Overwhelmed – Where to start?

Have you ever experienced this? Your life is fine, you have a beautiful home and yet, there’s a room or an area which is just full of clutter. You feel it’s just too much to tackle. It’s so much easier to close the door or put a blind eye to the mess. In short, you’re overwhelmed!

Last week, a client felt overwhelmed with the question: “Where do I start?” She had a number of areas in her bedroom which she wanted to organise: The closet, the dresser and the en-suite bathroom. Yet, she didn’t know how to get there and became overwhelmed working on these 3 projects simultaneously. Since we started working together, we broke down her projects, removing the feeling of being overwhelmed and replacing it with the joy of quick successes!

 

For those of you who are also feeling overwhelmed, this post shall give you a few starting points and remove this uncomfortable feeling:

  1. Envision what you want the room or area want to look like. This will be the goal you’re working towards and it will act as your motivation.
  2. Don’t tackle the entire house in one week. Pick just one area. Ideally, this area will be a visible pain spot for you where, by the end of your organising session, you see an improvement.
  3. Set a timer for 15 to 30 minutes. Race yourself to review and organise that area within this short timeframe. You can make these quick speed session fun, productive (as you’re against a “deadline”) and rewarding for yourself.
  4. Take your bookshelf for example. Start in the upper left hand corner and move to the right of that shelf. Once the top shelf has been organised, you move to the next shelf lower down in a zig-zagging way. This great tip from Julie Morgenstern gives you control over the areas without pulling all content out.
  5. In your kitchen, start with a drawer like the one for your cutlery or cooking utensils. Which ones are still working? Do you use them all? Also the tomato corer puller? You can do this one in less than 30 minute, don’t you think? Step it up by organising your china. Is there anything broken or chipped which can be thrown out? Get rid of those and then look at your pots and pans next, followed by your pantry.
  6. If the idea of organising your wardrobe is scaring you, organise a part like your tops or trousers first. Which ones can still be worn? Throw out the ones torn or stained. Are there any pieces which no longer fit? Donate or sell them. If you’re planning on losing weight to fit into them, keep them for 6 months in a separate box. Write the date in 6 months on the outside and when it’s that date, check whether they’ll fit then. If not, say bye-bye! Now, move onto another area like dresses and skirts next and then jackets, asking yourself the same questions.

What do you do to overcome this feeling of being overwhelmed? How have you taken the first step to tackle your clutter and be more organised? I’d love to hear how you started your journey to an organised life and mind.

Do you want more support from a trained professional organiser and fight the clutter together? Find out how I can remove the feeling of being overwhelmed from you and enable you to live a clutter free life.

Until next time,
Agni

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