clutter Archives - SOS: Simple Organized Solutions LLC

4 Actions to Take to Eliminate Clutter Blindness

By SOS Simple Organized Solutions|2023-03-08T13:08:44-06:00March 8th, 2023|Categories: Clutter|Tags: clutter, declutter, mindfulness, organizing process, routines, stress|

To those with clutter blindness, it doesn’t look like anything, they don’t notice it. They don’t see the clutter because they’ve adapted to it, to seeing it all the time, it becomes part of the furniture, home décor, etc. Clutter blindness can happen to anyone, however, it seems that it’s more prevalent among those with health issues, physically and mentally. It makes sense. If you’re not feeling well, you’re less likely to put things away, so the clutter starts to grow and before you realize it, it’s everywhere and you stop noticing it. It’s a known fact that clutter [...]

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Consumable Gift Ideas Just in Time For The Holidays

By SOS Simple Organized Solutions|2022-11-14T10:24:30-06:00November 16th, 2022|Categories: Holidays|Tags: clutter, consume, experiences, gifts|

What do I mean by consumable? The definition of consume as defined by Merriam Webster dictionary is ‘to use up’. The reason this is important is that something consumable will be used up and will not end up as clutter. The only caveat to that idea is that it needs to be consumed. Gifting can be a tricky situation at best. Understanding the needs and wants of the recipients is not always easy. We want to show our appreciation of the person with a well thought out gift. It needs to be tailored to each individual. One thing to consider [...]

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Commit to a Weekly Discard Session

By SOS Simple Organized Solutions|2022-09-13T14:43:39-05:00September 14th, 2022|Categories: Decluttering|Tags: categories, clutter, commit, donate, mindful, recycle, strategy|

In order to keep clutter from piling up, try this strategy – commit to a weekly discard session. The thought is to keep your belongings proportionate to your living spaces. Discarding can mean trash, recycle, or donate, which is a type of recycling. A weekly discard session doesn’t have to be a major undertaking. This strategy can be tailored to the amount of time you have available, being mindful that the amount of effort you put into this strategy determines the results. The idea is to choose a room, area or category each week and focus your available time on [...]

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Tangible Memories That Won’t Create Clutter

By SOS Simple Organized Solutions|2022-04-22T12:06:06-05:00April 27th, 2022|Categories: Clutter, Grief|Tags: clutter, gifts, grief, inheritance, loss, memories|

Some of my friends have lost loved ones recently, including beloved pets. We discuss intangible as well as tangible memories of them. They speak of nuggets of memories and happy or funny stories they remember about them. They hold tight to those memories as they grieve. My friends and I honor the loss of their loved ones by gathering together to enjoy each other’s company, laugh and cry with them and lift a glass to their loved one. We also give them gifts in the form of tangible memories, something that won’t create clutter. Some time ago, I wrote a [...]

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How to Create a System to Manage Your Mail…Snail Mail That is

By SOS Simple Organized Solutions|2022-03-30T18:19:20-05:00March 30th, 2022|Categories: Paper Management, Routines|Tags: clutter, junk mail, magazines, online bill pay, paper, processes, routines|

Paper is still probably the biggest challenge for most of us in terms of clutter in our homes. Even though the digital age has eliminated a lot of papers that come our way, if you have a physical mailbox, you are still receiving some paper in the form of mail via the US Postal Service. If you don’t have a system to manage the barrage of paper that your letter carrier delivers, you can become overwhelmed very quickly. To avoid the overwhelm, I encourage you to create a daily routine to manage incoming mail. The process shown below is the [...]

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How to Manage a Paperwork Backlog

By SOS Simple Organized Solutions|2021-12-15T14:24:49-06:00December 15th, 2021|Categories: Paper Management|Tags: category, clutter, discard, file system, information, recycle, shredding|

I see this so much with my older clients. Most, if not all of them have a huge paperwork backlog. I get it, I really do. As I was growing up, even though I didn’t notice at the time, my parents were collecting paperwork. There were invoices, utility bills, cancelled checks - yes, our cancelled checks were actually returned to us in our monthly bank statements, investment statements, all types of insurance bills/statements, medical bills/statements, etc. The incoming flow of paper was relentless! Pretty much anything paper-related came to us via the US Postal Service, business and personal. Not only [...]

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The Importance of Creating Boundaries For Your Things

By SOS Simple Organized Solutions|2021-12-08T13:24:59-06:00December 15th, 2021|Categories: Rightsizing|Tags: category, clutter, discard, organized spaces, stress|

Many years ago, I wrote an article titled ‘Establishing Boundaries’. The gist of the article was to establish boundaries for storage, use of yours, and other members of your family’s belongings, out of respect for one another. This post is related, but in a different way. Creating boundaries for your things has another important reason. Creating boundaries for your things lets you know when you have enough of the category of items contained in that space, or boundary. This concept is an important aspect to avoid clutter. The concept of creating boundaries for your things, brings me back to a [...]

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It’s All About Quality of Life, Which Can Include Quantity of Things

By SOS Simple Organized Solutions|2021-12-03T12:21:14-06:00December 8th, 2021|Categories: Health Benefits|Tags: clutter, eliminate excess, mindfulness, stress|

In the past, I’ve written about our things being proportionate to our living spaces. This concept is more about quality of life, which can include quantity of things. It’s actually a balancing act to keep our things proportionate to our living spaces. Our quality of life has many components. One of those components is about how we feel at any given moment. Our living environment plays a big part in how we feel. Healthy bodies and minds keep us in line with making smart decisions about our lives, and our things that live in our spaces. What we do to [...]

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Hair on Fire Most Days? Organizing Your Life Will Douse Those Flames

By SOS Simple Organized Solutions|2021-09-13T10:24:05-05:00September 15th, 2021|Categories: Productivity|Tags: clutter, goals, lists, organizing process, planner, proactive, schedule|

Does the first part of the title of this post resonate with you? If so, then consider organizing your life to douse those flames as stated in the second part of the title. By eliminating your constant ‘hair on fire’ scenarios, you will live a less stressful, more productive and peaceful life. But first, determine what areas of your life cause the ‘hair on fire’ scenario the most. Are you constantly looking for your keys, making you late to work, appointments, or school? Are you buying multiples of items because you didn’t know you already had one or more of [...]

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Focus on Safety First When Decluttering

By SOS Simple Organized Solutions|2021-09-07T16:00:53-05:00September 8th, 2021|Categories: Decluttering|Tags: clutter, decluttering, focus, organizing process, solutions|

Decluttering is the first part of the organizing process. You may think that only applies for older adults, but no, safety first applies to all decluttering projects for all ages. Not only is clutter a safety issue, but as mentioned in many past posts, it causes stress. During the needs assessment consultation, the client is asked about every area to be organized. We discuss what works and doesn’t work, and potential organizing solutions for the areas that are not working so well. As we walk through their spaces, I’m focused on safety first as I think about solutions. As you [...]

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