Sandra Felton - 5 Days to a Clutter-Free House: Quick, Easy Ways to Clear Up Your Space

As professional organizers, we believe that the disorganized people we have dealt with are among the greatest people in the world. Creative, relationship-focused, intelligent, and warmly sentimental, they are wonderful people to know.

We include ourselves in the group of people who are disorganized by nature. The only difference between us and those we seek to help is that through training and by the grace of God, we have recovered. Our own backgrounds as inborn disorganized folks are excellent credentials, because we have had to learn from scratch. Were able to break down the causes of and cures for clutter in a way organized people couldnt begin to fathom.

In our many years of experience, disorganized people have impressed us with their many goodvery goodqualities. Often it is these very qualities that lead them into the cluttered condition of their houses. As we look around their homes, we note they are:

• IntelligentOh, so many books and papers!
• CuriousMagazines, newspapers, and time on the Internet
• ProductiveMany half-done projects in the works
• Appreciative of beautyDisplays galore of favorite things
• FrugalItems retained just in case they might be needed
• HelpfulThings kept in the event someone else needs them
• CreativeHobbies and crafts inspire them
• CarefulAbundant receipts, sale offers
• LovingPets, sometimes lots and lots of pets

These very qualities are what make the disorganized such lovable and enjoyable people. Unfortunately, these qualities also lead disorganized people toward a way of life that stifles the expression of who they are.

If you cant easily find the things you want and need, frustration clouds the enjoyment of what you are trying to do. Even though you are warm and friendly, the messy house places a barrier between you and your friends and family. And then, of course, a messy and disorganized house is not inviting; it is not a place for you to relax and rejuvenate. Instead, it demands that you spend time and energy on trying to make some sort of improvementto make your house a home.

You deserve better than that. You can have a home that refreshes and inspires youyou simply need to follow what weve dubbed the Mount Rushmore method. Its a five-day toe-to-head approach that will create a totally different and enjoyable life of order and beauty.

Building Your Organizing Vocabulary

When we talk organizing, we often use words that may be unfamiliar. When we use the term Mount Rushmore , were talking about a unique organizing method created to get your house in order in five days. The rush part means the job gets done quickly. The more part means you dont try to do the job alone; you get help. Well explain the process fully in the first section of the book.

GODS RECOMMENDATION OF TEAMWORK

Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.

For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.

Ecclesiastes 4:910 (KJV)

Using a team approach is an important part of the power of this program. When we speak of a Clean Team, we mean bringing in outside forces to help move things from cluttered to clean. A team may be only one other person, but ideally it should consist of a few more, enough to get the assigned activities of the day done throughout the house.

When we discuss maintenance, we mean keeping the house organized consistently after it has been de-cluttered. The second section of the book covers that topic.

What About Guys?

People sometimes ask, Why are your books written primarily to women, since guys are just as messy, or messier?

Most women know the answer. Whether we like it or not, women usually care more and carry more responsibility for the house than men. How do we know? Just look around. An Internet group designed for messy men closed for lack of interest. Classes on organizing have a dozen women for every man. Womens magazines have articles about organizing in every issue. Do you see this kind of article in mens magazines? We think not.

We include a guy now and then in our references because they often need the same kind of helptheyre just not as plentiful when it comes to asking for organizational assistance. Messies Anonymous (www.messies.com) does offer a small ebook called Messy Men Clean Up Their Act . So men, you are welcomed into the ranks of those who want to move from cluttered to clear. Just dont be surprised that your fellow male comrades are few.

About This Book

Our purpose in writing this book is to help you move to a new way of life from the clutter that surrounds you. It is for those who are somewhat or significantly cluttered. Keep in mind that an obsessive clutterer may require more significant intervention. But if you have hope and are game, well help you usher in comfort you could never have imagined in your house and will never want to abandon.

This book has two sections:

• Section 1 details the five-day program.
• Section 2 explains how to keep your newly ordered house under control.

Thanks to all who contributed by letting us into their hearts and houses. The people are real. When we asked for their experiences with team cleaning, many of them wrote to us, telling how the approach you will read about impacted their lives. We include their writings just as they came to us. They reflect genuine sincerity. Some of our examples are from hands-on, in-the-trenches organizing experiences. Some are composites. Care has been taken to protect the identity of each.

Envious of Having a Team

Maryann set the stage for where we are going when she wrote:

Im looking forward to the book. I often wonder how to handle all the paperwork and stuff I have amassed over the years. I hate to think of my passing and leaving my family this situation. I confess, I have been envious of those who could have a team come in and take over. Im so looking forward to the book!