I quickly realized with the help of my friend Maya, that despite the fact that I liked to organize things, I was not as good at determining what things I needed to get rid of, and what I should keep. I knew my house was cluttered and needed help. Thankfully, she was ready and willing to help me.
It started with the top of my cabinets in the kitchen, which were filled with vases and other stuff collecting dust. She helped me clear it off and appreciate the light that it brought to the room. That was all I needed and I got on a big roll.
Since then (about a year ago) I began going through everything in the house. Maya had to come over and help me organize – she is so brilliant. I donated over $600 worth of stuff (which I itemized and deducted on my taxes – all you need to track: item, approx value, date donated, and where you got the item, if you can remember).
She helped me to organize my massive yarn collection, as I am a big knitter. She helped me to CLEAR my SPACE and bring LIGHT into my life. It has been revolutionary.
I am currently working on re-organizing my desk area, after Maya and I went up and helped my friend Becca to reorganize her office in her house, which it desperately needed. These exercises made me realize that unless you are given that ‘throw-away’ talent or born with that mentality, it is extremely hard to tackle these tasks on your own.
You probably need help from someone else. Once you get going, you can really do a lot on your own. But time and again Maya has come over and said something to help me further that I would have never thought of!
You try to make due with what you have, but sometimes you have to recognize what doesn’t work, and to replace it with something that does. Also, being someone who tends to have a lot of stuff and OVER decorate, I needed to be taught that less was more.
So far I have been through my closet of clothes and have largely remade my wardrobe. An example of something that was really hard was getting rid of these two blue tank tops, the color of which I loved, but the style no longer did anything for me and I was not wearing them. I finally parted with them – and a week later, a beautiful skirt in the same color found me while I was shopping – something I can actually wear, that looks good, makes me feel good.
Sometimes it is really hard to know what to do with something. But you just have to ask yourself, do i use it? do i love it? if not, you should probably trash it or donate it.
Another hard thing for me has been knowing whether or not I will use something in the future. I have all this crap I thought ‘oh, well that could be useful someday’. But then I ask myself, ‘could i obtain something like this again easily if i really needed to use it?’. if the answer is yes, it is easy, get rid of it. If it is easily replacable, then you dont need it taking up your space until you really need to use it.
Small shelving is key – it’s all about having clear open spaces.

Here is the list of advice Maya also gave me:
1. Reduce things
2. Covering – hiding things from view
3. Clean, Donate
4. Regift Items away

Function is important, and everything needs its place. That was another big thing for me. To create a specific place for everything. That way, when you are cleaning, you know where it goes. And once you have things decluttered, it is all about maintenance – which is a lot easier!

I can’t explain the effect this has had on my life, but it is massive and profound. Pics to be posted soon of my before/after on my desk reorganizing.
The garage is coming up soon, as soon as it gets warmer. Then I need to organize my boyfriend, he needs some help ;)