Helping a Pack Rat Get Organized

January 30, 2006

By Maria Gracia

The wonderful, sentimental Pack Rat - so nice, so loveable, so desperately out of space! Every last nook and cranny of space is crammed with boxes of old records, grade school books, reams of outdated paperwork, decades of clothing, piles of magazines, calendars and planners more than 10 years old, old board games gathering dust, toys from children that moved out on their own years ago, plus that horrible artwork from dear Aunt Martha.

The Pack Rat keeps everything and finds it difficult to get rid of anything. They can't bear to part with their stuff. The following 10 ideas will help Pack Rats free themselves from clutter and stress.

1. Think About It

Understanding why you're a Pack Rat will help you focus on positive change. Are you a sentimental person? Are your items proof of places you've been, work you've accomplished, or how much work you have ahead of you? Does the thought of de-cluttering seem so overwhelming that you can't find the motivation to begin?

2. Don't be a Prisoner

Beware of being held hostage by your possessions. When your stuff begins taking over your life and you spend all your time climbing over things, looking for missing items, and fretting over where you'll put your next treasure, you are wasting precious time that you can never regain.

3. Teach Your Children Well

If your children pick up on your Pack Rat style, they will have the same problem when they're out on their own. If you begin to get organized, your children will see how important it is, and hopefully they will follow your lead.

4. Recognize Clutter

As a rule, if you don't use it or enjoy it, it's clutter. If you don't know what it is, it's clutter. If it's too nice to use, it's clutter. Toss it out or give it to someone who will use it and appreciate it.

5. Make it a Family Game

Get your family into the De-cluttering Game. Make a party out of it. Play music, have refreshments - and toss, toss, toss. Plan a reward, such as a big family dinner at a favorite restaurant, after you've significantly reduced your clutter.

6. Designate a "May Come in Handy" Box

If you save things you feel you may use someday, create a "May Come in Handy" box. Place those things inside and when the box is full, make yourself discard something before you add anything else.

7. Use the Rotation Box System

Instead of displaying everything you like at once, display a little bit at a time. Keep the rest boxed up in storage. Every few months, store a few of these things in your box and take out a few other things out for display.

8. Fix It or Get Rid of It

Have you ever put aside broken items with the expectation that you'll get them fixed one day? Chances are, those items are still where you left them and they're still broken. Immediately schedule a date on your calendar for repair - when the date arrives, either repair them or immediately toss them.

9. Picture It

Take photographs of possessions you don't want to forget, but don't have the space for. Save the photos in a scrapbook. Keep the memory, rather than allowing the memory to take up space.

10. Avoid the Halfway House Syndrome

You know - that's when you put things aside that you're not sure what to do with. These temporary storage areas almost always turn into permanent storage. Force yourself to make a decision whether to keep an item or throw it away.

by Maria Gracia - Get Organized Now!

Want to get organized? Get your FREE Get Organized Now! Idea-Pak, filled with tips and ideas to help you organize your home, your office and your life, at the Get Organized Now! Web site: http://www.getorganizednow.com<http://www.getorganizednow.com/>

http://www.lifetoolsforwomen.com/h/pack-rat.htm<http://www.lifetoolsforwomen.com/h/pack-rat.htm>

The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.~ Albert Einstein ~

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