Organizational Bliss

November 5, 2019

Marie Kondo we’re not. Not even close. It’s everything we can do to keep the clutter to a minimum and NOT go rent a self-storage unit. But we LOVE that petite, put together decluttering queen and are Kon Mari wannabes. So, we took a page from her book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up to share with you this fall as we all tackle closets and drawers and let go of too much stuff. Come on, everybody; time to tidy up!

What Brings You Joy?

Think about it. What brings you joy? If you have a basement full of boxes that you haven’t opened in a few years; if you can’t even remember what’s IN those boxes, then the things inside probably don’t bring you joy. If you can live without them, if they aren’t essential to your life and happiness, time to let go. 

Maybe you know exactly what’s in the boxes and you’re hanging on because you think SOME DAY in the near or distant future, you might want or need those things. Or you know someone else who might want or need them. Some day. If you’re hanging onto mights and maybes – it’s time to say goodbye!

Only hang onto those things that stir contentment in your soul. Like those sentimental mementos or hand-me-downs that you KNOW you’ll want to examine and enjoy in the next year or decade or two. Keep THOSE treasures. Here’s how the pros do it.

And do what the Swedish decluttering guru, Margareta Magnusson recommends in her book, The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning. Before she says goodbye to each object she no longer needs, Magnusson takes a moment to reflect on the memories associated with each – whether it’s a table, a jacket, or a cookbook. And that goes for good memories and bad. “One’s own pleasure, and the chance to find meaning and memory, is the most important thing,” she says.

Categories, Not Rooms

When it comes to decluttering and organizing Marie Kondo urges her clients to concentrate on categories, not the whole house. Take towels, for instance. You might have towels in a linen closet, your clothes closet and in a basket by the master bath. Survey your towels. Why have you kept non-absorbent towels when you might as well dry yourself off with a wet back scratcher? Or do you hate to throw something away that’s useful? Well, it’s not useful if you never use it! And if it’s frayed around the edges and looks more like a painter’s rag than a bath towel – ditch that disaster!

Throw These Things Away, NOW!

Do you save almost empty bottles of shampoo, conditioner, salad dressing…for a rainy day? Mouthwash bottles with a tablespoon in the bottom? A soap dispenser with a teaspoon left? Dispense with those! 

Do you keep sheets that have lost their flat or fitted partner? Food storage containers that have lost their lids? How about socks without a match? Do you hang onto them hoping the lost sock will turn up stuck to a pair of leggings? Stop hoping and hunting. Toss it and buy a new pair (and safety pin the silly things together! They’re almost impossible to lose, that way!)

For five more things that are cluttering your closets, cupboards and drawers that you can lose, NOW, check out Southern Living’s list of outdated non-essentials you can get rid of, today. Be ruthless!

Clever How Tos for Closets and Drawers

Martha Stewart uses one of the pillowcases in a sheet set to keep them all together and stacked in her linen closet. Genius. And Tip Hero has dozens of suggestions to organize closets and drawers – like using ice cube trays for your jewelry drawer, hanging luggage in the closet instead of leaving it on the closet floor, and stacking t-shirts sideways in a drawer instead of one atop the other so you can see them all at a glance.

And finally, ask yourself this decluttering question to ruthlessly attack clutter, “If I were shopping at a store right now and I saw this, would I buy it?” If the answer is no, well, you know what to do!  

So Much More in Southshore

It seems easy to organize belongings in the spacious new homes that comprise the master-planned community of Southshore. You’ll find lots of closet and storage space in the offerings from Century Communities, Richmond American Homes and Toll Brothers. Experience Life at the Lake in a ranch and two-story design priced between the $400s and the $700s. Southshore is close to everything you might need – even though it seems away from it all!