Six Guidelines to Maintain Order
Martha Roberts wrote Practical Tidiness as a room-by-room guide to tidiness. It’s an easy read about “how to clear your clutter and make space for the important things in life.“
Toward the end of the book Roberts offers “Six Rules for Permanent Tidiness.” I’m not sure these will guarantee continual order, but they’ll certainly take you in the right direction.
Make your tidiness intentions known. Enlist others’ support by sharing your intentions. In addition to providing accountability, it also alerts them to the fact that you’re trying not to accumulate things anymore.
Be kind to yourself as you tidy. Tidying isn’t just a physical act; it can be emotional too. Some tasks are tougher than others. Give yourself grace, and don’t let perfection be the enemy of the good. “We can be so fixated on doing something perfectly that we end up not doing it at all.”
Keep things because you love them. Do the objects you own give you pleasure? Do you use and enjoy them? “Respect your belongings and your relationship with them.” Nostalgia informs who you are, but it can also lead to being bogged down by “stuff.”
Get into the “reduce, reuse, recycle, hire, borrow” mindset. It can be easy to buy things for ease or immediate gratification. But if your aim is to reduce the amount you bring into your home, consider ways to repurpose what you have or consider owning temporarily instead. When you relinquish items, be mindful to give due consideration before buying more.
Gather experiences instead of things. “Objects come and go but experiences stay with you for life.” Say no to freebies and unwanted inherited items that are just going to bog you down. Recognizing that “you can’t take it with you,” consider giving (and requesting) experiences – a class, movie tickets, lunch out, even a gift card for a favorite coffee shop.
Keep on top of tidying. Creating a regular habit of restoring order is essential to maintaining order. Dispose of trash and recycling daily, clean up the kitchen at the end of the day (or the beginning, if it works better for you), deal with mail regularly, establish a home for your belongings and put things back where they belong. Find a regular system that works for you and invest time in it; your future self will thank you.