3 Pro Organizing Tips To Tackle An Overwhelming Decluttering Task

Do you sometimes look at a cluttered room, closet, or desk and then feel overwhelmed and walk away? We’ve got your back!

Many folks who call us for support report having at least one room that makes them just shut the door whenever they make an effort to declutter.  Many (the mindful ones) notice a strong physical and/or emotional response. If this sounds like you, know that you are not alone!  Almost every home has at least one space that is not visitor-friendly. Sometimes a task feels so overwhelming that you don’t even know where to begin.  This is the way one of my clients felt about her desk.  In this post, I will offer three pro tips to help you navigate and overwhelming decluttering project.

Pro Organizing Tip #1: Begin Where You Spend The Most Time

Begin with an area of clutter that is close to where you do the bulk of your work or spend most of your time, as this has the potential to create a more productive and soothing working environment. This can be applied to any area, be it a kitchen, a bedroom, or an office.

You might begin with the area that bothers you the most or an area that you have a vision for.

In the case of the desk pictured below, we began with the papers in front of the computer monitor (top right in the photo.)  I guessed that these papers were the most recent/active and my client confirmed that this was correct. Staring with recent items can help to reduce overwhelm.

Pro Organizing Tip #2: Break It Down

When dealing with a messy room or a messy desk, break the job down into smaller, less overwhelming tasks.

It is often helpful to look at the area to declutter and organize as several separate mini-projects and then address one mini-project at a time.  Then the project is less overwhelming and you can celebrate and take breaks after each mini-project.

When I work with virtual organizing clients, one of the ways that I help them is to brainstorm and map out ways to break projects down into manageable tasks with estimated timeframes and planned implementation schedules.

This is what my client and I did when we transformed the desk and computer area pictured below.  We divided the project into three mini-projects so that we could tackle one at a time.

These were the three mini-projects for this cluttered desk area:

  • A – A drawer that wouldn’t close + a few papers cluttering the printer area (top left)
  • B – Papers and supplies in front of the computer monitor (top right)
  • C – Papers spilling out of the file cabinet (bottom right)

In this post, I will share more detail about projects A & B. We applied the same basic principles and action steps to project C as to the first two projects.

For mini-project A, the drawer that wouldn’t close, these were our action steps:

~ Take it Out! We first took everything out of the drawer and spread it out on the kitchen table.

~ Organize Like a Kindergartner. Next, we sorted the objects using the basic principle of like with like.

~ Decision Time: We assessed what belonged back in the drawer and what could be trashed, donated or relocated.

~ And While You’re At It! We then gave the drawer a quick cleaning.  Excellent Feng Shui move.

~ Organize and Containerize: We put priority items that the client wanted to be able to easily access back into the drawer.  We used small open containers to corral any lose items and prevent future overwhelm.

~ Now For The Fun Part! We celebrated the success of the project.  It is important to celebrate small steps and look at what you have accomplished rather than focusing on what remains to be done.

Pro Organizing Tip #3: Start With A Broad Sort

Mini-project B – We then turned our attention to the clutter surrounding the printer. Once again, there was a mixture of supplies and papers.  Separating just those two broad categories of things was any easy first step. We then dealt with these papers just as we had the ones in front of the monitor.  Because of the volume of papers, we began with a broad sort.  In many cases, it is advisable to actually take the items to sort outside of the office to a clear surface such as a kitchen table. This provides extra space for sorting and offers the added advantage of taking a break from the potential stress of working in a cluttered office.

Due to the sheer volume of papers on top of the file cabinet, this mini-task took the longest.  I intentionally tackled the easier mini-tasks first so that my client could experience success as she  learned new paper sorting skills.

Our action steps were:

~ Divide And Conquer: We removed anything that was not 8.2 x 11 paper.  This included the pens, the stapler, and the sticky note pad.

~ Relocate: We relocated non-paper items: There was a pencil holder on the desk, so the pencils went there.

~ Identify: Since the papers in this area were relatively recent, my client was able to quickly explain to me which papers were important for which project. There was an existing upright file system that also needed some love and attention, and ultimately the active projects were relocated there. For more tips on paper sorting, grab our Paper Decluttering and Sorting Guidelines PDF freebie.

~ Containerize: We located or created a file folder for each project.

~ Schedule Maintenance: I instructed my client to identify times on her schedule to address projects that were not getting done in a timely fashion. If you don’t let things pile up over a long period of time, you can greatly decrease your overwhelm. 🙂

The Real Deal: Transfer Of Skills!

The most exciting thing that happens when an experienced professional home organizer supports a client, whether hands-on or virtually is that the client benefits from observing and practicing techniques that the organizer has learned and refined over many years of professional study and working with other clients.

This client benefited from what we in the professional home organizing biz call “transfer of skills.”

She learned step-by-step how to manage what had a first seemed like an overwhelming task.

Do YOU have an seemingly overwhelming decluttering task?  Let’s jump on a complimentary Zoom and explore options!