5 Decluttering Tips from a Professional Organizer
Linda Rothschild has rescued countless clients (including Gayle King!) from chaos. Here, she reveals her tricks of the trade.
By Linda Rothschild
Don't Focus on a Whole Room
Instead, tackle one drawer, one cabinet, or one pile of papers per day. You'll have a sense of accomplishment with little effort.
Sort Things by Function
Put coffee cups near the coffee pot, the mirror near the jewelry. Don't just straighten papers that are lying around. Put them where they belong.
Organizing Means Eliminating
If you don't like the way you look in certain clothes, out they should go. If you can't decide, put them aside for six month and then choose whether to keep them, toss them, or donate them to charity.
Store by Season
If you don't have room to put all your clothes in one main closet, use that closet for this season's clothes and put the rest somewhere else. Organize the pants together, skirts together, same sleeve lengths together, or clothes will get lost.
Take Control
We get overwhelmed when things pile up, so create a time slot every day to spend a few minutes organizing. Your papers, your thoughts, your mail all need to be dealt with on a daily basis.
From the
January 2001 issue of
O, The Oprah Magazine
