You now begin, what may seem to some of you, the impossible task. The best motivation I can give you is the sense of satisfaction of taking control of even a small portion of any chaos that might exist in your home and therefore, your life. Plus, there is the added bonus of relationship-building time as you recruit others to pitch in and do their part. I use, what I have coined, the "ACRE" system--Assessing, Culling, Re-organizing, Enjoying. The first time is the worst, especially if you are a pack rat. Just remember--less stuff = more freedom to grow and go.
Assessing Begin by asking yourself "What is the primary function of this room and secondary?" I believe that it is fine for spaces to have more than one purpose as long as the primary purpose of the room is not lost. For instance, if your family room is overrun with one person's crafts projects all the time, then its primary purpose of use by the family has been negated. It is okay to have temporary chaos such as children's school projects. My dining room table has provided this function for years. Once you have established purpose, it is much easier to stay focused on the goal and move to next step.
Culling There is no doubt in my mind that the best way to do this is to establish a time frame depending on the size of the job and who is helping you. One thing you do not want to end up with is a household where everyone is mad at each other in the process of trying to accomplish culling. Also, you want to have the satisfaction of completion as stimulus to keep going, so don't decide to do more than your time allows. If you can only do one dresser, do that, but finish it. If a child is helping to do the culling, make a game out of it and reward their efforts with praise. One other point, I have always found that it is actually much easier to completely empty the space that you trying to re-vamp. In a bedroom empty dresser first and re-do, then closet, then under bed, then any other storage areas in that room. Have a big bag outside the room for donations and another for hopeless stuff that needs to be thrown out. The contents of these bags do not get to come back in the room. If there is something sentimental that is going to be eliminated, you might recall your memory of the occasion and know that just because you have eliminated the object, you still have the memory. On to step three.
Re-organizing One can absolutely go crazy with storage containers and end up with an excuse to hang on to everything-- "I'll just put it in a storage box;" "I might need that someday in the distant future." The only way this works is if you are diligent in going through containers such as these on a yearly basis. I have one box of antiques and collectibles that I periodically go through and send items to my local re-sale shop. Naturally, I put other items in. I find, over time, that my tastes have changed. I keep thinking that I would hate to have someone stuck with trying to dispose of my "treasures" if I weren't here. However, I am also not a pack rat, so it is somewhat easier for me to part with stuff. The key things to do if you are keeping stuff: put similar items together and mark the cartons clearly on several sides. Clear plastic bins are the best to use.
Enjoying Make sure you take the time to feel how good it is to create an oasis of calm, even if it is just a dresser drawer. In this way, room by room, you will change your environment and create your own li'l ACRE of paradise.
