New Black’s last season.
Kondo’s book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, set off a decluttering craze across the globe” according to a blog sponsored, oddly enough, by One Kings Lane. Because Kondo advocates folding over hanging, perhaps the online retailer hopes her philosophy will inspire us to order additional dressers and storage units. In any case, the blog boils down Kondo’s “two-pronged approach” to:
First, put your hands on everything you own, ask yourself if it sparks joy, and if it doesn’t, thank it for its service and get rid of it. Second, once only your most joy-giving belongings remain, put every item in a place where it’s visible, accessible, and easy to grab and then put back. Only then, Kondo says, will you have reached the nirvana of housekeeping, and
Recently, I had to put my hands on everything I owned. I didn’t want to rent a storage facility to hold onto “stuff” I’d carted around for my adult life (learn more about “stuff” here), so I divested. Clearly, the things I gave (or threw) away didn’t make me “sparkle,” to use Kondo’s term. I also knew I’d never miss or visit them. I forgot to thank them, though.
To me, divesting was easier than decluttering. Every item went to someone who wanted or needed it, and — most important — I could skip Kondo’s last step:
…and then put back!
Some people have a place for everything and can — miraculously — put everything back into its rightful place. I put such people in the same category as seatmates on airplanes who fall asleep before takeoff. I want to strangle them and I want to be them, but I know neither will happen.
If you’re like me, and putting-away doesn’t come naturally or effortlessly, these strategies might help….sometimes!
1. Identify and concentrate on your junk-prone storage spots. Look at surfaces (counters, floors, chairs) and see what you’ve piled on them. If there’s a chair available, I tend to use it as a drawer. But I’m good compared to the friend who uses the single bed in her second bedroom as a entire dresser.
2. Notice when you decide to take action. I put things away when I’m expecting company. That includes my housekeeper. I can’t let her see the kitchen table strewn with papers or the chair in the bedroom piled ridiculously high with clothing. Rather than tell her I’ve been “meaning” to put everything away, I do it the night before. An alternate approach, fancied by the aforementioned friend is to pay the housekeeper extra. Every week, the strewn clothing is folded and stacked, so that the spare-bed-as-dresser is at least neat.
3. Let what you have to do get you started. Embarrassment is my greatest motivator, but so is practicality. When I can’t open my catchall drawer, which filled with things that didn’t end up in their rightful place, I finally have to put them away — or get rid of them altogether. Likewise, if I’m having trouble seeing into my closet, I have to weed out what I never wear. Granted, these necessary purges require a little time and effort, but they’re also satisfying. And for the next week or so, I am “better” about putting things away.
4. Pay attention whenever you bring home anything new. Groceries, clean laundry, mail, suitcases, electronics, belongings from another house — all are at risk of being plopped somewhere with the unspoken promise, I’ll do it later. I usually put groceries away immediately, probably because some items need refrigeration, and I hate waste. Trouble is, every cabinet door is open after I finish.
5. Beware distractions. Once I’ve started unboxing a new purchase from Amazon, unloading grocery bags, or putting away laundry, I’m okay until the phone rings or I suddenly remember a bill that needs to be paid. Try as I do, it’s hard for me to heed my friend’s sage advice, “Make a list of 3 things, and do one of them.”
6. Be on high alert during the holidays. Presents, wrapping, cards, and decorations increase the Clutter Quotient. After the holidays, promise yourself to put them away in January. (If Marie Kondo addresses this, let me know.)
7. Round up the stragglers. When I put away laundry, there’s always a stray dish towel that somehow never makes it to the linen closet. With supermarket items, it could be a box of crackers, a can of anchovies, or the grocery cart. When I later notice the straggler, I wonder if I’m constitutionally incapable of a thorough Put Away.
8. Get rid of mail immediately. Invariably, I promise myself I’ll sort through my mail as soon as I hang up my coat. But I am apparently incapable of completing two putting-away tasks in succession. Instead of hanging up my coat, I lay it across a chair, grab a letter opener, and begin Postal Triage: pay, file, ditch. The problem is, instead of having one big pile, I now have three.
9. Be mindful when undressing. Strewn clothing is the enemy of bedroom calm. Before casting that tee shirt to the chair (or, worse, the floor), take a deep breath and ask yourself, won’t you feel better if it’s hung or folded and then put away? Remind yourself that you do have that extra 30 seconds and that later you’ll be happy you did it.
10. If you live with a roommate, a spouse and/or children, don’t add to your own burden. Put away only your own stuff. As I suggested in Family Whispering, it’s best run a home like a co-op. Everyone is responsible for whatever keeps the home running smoothly. If putting-away is a problem for others, don’t do it for them. Instead, suggest that once a week, month, or year, depending on your particular group’s/family’s culture have a “put-away day.” And in the process everybody could also keep an eye on things that they might give or throw away!
Please leave your strategies for putting stuff away the comments section.