Doris Puls

How often do we just let things go because they have always been there or we are too unmotivated to move them? For example, we stack our dishes in our cupboards but when we want to use one, it is a job to get to the one we want. Instead, we could move the ones we use most often so they are more accessible. Piles of papers and magazines are another pile that can build up that we no longer “see” but just let accumulate.

What about our clothes? We don’t move the clothes and coats we use most often, so they are easy to get out when we wear them. We should, at the very least, move the out-of-season clothes out of the way of those we will be wearing. I notice sometimes in the middle of winter, little girls will have summer, sleeveless dresses on, ones that should have been moved so they couldn’t be worn or at the very least, hung with a sweater. Sometimes we just get used to things the way they are instead of moving them to make our living spaces more practical.

On our floors we stash things under tables, beds, or just on the floor so that when we vacuum we have to move these piles (or go around them) instead of putting them away where they should go. Not only does a room look so much nicer, but it is also easier to keep clean.

Our furniture stays in the same place in our rooms year after year instead of moving it just for fun to give our rooms a new look. I am very guilty of this and am now thinking of ways I can change things around.

Garages are often a place to find things that should be moved. With summer just around the corner, it could be time to stash winter “toys” away and get out the summer gear instead of tripping over the sleds, skates, and snow shovels.

We get so used to things being where they are that we don’t deal with them but accept them as they are for whatever reason, and there are many reasons this happens.

I have an awesome brother in Iowa whose hobby is gathering tools. He loves going to flea markets and auctions to get quality tools. Our family has benefited with probably over 100 tools from him. But when I even suggest helping him sort through his basement that just has a path going through it, he immediately changes the subject. I can just imagine the fun we would have moving the hundreds of tools and putting like tools together. However, he apparently does not see the fun in doing it.

Our vehicles are another place where we could move almost everything out. We could take a laundry basket or box and a garbage bag out with us and take everything out. Then put back only what we might use for the summer. Wouldn’t you know when it was raining I smugly went to get my umbrella out of my compartment only to find there wasn’t one. Time to take inventory. With the change of seasons, it is a good time. Maybe we won’t need that snow brush for a few glorious months.

Look around your spaces and see if there is anything you could move that would make them more interesting, safer, or organized.

Doris Puls, of D & O Decluttering and Organizing, is a professional organizer whose mission is to make a difference in the lives of the people she works with in homes and businesses. Contact her at organizealpena@gmail.com or at 989-356-9545.