Horror stories to help the messy

In good health

By Ronit Zweig

Issue of April 8, 2010/ 24 Nissan 5770

As a professional organizer my clients tell me the most motivating factor in their quest to conquer clutter is the realization that people much worse than themselves have succeeded in organizing their lives. And so I present to you, four challenging, real-life organizing situations, and tips for taking control. The message: Don’t give up! There are many people much worse than you think you are.

But it’s FREE!

Salespeople often give me funny looks when I politely refuse a free sample. The thing is, I understand the value of my clutter-free space. If you don’t need it, a ‘free’ item isn’t ‘free’ once it gets into your home. You now have to un-free previously ‘free’ space for it. Don’t delude yourself into thinking it’s only two-inches tall, or it only weighs a few ounces. Inches become feet and ounces become pounds and before you know it, all the ‘free’ stuff has now claimed your once ‘free’ space. I encountered an extreme case of this when I discovered, by nearly breaking my leg, that the living room in a client’s apartment was actually three steps below the kitchen! For the past 10 years she had piled bags on top of bags, filled with everything she got “at a bargain.” She sacrificed a beautiful sunk-in living room that she was paying rent for in exchange for bags of ‘free’ stuff.

Paper

10 pieces of mail today turn into 50 pieces by the end of the week, 200 plus pieces by the end of the month.

Tips:

• Dump junk mail immediately. While you’re at it, dump the envelopes and the extras inside the rest of the mail.
• File notices and statements in their correct place — not in a folder marked “to be filed” (an all too common misstep).
• Replace the last edition of ‘XYZ’ magazine that you “plan to read” with the current one, (that you probably won’t get to read either, and consider canceling the subscription).
• Put the bills near your checkbook, which should be near the envelopes, stamps, filing cabinet etc.

I encountered an unfortunate situation when working with an elderly couple’s deceased parents’ estate. I estimate that in the piles of unopened mail, we found approximately $25,000 worth of expired, un-cashed checks, some 30 years old, most of which were impossible to have re-issued!

Food

Find yourself shopping without a list? Buying products you already have three of, and then stuffing the new items in the front of your already busting pantry? Do you wrap leftovers in unidentifiable silver foil and shove it in an empty spot in the fridge? One client had such minimal food management skills that when the smell from his fridge got too bad, he just stopped opening it and started eating out. When we finally ventured to clean out his fridge (wearing hazmat gear) we found milk that had turned into flakes, and chicken with a four-year-old ‘born on date.’

Tips:

• Keep a running list of things you need on your fridge. Then, only buy what is on your list.
• When you get home, play ‘grocery store.’ Line up the food, newest in the back.
• If your cabinets are too deep or high to see everything, tape an itemized list to the inside of the cabinet door.
• Every time you put something into the fridge, inspect an item lurking in the back, you’ll never have to worry about pre-historic expiration dates or embarrassing odors.

Collections

What is the point of the books, clothing and sundries that we buy if they never fulfill their purpose? Clothes are meant to be worn, books to be read, and sundries to be used. But how can you reap the benefits of these items when you can’t find them? I was called in to help a couple, both professors, organize their “book collection.” As it turned out, they had so many books and magazines that not an inch of floor was visible. Did they have carpeting? Bare wood floors? Linoleum? The neighbor below had complained that his ceiling was collapsing, but the couple insisted he was being “melodramatic.”

Unfortunately, they would not hear of letting go of any book, even the ones that had been chewed on by mice, unless an exact duplicate could be found in their collection. When we finally got down to the bottom of the piles, we found the mice, dead, and flattened. The couple insisted the mice must have been recent, due to neighborhood construction, and probably died of starvation, since they were very ‘careful about food’ around the house. They refused the obvious truth that the mice had been there for quite some time, feasted and nested amongst the papers and books, and were flattened by the mass that was also contributing to the obvious sagging of their floors.

Take heart and be realistic: It didn’t take 20 minutes to accumulate the clutter initially, so it will probably take more than 20 minutes to organize it. I hope this article gives you a new perspective on the small steps you can take so that your home does not become one of these shocking stories too.

Dr. Ronit Zweig is a cognitive-behavioral psychologist in private practice in Brooklyn. She is also a professional organizer who tailors home and office systems for individuals, families, and companies. She lectures and offers workshops on psychological and organizing topics. Contact Dr. Zweig through her website, www.theorganizingdoc.com.