You know that saying, "If I had a nickel for every time someone said --- I'd be rich"? Honestly, I'd be rich from people telling me they "just need to organize" to solve their stuff problem.
If this is you, I'm going to give you some tough love: Are you generally an organized person? Do you have folders for your emails? Do you regularly keep up with filing things away? I'm asking this because if organization doesn't come naturally to you, this is going to be difficult. And yes, you can absolutely hire a professional organizer, but then you will need to keep up with the organization plan they come up with for you or hire them every month or so to do the organization for you.
The thing is, it feels easier to buy storage solutions/get organized than to deal with the items. However, this is what happens when you go that route:
You aren't connecting with who you are to determine if it's something that still is important to you
It's hard to see the cycle that is going on and why you have the stuff in the first place
If you can't see that cycle, it's hard to keep stuff from creeping back in
You spend more time than you realize "organizing" everything instead of doing what you love
When you neglect your storage solution/organizing - the piles start to come back
If you are someone who has struggled in the past with having too much stuff and feeling like it's your fault, the return of the piles of stuff will make you feel awful
If you are someone who likes to spend time doing things they love, you will start to resent the amount of work it takes to keep up with the organizing
(I told you it would be tough love.)
And the solution isn't to get rid of almost everything you own and become a full-on minimalist. Because if it was that easy for you, you would have sorted through the stuff earlier and not wanted to hold onto anything.
And listen, there is nothing wrong with wanting to hold onto some items.
The solution is to sort through your items by honoring who you are and asking yourself questions about why you are invested in specific items. It's looking at the cycle of how you got the items in the first place. It's being gentle with yourself for any habits you have had or struggles you've experienced that have gotten you to this point.
I am an incredibly organized person, and I kept thinking I just needed to put things in new boxes to fix the feelings of chaos in my home. It wasn't until I asked myself deeper questions that I could successfully sort through the clutter in my home.
I hope this helps you on your decluttering journey.
If you want to see what it's like to sort through your stuff authentically, I have a free 3-day declutter email series just for you. Click here to sign up.
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