The Dangers of 'Emptying Everything Out' When Tidying! What Should You Do Before You Empty Everything?
Hello!
I'm Tomoko Kizuki, a Life Organizer.
Have you ever heard that when organizing your belongings, it's best to do a 'full empty'—taking everything out of a shelf or everything out of a closet?
Or, even if you haven't heard that, have you ever had the experience of getting motivated to tidy up, taking everything out, and then feeling completely lost because you didn't know what to do next?
It's dangerous to empty everything out at once without a plan
I, too, had many experiences where I failed after emptying everything out before I properly learned about tidying and organizing.
I once thought, 'It's a mess, so I'll just take it all out at once!' and dumped all my child's toys into the room, only to stand there staring at them while my son, who was in the lower grades of elementary school at the time and had no interest in tidying, looked on, thinking, 'Wow, there's too much... Where do I even start...'.
I understand now that 'just taking everything out' without a plan is very dangerous. When you're not used to it, the golden rule is to always 'start with a small space'.
Decide how to sort before you take everything out
You need to think about 'what to do after taking everything out' before you actually take it out.
What you do after taking things out is 'organizing'.Organizing means sorting.
Since it's difficult to sort things just by whether they are necessary or unnecessary, you should decide on a few categories to sort them into. For example, you could try adding categories for things you use infrequently or are unsure about, such as 'Necessary, Use Occasionally, Unsure, Unnecessary'.
Or, you could try sorting based on criteria like 'Convenient to have here, Doesn't have to be here, Dispose,' considering whether it's convenient to keep in that location or if it's something that could be moved to a storage space or another room.
Thinking about 'how to sort'before you take things out makes it easier to move on to the next step.
Just keep sorting what you've taken out
Once you've decided how to sort, it's finally time for the full empty. As I mentioned earlier, I recommend starting with a small space.
Once you've decided on your sorting categories, all that's left is to keep working at it.
If you come across something you're unsure about, think about the reason you own that item. Since that reason is based on your own values, add categories for those items.
Once sorted, place items with higher priority, such as 'things you use often' or 'things you need,' in easy-to-access locations. Move items that belong elsewhere to their new spots, and dispose of, sell, or give away items you're letting go of in some form.
Tidying is just repeating this process. Emptying everything out has many benefits: you can grasp the volume of your belongings, find things you had forgotten about, and rethink your layout to better suit your lifestyle.
Please try a 'full empty' starting from a small area and feel the effects for yourself!
Our expert is...
Tomoko Kizuki
I want to live an exciting and lighthearted life in a space I love.
I support those who want to organize their rooms, lives, and themselves through Life Organizing.
* Master Life Organizer
* Manager of the blog 'A Simple Life That Lasts Without Effort Through Life Organizing'
* Providing tidying and storage support and hosting workshops in Fukuyama City and online
* Writer for Kataduke Shuno Dot Com
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