Eliminate the Maybe Pile

If I could come up with one word that an organized person seldom uses, it is the word, “maybe.”

For example, organized people avoid having someday, might, or maybe piles. They think more in binary terms such as, it fits or it doesn’t fit, or I’ll either use it now or I will put it away.

Recently, I was helping a client organize her bathroom and she expressed that she needed to find a space to hang her towels and bathrobes. She had a wonderful set of hooks on the bathroom door, but it was filled with an assortment of clothes. When I suggested that she use those hooks for her towels and bathrobes she said, “But that’s where we keep our sweatshirts and other grubby clothes that we need for working in the yard so they are handy when we want to wear them."

That sounded like a logical and convenient approach, but there is a simpler solution. She asked me how I handle that at my house and I replied, “My clothes are either dirty or not. If they are dirty, I put them in the laundry bin; if not, I hang them up in the closet or fold them back into my dresser drawer."

Voilà! We eliminated a maybe pile!

How many “maybe,” “might,” or “someday” piles collections do you currently have in your house? Do you put clothes on top of your laundry hamper “just in case" you might wear them again? Do you place a knife or plate next to the sink “in case” you need to use it again? Try to eliminate as many maybe piles as you can by making that one decision, then move on.

Maybe piles create multiple and repeated decision points, which in turn can cause clutter, stress and confusion. Reducing your “maybe piles” will reduce clutter and give you valuable space for the things you really need.

Happy Organizing!

Kay