Spring Cleaning Week 4: Make Your List of Annoyances, Nagging Items, and Fix-Its

I've been looking into how things change from items that pile because they are "active" or require action and when they start stagnating into clutter. I've also been on the lookout for explanations to why I feel stiff and uncomfortable in some parts of my house since I started my spring cleaning clutter challenge. Among those are my collections of things that relate to fix-its or annoyances, but I also have brain clutter around those same things that may not have solutions yet.

Remember when I mentioned Julie Morganstern's advice about acting on what's visible to see quick results in your organizing efforts? I call that creating a "quick win". What I'm going to cover here:

• Is a great way to identify which area of your home would be the best place to start
• Gives you a way to face monkey mind thoughts in the physical world
• Is part of a larger plan to get a grip on what your house needs to get it organized and clutter-free

Where to start? This is how to make your life more sane - by organizing where it matters. Where is that? That depends on you.

Do you have piles of things to remind you that you need to fix them? Clothes that need mending, broken things or maybe their replacements that need to be installed? Let's get it out of the subconscious and into the light.

Problems In Our Homes Drain Energy

Each time we encounter something in our homes that is frustrating or isn't working, we lose some energy to it. This is why feng shui is concerned with leaky faucets, doors that don't open cleanly, etc.

Make Your Nag List

Try for the next 3 days walking around the house and make a note of anything that frustrates or annoys you.

• Broken?
• In the wrong place?
• Take extra effort?
• Missing and you’re working around it?
• No longer needed and are in the way?
• Has a place but never gets put away?

Add the critical items that need immediate attention to your To-Do List (like my curtain rod that is falling out of the wall!! Yikes!), and put the rest on your Project List. For the Project List items, write down your knee-jerk priority for each item... Remember, this is what is adding stress to your life – you want to start there!

This technique is based on an exercise in Maxwell Ryan's Apartment Therapy: The Eight-Step Home Cure.