stuff

7 rules for organising your stuff

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Well look at you… you’re nearly half way there!

If you’re just starting the 7 Day Organising Challenge today, no problem. Keep scrolling to read the previous days’ posts in full below.

Day 1 – Choose one area to declutter & organise over the next 7 days

Day 2 – Create a vision for how you want that space to be

Day 3 – Declutter

For the rest of us, it’s time for…

Step 4.

Organise.

Top Tip: Hold off on any urge you may have to go out and buy storage solutions at this stage. In most cases, you’re much better to start the organising process using what you already have. Trust me! By the end of the process, you’ll be able to see exactly what you need, how many and in what colour. At the moment, it’s really just a guessing game.

Now, the organising process will be different for each of us depending on what we’re organising. But regardless of whether you’re working in your garage or in a wardrobe, a cupboard or your digital files, there are a few organising principles that will steer you in the right direction. Here are 7 of the best:

  1. Everything needs a home, or it will become clutter
  2. Store like items together rather than having them dotted around in various locations
  3. Keep things as close as possible to where they are used, wherever practical
  4. Put your most frequently used items front and centre, with lesser used items up higher, down lower or towards the harder-to-reach backs of cupboards
  5. It’s usually best to store items wherever your first instinct is to put them, because that’s inevitably the place you’ll look for it later
  6. Utilise vertical space wherever possible, be that walls, peg boards or simply a magazine box to reduce horizontal piles on a flat surface
  7. Set limits. It’s often when you’re putting the items you want to keep away, that you realise you’ve still got way more stuff that you need, want or can maintain. A lot of the people I work with find it helpful to look at the space available and decide how much of it is worth dedicating to a particular category of item. Because at the end of the day, the hard truth is, you can either have the stuff or the space, not both

Remember to refer back to the answers you came up with on Day 2 as you go about reorganising the space. There’s no point creating a system that you’ve tried before and you already know doesn’t work for you.

Likewise, you need to organise the space in a way that anyone who is likely to be using it is going to be able to both find what they need and put it away again without needing to bug you about it each time.

Once you finish organising the space, you’ve done the hard yards. The next few days will be much easier, I promise! Having said that, it’s often about this stage in the process when people realise they need help, so if that’s you, send me a message or your questions and let’s chat.

You can totally do this! See you tomorrow.

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Where to get rid of your joyless stuff

dog blanketAre you, like everyone else in my news feed, doing the Marie Kondo? If so, what are you planning to do with all the items you have that no longer spark joy? Hopefully you’re utilising landfill only as an absolute last resort. But where else can you send your unwanted stuff?

Check out the Resources Page on the little miss sorted website for lots of ideas on how to declutter with a conscience. We are adding to it all the time, like today, with this great find:

ANIMAL SHELTERS

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Each one will vary so check before you attend, however we do love this list taken from a local animal protection society website that demonstrates the wide range of items they are looking for including:

  • pet food and feeding items
  • newspapers
  • empty egg cartons
  • outdoor mats (for cats to scratch)
  • rubber outdoor mats (with holes in them to make snuffle mats)
  • new fleece fabric off cuts
  • blankets
  • towels
  • muffin trays
  • balls
  • pipe cleaners
  • chicken/beef stock or stock cubes
  • ice cube trays
  • bubble blowers

I’m wondering what they do with the stock… Do you know? Or do you have another nifty resource that we’ve missed in our library? Please tell us!

What’s in your garage?

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Welcome to Day 7 of little miss sorted’s 7 Day Sustainable Declutter Challenge:

Garage Clutter

The garage is often home for everything but your car. Car parts, boxes that haven’t been unpacked from 2 house moves ago, all the things you’re “definitely” going to repair, craft supplies you will use one day but can’t fit in your house at the moment, baby gear “just in case”, tax papers from fifteen years ago that you’ll sort out one day and all the amazing art your children have brought home since they were 4. And sometimes there’s even some junk that’s actually been earmarked to go but hasn’t quite made it out the door yet… It all makes for a cluttered mess and when the time comes to turf it, a serious health and environmental hazard if not disposed properly.

