Quantcast

Edit Your Life, Part 2: Your Rooms

Every Wednesday is Simplicity Day on Zen Habits.

I’m a former newspaper editor, and one of the things I learned was to edit brutally (no sarcastic comments about why I don’t do that with my blog posts). Cut out everything that’s not necessary, and you’ve got a more meaningful story.

I highly recommend editing your life.

Today’s edit: The rooms in your house, one at a time.

Are you surrounded by clutter in every room in your home? Clutter is visually distracting and stressful — every item that you see demands your mind’s attention, and no matter how short that attention is, and despite that it is subconscious, these little distractions add up. It’s difficult to have peace and to focus amid this clutter. Add to this the wasted time and energy needed to look for things, to maintain things, and to clean things, and the more clutter you have, the more energy it will take to have it.

So, I recommend that you edit each of the rooms in your house, one per week, until you have de-cluttered your home and made it a peaceful and calming place to be.

Here’s how:

  • First, choose a room to do this week. Don’t try to do your whole house at once, as this can be very time consuming (unless you just have a lot of time on your hands — in which case, go for it!). Focus on one room, and try to do 15 minutes a day (unless you get carried away and feel like doing more). Work on one room each week.
  • In the beginning, skip the closets and drawers that are out of sight for now. We’ll tackle those in next week’s Edit Your Life. Focus for now on the things you can see.
  • Start with the big things. Is there too much furniture in the room? If so, edit them. What is necessary, which furniture do you love, which stuff is just too distracting. Also consider removing other big items, like boxes full of stuff.
  • Clear all flat surfaces. Desktops, tabletops, countertops, etc. Remove all papers, piles of stuff, little junk, knick-knacks, anything. Put it on the floor. Now get a trash bag and two boxes. Sort through everything in your pile(s), one item at a time. Each item should be either thrown away in the trash bag, put in one box to give away (to friends, family or charity), or in the other box to put in another room in the house. Put back only a couple select items on the flat surfaces, such as a family photo or something that functionally belongs there. But as much as possible, leave the flat surfaces as bare as humanly possible. “Stuff” doesn’t belong here — you need to find a drawer, shelf, or container for whatever stuff you’ve removed. When you’re done sorting through the pile, put the recycle box in the trunk of your car and drop it off the next time you go out to do errands. Throw away the trash bag. Take the other box and put the stuff where it belongs elsewhere in the house (don’t put it on flat surfaces unless absolutely necessary!).
  • Repeat this process for any other “stuff” in the room, including stuff on the floor.
  • Now go around the room, clockwise, and edit what’s left. This might be stuff on the walls, posted to surfaces like the refrigerator, stuff under tables or desks, etc. Only leave the stuff that’s absolutely necessary. I mostly have blank walls except for a few choice paintings or drawings (by my dad, an artist). All my flat surfaces are bare. It’s nice.
  • Be merciless. Edit brutally. The more you can get rid of, the better!

OK, your room should look pretty good now. If so, you should feel pretty great! Sit down, relax, look around, and enjoy the peaceful goodness. Savor your triumph.

Now, this editing process is not a destination, but an ongoing process. It won’t last long if you don’t have a system and develop habits to keep it de-cluttered.

Here’s the system:

  • A place for everything, and everything in its place. An oldie, but valuable nonetheless. Are you about to put something down on a flat surface? Stop yourself. Think about where that item belongs. If it doesn’t have a home, find one and stick with it. Always put it in that spot. For example: I have a tray for my keys, wallet, etc., and when I first get in the house, I put these things in this tray. Every time. So I always know where it is. And when I leave, it’s as simple as grabbing my stuff from the tray.
  • Have an inbox for your home for ALL incoming papers. And a filing system for documents you need to keep, from bills to important documents to taxes to kids’ report cards. Put all incoming mail, school papers, receipts, etc. into the inbox, and process it once a day (or every other day, but not much longer than that — otherwise you’re just creating a pile). When you process, don’t leave stuff in a pile to be filed later — file it immediately. Trash other stuff. Pay bills immediately or put them in a bills to be paid folder. Don’t leave papers laying around elsewhere.
  • Clean up at night and before you leave the house. If you’ve developed good habits, you may not need this, but no one’s perfect, and if you have kids, you’ll definitely need this, because kids certainly are not perfect at this habit. Just take 5-10 minutes to pick up stuff and make sure your flat surfaces are clear.
  • Every six months (or a year), de-clutter. Despite your best efforts, new stuff just accumulates. You need to have a regular binging process every now and then.

See also:

Brilliant comments (16)

Gravatar

Alex Shalman Says:

March 2nd, 2007, 7:09 am

Thanks for the post Leo, I look forward to more simplifying Thursday posts. You’ve just inspired me to do a little cleaning up, but i’m not even at my own house… hope they don’t mind ;)

Gravatar

Leo Says:

March 2nd, 2007, 13:55 pm

Lol. Thanks for the great comment Alex. Don’t worry … I’ll never simplify so much that I’ll eliminate the Simplifying Thursday posts!

