Take a look around you. Are the pathways in and around your house getting smaller?
It may be time to start getting rid of all those “memories” you’ve been saving to pass on to someone someday, or the projects you’ve promised yourself you would finish later on.
Get rid of it? The mere thought of separating ourselves from our junk (ahem, memories) sends many of us running the other way rather than facing the inevitable. Eventually, though, it will have to go.
“It comes down to prioritizing,” said Jean Wales, a professional organizer. “Some people are real pack rats and it is difficult for them to rid themselves of the things they no longer need because of the emotions that go with them. Eventually, though, you just have to admit it is happening.”
Wales, president of Wales Consulting, is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers, a nonprofit professional organization whose members include organizing consultants, speakers, trainers, authors and manufacturers of organizing products. Founded in 1985, the association has more than 1,800 members across the United States and abroad. It is the largest international association of and organizers.
Its mission is to develop, lead and promote professional organizers and the organizing industry. According to the association, organized people save time and money, make more money and have lower stress and frustration levels. There is no one right or wrong way to get organized. You need only to change what you’re doing if you’re not happy with how you manage your time, paper, information and space.
“Just do it” may seem like a cliché these days, but that is what you have to do to clear the junk away, say the experts, acknowledging that there are reasons to hang on to certain memories. But there are equally good reasons to let it go.
“People who have lost someone significant in their lives, by holding onto their stuff, are psychologically trying to hold on to the memory,” said Barry Izsak, president of the National Association of Professional Organizers. “Eventually, over time, the person holding onto the physical stuff will realize that keeping it is not going to bring that person back.”
Another reason people keep stuff, he said, is that they are afraid they won’t be able to replace it.
“People who lived through the Depression tend to hold on to things because they know what it is like to not have anything,” Izsak said.
He recommends taking photos of the things you no longer need or want, then either sell it, donate it or junk it, depending on what the item is.
“There are no cookie-cutter solutions to organizing things,” Izsak said. There are different personality types, work styles and environmental influences that go into organizing, so each person needs to find the system that works best for him or her.
If the job seems insurmountable, help is available from professional organizers such as Wales. The National Association of Professional Organizers also has an automated referral system on its Web site at www.napo.net.
Randy Kirkbride, president of Move Managers, said, “We help the elderly, families and small businesses relocate while making the whole process as stress-free as possible.
“It is hard for some to decide what to take and what to relocate,” Kirkbride said. “I don’t use the word junk. People have memories and it is my job to help them relocate their memories. It is hard. There is a lot of hand-holding and a lot of listening to stories as our clients work through the process of downsizing.”