Your Q...

I’m relatively organised, but have given up on my partner – who desperately needs assistance with a system for her home office. I’ve sorted it out several times, but the problem is I forget what the system was last time I tidied up, which ends up leaving her pleased by the neatness but confused about where things are. Are you able to assist?

 Neat Freak's A...

Thank you for your mail and trusting me enough to ask for some advice. A lot about clutter and disorganisation has very little to do with the stuff! Most of the time anything can be made to be organised but quickly disintegrates if a person isn't willing to maintain the change.

However, without knowing much about how you spend the day and what you actually need to have in place, I can only offer the following suggestion for you and your partner:

Take a good look at what you need to accomplish in the space and if that space makes you feel awful and unhappy, it needs to be sorted out so you can enjoy it. My philosophy is that NEAT + Systems = Living and Loving time and what you are probably finding, is that this space and disorganisation 'pollutes' your space and living and loving time.

Your Q...

I have a clutter problem at home and need help to start somewhere. Years of not filing and keeping all sorts of bits and pieces of whatever, small to large has led to clutter in each room. I need to sort it out urgently.  Please advise how to be disciplined and get started.
Frustrated, Cape Town

Neat Freak's A...

Essentially you have to make time, and I don’t mean 10 minutes here and there because it simply won’t work. You actually have to decide on a day – take the day off if necessary, and commit yourself to working on the de-cluttering and filing on that day.

You also should plan ahead by thinking about what you need i.e. storage, shelving, hooks etc  and getting it before you start AND what you will do with the items you’re disposing of. If you don’t want to spend money, look around your house to see what you could use. I often find that clients have a small table that fits into an empty cupboard, giving them added storage somewhere they never thought to use. You can even ‘recycle’ items (ice-cream, shoe boxes) for filing receipts and toys...

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