Gravatar

Teri Says:

March 5th, 2007, 18:43 pm

I wish. 8 by 24 foot trailer. There simply isn’t a place to put everything into. Even a minimal wardrobe won’t fit into these closets. And there is absolutely no book space. I probably moved 30 books from the storage shed to the trailer and there’s no place to put them.

So, if you are struggling with space, really you are in better shape than you ever imagined. You’ve got no excuse!

Gravatar

Leo Says:

March 5th, 2007, 18:57 pm

Great comment, Teri! I’ve heard the same kind of things from people who live on boats (like my stepfather). Small spaces force you to simplify.

I’d love to hear more about how you make do with that kind of space. Email me at zenhabits (at) gmail (dot) com if you’re interested in writing a guest post on the topic for Zen Habits. Thanks for the comment!

Gravatar

Bengt W Says:

March 9th, 2007, 13:50 pm

A great post in an interesting series. Feng Shui in practice, de-clutter to feel better.

It is also the old WYSIWYG, what you see is what you get. If you see a mess it does not give a comfortable feeling.
Bengt

Gravatar

Leo Says:

March 9th, 2007, 14:48 pm

Hi bengt w … thanks for the comments. However, one friendly note: while I appreciate readers providing useful links, you’ve posted this link on multiple posts now, so I ask that you refrain from doing so any further or I’ll regrettably have to start deleting your comments. Thanks for understanding.

Gravatar

Rebekah Says:

June 2nd, 2007, 3:15 am

I loved this post so much, thank you! Can I ask your advice? I feel stuck. I go through all my things over and over and get rid of more things each time, but why can’t I let go of all unnecessary items the first time? This process is so time consuming. I really want simplicity. Any thoughts as to what my problem could be?

Gravatar

Leo Says:

June 2nd, 2007, 7:46 am

Hi Rebekah … great question! Here’s what I suggest:

* Get a box and label it something like “Maybe”. Then put the stuff you’re hesitant to get rid of into the box, and store the box somewhere out of sight.
* Put it on your calendar to review your “Maybe” box (or boxes) in three months (or even 6).
* In three months, take a look at the stuff in the box. If you didn’t need it in those three months, get rid of them.

This temporary holding area is a way of getting rid of stuff without any of the worry. Give it a try!

Gravatar

Rebekah Says:

June 3rd, 2007, 16:33 pm

Thanks so much for your response! I will try it and let you know how it goes! Thanks again,
Rebekah

Gravatar

ms.ricki Says:

June 13th, 2008, 0:43 am

when i get one room and i’m off to the nexet the kids are messing up the one i’v already cleaned

Gravatar

Faye Says:

August 25th, 2008, 1:17 am

OH Leo, you are my hero… BUT while i am doing very well IMO I am also stuck, in a non system system. I get stuff, stuff and stuff all the time. I am waht you call a packrat. a hoarder. and whats worse, if i can get two of an item, i do! but i have stuck to my guns and gotten rid of a lot, A LOT! but there is still more.

your posts have inspired me, well, more like kept me going, i start a lot things and dont finish a lot of them. but i am determined to get decluttered!

thank you so much for your straight forward and peaceful ways. I need all the help i can get. my life is always a wreck and i am glad you are here to help me lol well.. everyone…

now if only you could fix my mess of a mind.

Gravatar

Polly Says:

May 21st, 2009, 9:50 am

I’m actually in the middle of doing this right now! I’m doing a room a day until I’m done, it’s a huge task but I’m really enjoying it. Thanks for inspiring me to keep on going :)

Gravatar

DR.CHANDRAKUMAR JAIN Says:

June 7th, 2009, 0:55 am

IT’S WORTHY AND USEFUL.
THANKS

Gravatar

free divorce papers Says:

June 12th, 2009, 1:07 am

Brilliant article. I will try this next time.

Gravatar

Exercises To Jump Higher Says:

June 27th, 2009, 19:01 pm

I’m going to have a really hard time with this. It’s so hard to clean up your room just before you leave especially first thing in the morning. The few minutes I would spend on this would be better off for sleeping. lol. As far as the inbox, perhaps I can purchase one (can’t remember the name). This will prevent all my mail from being scattered in a 101 places like it already is.

Gravatar

MarrsAttax Says:

June 28th, 2009, 3:36 am

I agree too much clutter can be stressful but it can also depend on personality. I would find the bare walls and surfaces of your home much too austere I think.

I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that you don’t have children. Constantly tidying up after children can be a cause of stress in itself. I do tidy up toys at the end of the day but sometimes it’s good to just accept the way things are, rather than being in a constant state of war with your house, I also read recently that having all their toys out (mess) can be beneficial to children’s development rather than bringing them up in a sterile environment.

At the end of the day it’s what works for you.

Add your comment





Incoming (20)