The World Health Organisation say that stockpiles of waste tyres sent to countries like Vietnam has caused the spread of Dengue Fever and other mosquito borne diseases by providing a perfect breeding ground. But recycled, they are useful for making sporting & playground surfaces, brake pads, insulation and constructing roads and drains among other things.

Another big problem is batteries. Australia has one of the lowest battery recycling rates in the world. Each year, over 300 million household batteries are thrown away with ordinary waste, meaning a staggering 8,000 tonnes of batteries end up in landfill. Batteries leech toxic metals into the ground which contaminates our soil and finds its way into our water systems.

Top Tips to sustainably declutter the garage

  • Hazardous waste should never go into landfill. Check out this blog post for destinations for most types of rubbish including making use of your council hard rubbish collection service which is often your best friend when it comes to cleaning out a garage
  • Determine what is of no use to you, and what is of no use to anyone. Donate the former and ensure the latter is sent to its proper destination. The RecycleNearYou website is a great resource
  • Anything sentimental or of value should never be stored in the garage, where temperatures can vary wildly. If it’s important, it deserves a place in your house

Top Tips to organise the garage

  • Create zones for the different types of things you keep in your garage, such as tools, gardening equipment, car paraphernalia, sports gear, outdoor living and the like. Store like things together and ensure small items are contained
  • Keep the floor clear as much as possible by utilising vertical space. Shelving along a wall, hooks, brackets and even rafters are important to make the most of this space whilst still being able to park your car here
  • Create a dedicated area for items that are ready to be donated or disposed of. Don’t make it too big. That way, when it is full, you are reminded to empty it (regularly) in order to make more space

Environmentally friendly resources when decluttering the garage:

ITEM

DESTINATION

Chemicals, paint, batteries, fluros, etc Detox your home collects items throughout the year at various locations. Use this link to find a date, time and location near you and to see what they accept

Battery World accepts all types of batteries

Aldi accepts household batteries  (AA, AAA, C, D and 9V sizes)

Sports/Playground equipment Progress Pikinini donates suitable items to children and schools in need in Vanuatu
Furniture suitable for a classroom such as desks, large tables and chairs Progress Pikinini
Old tyres Tyrecycle is one company recycling used car tyres. Check the list of participating retailers on their website to ensure the place you get your tyres changed is committed to recycling them, or if they’re not on the list, ask them before you book in.
Bicycles Bicycles for Humanity
Cars Kids Under Cover
Tents & Swags Rumbalara
Everything else 1800-got-junk? is a handy resource for your back pocket. They will remove your unwanted item (whatever it is and from wherever it is) and take it away. They divert as much as possible from landfill and you pay based on the amount of truck space you use. Considering it includes two men with lifting power this is often a very good solution when you just don’t know what to do with your unwanted stuff or can’t move something yourself

These resources and more will be added to the little miss sorted Resources page on the website. We are constantly updating our Resources Lists so check back regularly.

Today is the last day of National Organising Week and our week-long sustainable decluttering challenge. Congratulations on making it to the end and I hope you’ve learnt something new and got a little closer to finding your Organised Sweet Spot.

Getting organised is not a one-time event. It’s a life long journey that requires your ongoing commitment and prioritisation, much like you health and garden. At the end of the day, its a choice between the stuff or the space. There is no right or wrong choice, but it is important to acknowledge you can only have one or the other and to work out what the right balance is for you.

If you want to maintain momentum on your decluttering journey and would like one-on-one help with sorting your space, please call or email me for an obligation free chat. There is no pressure to take any action right now, but it is always empowering to know your options for when you are ready. I can do in-person consultations in Melbourne, the Mornington Peninsula and West Gippsland. I also have a brilliant & trusted colleague based in the Gold Coast for our Northern Friends in Brisbane, Northern NSW or anywhere in between. So whenever you are ready for more time and space, we are ready & waiting.

Happy Sustainable Decluttering! The planet thanks you.