The Clutter Fairy Weekly #240
Back to Basics: The Clutter Fairy Reviews Organizing Fundamentals
Getting organized is simple, but it’s not always easy. For your project to achieve its best results, you need a realistic plan and a clear, consistent process. In episode #240 of The Clutter Fairy Weekly, Gayle Goddard, professional organizer and owner of The Clutter Fairy in Houston, Texas, reviews the basic process you can follow to succeed with any decluttering and organizing project.
Goodbye, Things: The New Japanese Minimalism
In this episode, we announced the next selection for the Clutter Fairy Book Club (web page coming soon!). In our March 4, 2025, episode, we’ll discuss Fumio Sasaki’s Goodbye, Things: The New Japanese Minimalism. Here are various ways to get your hands on a copy of Goodbye, Things:
- Amazon.com (hardcover, paperback, and Kindle editions)*
- Audible (audiobook)*
- Bookshop.org (hardcover)*
- Libro.fm (audiobook)
*Affiliate links—The Clutter Fairy, LLC, may earn commissions on purchases made through these links.
Content in this episode is based on the results of audience surveys.
Some content in this episode is based on results of a survey of our audience.
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The Weekly Tittle is an exercise designed to focus your attention on a specific space, aspect, or challenge of decluttering and organizing your home. We assign a new tittle in each webcast/podcast, then check on your progress the following week.
Practice the Fundamentals
This week’s assignment is about applying the basic organizing steps we’ve revisited today on a modest project or small area. Start by identifying a space in your home on which you’ll practice the steps. The focus of the exercise is to practice the process, so no project is too small to consider: a single desk drawer, a bathroom counter, one shelf in the linen closet, one section of a kitchen cabinet.
- Pull everything out of the space in question.
- Sort items with like items to get a complete inventory.
- Make keep/toss decisions to reduce the volume.
- Determine what systems you’ll need to corral the keepers.
- Put the items you’re keeping back into the system you’ve designed.
Try this exercise if you’re just starting out on your decluttering and organizing journey, or if you’ve gotten stalled and need a refresher course to find your way back into the process. And even if you’ve been doing this work for years, returning to the fundamentals of the process can be a useful exercise to keep your project management and decision-making skills sharp.
For the full discussion of this week’s tittle, watch the Weekly Tittle segment on YouTube.
I plan to reduce the scope of my project when practicing the steps. When Gayle talked about being careful not to make a big mess and then become discouraged, I realized this is exactly my problem. I tried to sort too many boxes and bins and got so overwhelmed I was frozen for two days. I need a plan that works with my ADD. Any advice is welcome. What works for others with ADD?