Certain areas of my home are always getting out of control. The fridge, our desks, the top of my dresser, and the bookshelves in our living room are some of the worst. Stuff just gets set and stashed until it’s impossible to see what’s really there and also impossible to use and enjoy the space.

I’m guessing I’m not the only one.

But in case I am, I’ve stopped short of showing you pictures of my refrigerator (which I regularly declutter using this method), and have opted instead to share some pics from my recent bookcase decluttering. Once we know each other a little better, maybe I’ll let you see the fridge. But probably not.

Over the years I’ve figured out that the traditional organizing advice to “make a pile of your stuff and sort it into three boxes: one to give away, one to throw away, and one to keep” doesn’t really work for me. I just get too hung up looking at every single piece of whatever and it ends up taking me forever. So I started trying something different. And – cue angelic chorus – it seems to work for me. I think it works because it’s quick, meaning I always have time to do it if I really need to; and because it’s manageable, which helps me overcome my resident inertia. It may not end up working for you like it does for me, but if you haven’t tried it before, definitely give it a shot.

Note: If you have one of those glistening homes with always-used labeled containers for everything, this post is not for you. In fact, please stop reading now so you don’t judge me. Please? Great. Thanks.

For the two of you still interested…

Ready to get started?

Arm yourself with:

• two plastic bags
• 20 minutes

Wasn’t that easy? Great! Here we go.

1) Pick a Spot.

Not a room, not a closet… a spot. A single drawer, a shelf, the bottom drawer of your fridge, that cabinet that rains stuff on you when you open it. A spot. I like to choose spots that are really bothering me. That way I feel like I’ve really accomplished something when it quickly becomes clutter free. [Read more…]