Already broken that New Year’s resolution to stop eating leftover holiday cookies and hit the gym at least four times a week?
There’s an actual achievable resolution that’s likely to make 2008 more manageable and pleasant, and who knows, might just spur you on to tackle those other priorities like getting in shape.
Here it is: this is the year you resolve to rid your home of clutter. It may not be as satisfying as slipping into jeans two sizes smaller, or being able to take the stairs two at a time without losing your breath, but as they say, a clean house is a happy house.
For those of us that deal with excessively hoarded items by shoving them into closets and forcing the door closed, or by purchasing stacking bins and then filling them so full, the tops don’t fit and the bins won’t stack, there’s clutter-free hope on the horizon.
Erin Ritchie of Ballston Spa has made a business out of being a personal trainer for the organationally impaired. Three years ago, she launched Cinderella’s Services, as a professional organizer and cleaner. Her first step was putting her college degree in psychology to good use, ferreting out why so many of us surround ourselves with so many earthly possessions.
There are lots of strictly cleaning services out there, so I had to find something to set myself apart, said Ritchie. `What I did was get to the root of the problem, why there is clutter, why people become so attached to things.`
Ritchie found out the most people hold onto items for the sake of memories, but if you can’t remember where you keep those sentimental mementos, what’s the point?
`People have a hard time parting with things, but if they’re buried under bags and boxes, it can’t be that important,` said Ritchie. `If you have that memory in your heart, it doesn’t fade, and you don’t need 50 pictures of one event, or a bag of baby clothes. Make a collage out of some of the photos, and a quilt or tapestry out of the clothing, then toss the rest.`
As with any change in habits, people need to take small steps that will eventually add up.
`Whittle clutter down gradually, start with one drawer or one closet so you can see your progress right away,` said Ritchie. `If you take on too much, you’ll get overwhelmed and just abandon the project.`
Ritchie has worked with clients ranging from empty nesters downsizing, to people wanting to turn bedrooms into a usable office, to people with a home office that has morphed into a storage room.
`I worked with an older woman who kept magazines and newspapers from 10 years ago, and she just would not part with them,` said Ritchie. `The first six times I went there, we didn’t make a dent. I had to reason with her to get through to her she could let go and not lose anything special.`
Closets are one area that make Ritchie dive right in.
`Here’s the rule: every time you buy a new item of clothing, you need to toss one out,` said Ritchie. `If you haven’t worn it in two years, you’re not going to pull it out now, and it’s probably not a classic item.`
Ritchie also recommends you toss out all your fix-it projects now covered in dust.
`Anything that’s broken that you haven’t fixed immediately, you’re just not going to fix,` said Ritchie. `Don’t keep a puzzle with two pieces missing. It just doesn’t make sense.`
Once those books, pots and pans, baby furniture and stone-washed jeans are sorted and ready to go, keep in mind one person’s trash is another’s treasure.
`You can sell almost anything on eBay,` said Ritchie.
Erika Hickey of Ballston Spa called Ritchie to enlist her clutter-clearing services at her previous home where she ran a children’s daycare.
With children of her own, Hickey said she had accumulated a large assortment of toys.
`I have a tough time parting with things, but Erin coached me and got me going in the right direction,` said Hickey. `It’s a goal you really need to set and stick with it, because it’s easy to fall back on your old ways.`
Take heart, however, that even professional organizers haven’t taken an oath of perfection.
`Obviously, you’ll still have clutter, but the key is to keep it confined,` said Ritchie. `Everyone has a junk drawer. I’m renovating my house right now, and everything is a mess. Since I can’t have clutter control in my own home, I use that energy to help other people get back in control. When you start spending time searching for things, and it interferes with your daily life, that’s the time to change your ways.“
