It happens to the best of us: You sit down to organize your home or apartment, but you couldn't possibly get rid of that book you've been wanting to read for the past several months. And there's no way you can trash the bib from your first half marathon. Peter Walsh, an organizational expert, has heard it all. He says that there are really two main types of clutter: "Memory clutter" is the stuff that reminds you of an important person or event from the past (like that old race bib). "I might need that one day" clutter, on the other hand, is made up of the things you hold onto because you think you might use it in the future (like the novel you swear you'll get around to reading eventually).
Luckily, Walsh recently gave a talk that we attended—and he revealed that there's one easy solution to both types of clutter: "If you focus on the stuff, you'll never get organized," he says. "We're so caught up in this idea of using the word for: What do you need for your home? What do you need for your bedroom? What do you need for Christmas?" Instead of thinking about all of the possible things you could possibly need, Walsh suggests reframing your relationship with clutter.
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"Ask yourself, 'What is the vision I have for the life I want?' What is the vision I have for the home I want? What is the vision I have for the fill-in the-blank I want?'" suggests Walsh. Maybe you want your home to be all about comfort—or maybe you want it to be a place where you can entertain friends and family. Or maybe you want it to be relaxing (or all of the above).
"You have to start with the vision you have for your home," says Walsh. "Then, when you start organizing stuff, the question is not, 'How much did this cost?' The question is not, 'Did we inherit this?' The question is not 'Will we possibly use this one day?' The question is, 'Does this object help us create the vision we have for our home?' That's the criteria that you use in deciding what stays and what goes."
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Kind of genius, huh? You can use it for the objects you already own and also for ones you're thinking about buying (or taking home if someone's giving them away). Pausing to ask yourself this question can really help you tune in to some of the excuses we use to justify purchasing more clutter (i.e., "It was on sale!" or "I was in a bad mood, so I wanted to buy some shoes"). Of course, you won't eliminate clutter overnight. But getting into the habit of asking yourself this question will help you change your relationship with clutter—so it can't stop you from living the life you really want to live.
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