My Clutter 101 series is one of the most popular at Organize IT, which culminated in me creating my first (and free!) ebook on the subject. I’ve not added anything to the series in a while because, frankly, after everything I covered in that book I couldn’t really think of much else to write about (I was pretty thorough you know). But there was still one troublesome little issue I hadn’t covered…
Over the past couple of years, I’ve had several people ask me how to de-clutter your home and life when your partner, kids, or whoever you happen to live with, don’t share your enthusiasm for this fine art. It’s a problem I too have had trouble with, but I’ve never been able to come up with an answer.
You could try nagging them into action to get your point across. In the short term it might get some results as the individuals involved tidy up just to make you shut up, but in the long term it will invariably lead to strained relations, a slap across the face and being told in no uncertain terms where to stick your f**king clutter.
So nagging is out of the question. If your partner isn’t going to play fair, how about you just do the de-cluttering for them? If they have a messy wardrobe with clothes everywhere, or they keep losing their pens and have to borrow yours, it indirectly effects you anyways. Except, if you tidy their wardrobe in the morning, they’ll come home in the afternoon and just continue to throw their clothes in the corner. You could tidy their desk but they’ll just scatter paperwork all over it again. And then they’ll bitch and moan that they can’t find anything anyway.
So, we’re running out of options here. What about reasoning with the person’s rational side? There is no denying a tidy, organized home and office has many benefits. More focus, a better work environment, the ability to find your keys in the morning. Who wouldn’t want to achieve that? Well, David Allen of GTD fame once said the only people interested in his system are those who are already productive and want to get more productive. And so it is with clutter.
If a person isn’t interested in getting organized and doesn’t care to de-clutter his home, I don’t think there is a lot you can do about it. Your best bet is to lead by example and then hope they become inspired (but don’t get your hopes up). The challenge is less how you get them to get organized and how you learn to cope with their messiness. My personal solution? I split my home in half (not literally). I tidy the living room, kitchen and hallway; my wife tidies the bathroom and bedrooms. It doesn’t resolve the de-cluttering issue (unused shampoo and soap in the bathroom is still piled high, the space under the bed is till jammed full of boxes) but at least we’re sharing the responsibility.
Maybe that’s the solution. Give your partner or your kids the responsibility of de-cluttering and organizing their own zones. What are your thoughts?
May 25, 2009 Clutter 101
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