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If you have been
searching for help on getting yourself organized,
you’ve come to the right place – look no further.
I’ve reviewed the best sources of inspiration I can find so
you
don’t have to wonder which one is right for you. So
why would you want to take my word for it on what help is going to work
for you? Well, simply because ‘hoarder’ was my
middle name
for many years, and I’ve finally done something about finding
some support in my mission to clear out the closet (and garage, and
office, and….). Here’s my story…. |
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When I packed my house up in England to move to New Zealand four years
ago, I faced a major challenge. I had managed to fill every nook
&
cranny of a four-bedroom house with ‘stuff’.
And there was only me (and my cat) living there. Not only my
‘stuff’, but also all the
‘stuff’ that that
dear departed relatives had left me that I felt too guilty to dispose
of.
I
approached my mission with the fact that whatever I was going to choose
to keep, I would have to pay to put in storage, and then pay to ship to
the other side of the world. With each box I unpacked (because of
course, they had never been unpacked from the last move), I picked up
each item, and thought how useful is this going to be in my life? What
do I need this for? What is my sentimental attachment to this
–
more importantly, was it my attachment or someone else’s?
I then enlisted the help of two best friends to help me deal with it
– they knew me well enough to know I would be rummaging
around in
the rubbish at 3am when they had gone, trying to convince myself that
this (old brochure from 1987 etc) would be useful one day, and
collecting half of the rubbish back in.
We lit a fire in the BBQ outside, and ceremoniously,
I said goodbye to all that paper that I would never read.
We loaded up their cars to take the inorganics away to the charity shop
–there was no point me having a garage sale, I’d be
bargaining with the customers to buy it all back at double the price
the moment after the sale. And I felt better to be supporting charity.
The
thing is, I had been through as similar sort of exercise, perhaps with
less reason, several times before over the years. There must be
something lurking within that insisted I refill the voids I had created
with more clutter, and so the vicious circle continued.
So,
I arrived in New Zealand with two suitcases. That was it. For the first
time in my life, I was free from all that ‘stuff’
surrounding me. It was so liberating, I had no idea how I would feel
not to be haunted by junk mail. For two years, I had little more than a
bed and chest of drawers that I bought for my rental accommodation. I
knew that coming to NZ would be a one-way ticket for me, and once my
Residency Application was issued, I bought a house, and sent for my
‘stuff’!
I
was so excited to see my belongings again, my favorite pillow, my comfy
sofa etc. That’s all good, then the boxes started to be
unloaded.
And they just kept coming. And coming. What about that clear out I had?
What was all this stuff I had managed to survive quite happily without
for two years? My mood should have been buoyant, instead, I felt
flattened by the weight of what amounted to junk and past memories
around me.
Needless
to say, those boxes just sat in unused rooms. After three months, I
undid the tape. A month later, I opened the lid. Four months later, I
thought I might take a peak. I closed the lid sharpish. And so they
remained.
A
couple of years ago, I attended a weekend course that changed my life.
I had a light bulb moment where I realized that living in my past did
not help me to get to where I wanted to go.
I
got home, and took a look around me of how much was reminding me of my
past. It was sitting in those boxes. That stuff had to go, if I was
going to move on in my life. I saw that it was a false sense of
security that I had created, when the real precious memories were held
in my mind, not what I could physically touch.
It’s only
when we associate enough emotion to something are we prepared to make
a change.
If the clutter doesn’t really bother you, chances are, you
will
continue to accumulate. I appreciated how it felt to have space around
me, and I wanted to find that feeling again.
So, I started my quest
to be clutterless again. It’s a bit like quitting smoking - until
you decide the time is right for you, you’ll hang on to the
false
securities of habits or possessions. But once your insight to the
freedom available kicks in, you go through one day, or one box at a
time, until that bad habit, or clutter is gone.
Of
course, keeping photos and items of true sentimental value that could
never be replaced in your heart do earn their rightful place in your
life. So does certain paperwork (maybe 1- 2 neat files, not 17 shoe
boxes of old receipts). However, I bet you that these account for no
more than 20% of what you have surrounding you right now. Don’t
you think it’s about time you worked on emptying the other
80% out of your life, once and for all?
To
see an empty shelf, or clean workbench, or room to put a new something
in the closet is so liberating –but only when you realize it
is
not essential to fill that void within three months with twice as much
stuff. I don’t miss what was there before, (what was there
before?). All that unwanted noise has gone from my life –
well,
it’s at a pretty low volume anyway – and I can hear
peace
& quiet, for the first time in a long, long time. Do you know
just
how good that feels?
Well,
I can promise you help is at hand. If you have got this far with my
story, I reckon you are just the sort of determined person to not let
that junk get the better of you! How much do you want to regain your
space back? But where do you start?
The
good news is you don’t have to spend $10,000 storing your
stuff,
moving it the other side of the world, only to then throw out what
really doesn’t serve you any more, like I did. I’ve
gone
looking to find the best ways for YOU to get organized.
I
searched the Internet, and found I was pretty overwhelmed with the
choices available. What happens when we get too many choices? We
don’t make one. And the closets get fuller, and the piles get
higher. I decided to take the bull by the horns, and check out all the
options!
So
I’ve come up with a summary of my findings, what appealed to
me
about each guide I used, to hopefully help others find what will work
for them. Of course, everyone has a different opinion, but if I can go
someway to eliminate the wondering and confusion, then I’ve
done
my job.
I
really do hope sharing my story has motivated you into taking action,
because like anything in life, until we make the choice to do something
about it, that disorganization in your life won’t disappear
on
its own.
All
I ask is that you find a product that sounds right for you, and give it
a go. All our products have a money back guarantee; so really, you have
nothing to lose, and everything to gain –especially more
space in
the closet to hang that new special item!
Do let me know how you
go, I love sharing people’s experiences of the positive
changes they go through when they make the changes they
need to - it
reminds us all that we are not alone in our mission to reclaim the
space that is rightfully ours!
Best of luck with your mission, but hey, you won’t need it, you’ll have all the answers in front of you.
Hear from you soon!
Jo Kefford
Organize-Ya
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