Being well-organized is a state to which everyone aspires. After all, wouldn’t your life be simpler and less stressful if the world around you – your home, office, workspace, etc. was organized? An added bonus to an organized space is it is much easier to keep clean. With that goal in mind let’s explore how you can sort and purge with a purpose – to achieve a well-organized, clean, fresh space.
State Your Specific Goal
While organization is the ultimate goal, before you begin, state your specific goal:
- Do you hope to get rid of items that are no longer needed?
- Do you want to create additional storage?
- Are you preparing to redecorate or renovate?
- Do you need to reorganize a space to serve multiple purposes?
Whatever it is, stating it will help you get started toward the successful achievement of your goal!
Sort and Purge with Purpose
At this point, you know your goal and are ready to accomplish the mission. Sort and purge will help you determine whether the items in your space are helping you achieve your goal.
As you begin, gather your supplies:
- You’ll want boxes, packing tape, trash bags, and a Sharpie® Marker.
- Now, as you enter the space to be sorted and purged, place boxes and packing tape in one area, with trash bags in another. These designated spaces can be outside the room or in it if you have room.
- Label one box as DONATE, one as SELL, one for each member of the family, and other boxes for specifics – a box for any items that will be moved out of the space and stored or relocated to the proper room.
- In similar fashion, use one trash bag for recyclables and another for trash.
Begin the process at the doorway and work your way around the room, sorting as you go into the appropriate box or bag. When you have completed the process of sorting, tape boxes and seal trash bags. Next, move the DONATE boxes to the car, trash and recyclables to their respective receptacles, SELL items to the computer for pictures and listing for sale online, and all other boxes to their appropriate locations.
Congratulations! You’ve successfully sorted and purged with purpose and now you have a cleared out, organized space, ready to serve you well.