Inspired to tidy up your home?
MetroCreative
MetroCreative
MetroCreative
MetroCreative
As Marie Kondo inspires the nation with her hit Netflix series 鈥淭idying Up,鈥� more people are talking about organizing and de-cluttering.
Jody Adams, a certified professional organizer who鈥檚 been in the business since 2001, has seen this before.
鈥淚 think of TLC with Peter Walsh and the 鈥楥lean Sweep鈥� show and books,鈥� said Adams, owner of In Its Place, a home and office organizing service that serves communities throughout southwestern Pennsylvania.
鈥淐lean Sweep鈥� ran on TLC network from 2003-05 and used an organizer and designer to help people clean out rooms in their houses. Walsh, who wrote books such as 2004鈥檚 鈥淗ow to Organize (Just About ) Everything,鈥� served as the show鈥檚 organizer.
Kondo is an organizing consultant who wrote the 2011 bestseller 鈥淭he Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up鈥� and now stars in the Netflix series 鈥淭idying Up with Marie Kondo.鈥�
Adams said, 鈥淓verybody has clutter. It鈥檚 one of the top five New Year鈥檚 resolutions.鈥�
Spring is also a time when people are more likely to tackle organizing projects that require a lot of work, such as the garage, attic and basement.
鈥淭o me, you can de-clutter anytime of the year, but spring is when you open the windows. You have more light and more energy,鈥� said Adams. 鈥淵ou look at things from a new perspective. Anytime you have a transition, such as winter into spring, and fall into winter, it鈥檚 easier to make changes when it鈥檚 supported by things in the natural world.鈥�
So what spaces in the home are people tackling when they are ready to organize and de-clutter?
Adams said some people choose spring to work in unheated spaces, such as the attic where it might be too hot to work in the summer. Some people are interested in working on living spaces, such as the bedroom and kitchen.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no hard or fast rule,鈥� said Adams of the clients who contact her. 鈥淪ometimes it鈥檚 the home office or bedroom. Sometimes it鈥檚 the whole house.鈥�
But she noted, 鈥淚f you are having an issue in one room, there tends to be a domino effect.鈥�
Adams said people who want their home organized need to decide the way they want it to be and ask what鈥檚 going on and why is it not working?
Which leads to the question: why do people have so much stuff?
鈥淭here鈥檚 lots of reasons. They don鈥檛 like to make a mistake so they don鈥檛 want to make a decision. They could have inherited things and feel guilty because it鈥檚 been in the family or so-and-so gave it to them. It鈥檚 the same thing with gifts: some are great and useful and some 鈥� as well-intentioned as they are 鈥� don鈥檛 fit your lifestyle. Some people have a catchall room and they store things in there. They鈥檙e not making decisions in the moment or have a place in their home. Some people don鈥檛 choose a home for things or organize it in a way that supports their daily life,鈥� said Adams. 鈥淪ome people were never taught and some never learned.鈥�
Adams said there are different points of view in professional field of organizing that range from minimalists to more.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not about getting rid of everything,鈥� said Adams. 鈥淚t鈥檚 being clear about what you want and what you have around you and what to bring into your home in the first place.鈥�
Kondo advises people to keep only things that 鈥渟park joy鈥� in their lives.
鈥淚t may not work for some people,鈥� said Adams. 鈥淪ome people love her and some say 鈥業 don鈥檛 think so.鈥� That鈥檚 totally fine. There鈥檚 no one way because everyone is different.鈥