Okay, there are actually some questions to ask before you start sorting, like, “What is my goal?” or “What is my time limit for today?” But when it comes to sorting out large collections of things (read piles and piles), you do not need to have all the answers before the sorting begins. In fact, if you were to try to have all the answers, you would find that you had wasted your time with all of that thinking once the sorting was finished. Let me use a specific clutter type to illustrate. Papers comes to mind since every house has paper. (Can you see your dining room table? What about your kitchen counter? Your desk?)
When starting to tackle the paper, do not decide where you will store the keepers. Do not choose storage containers. Do not make nice labels for folders. Just sort. And as you sort, discard what you can. If you have a very large paper monster, make piles of broad categories that you will revisit later to subdivide. That might sound like double work, because it is to some degree, but it is a valuable step in the process because it allows you to tackle more manageable sections of the paper collection. You might have a pile for medical-related papers, one for utilities, another for school papers (for those of you with children), one for cards and letters, and another for tax-related documents. Most likely you have more categories than that—we are talking about paper, here—but this article has to have some limits! Create temporary labels using sticky notes or 3x5 cards so that you do not forget which pile is which.
Later, once the first sort is COMPLETE (sorry for yelling, but it is super important that you finish the first sort before starting the second sort), then you are ready to tackle one category at a time to do the fine sort. The school papers get divided into piles for each child; the medical into piles for each family member; the tax papers into appropriate piles, and so on. Each step of the way, you look for papers that can be eliminated. Watch for personal data—be sure to shred those documents if you are discarding them. Recycle what you can. Another day, I will share industry standards on record retention—today is all about sorting first, asking questions later. Some documents can be scanned so that you do not need to retain the physical copy. Some piles may need a third sort, such as those medical papers. Each person’s pile could be divided into categories like Bills/Statements, Vision, Dental, Medical, and so on. (May I take a moment to recommend starting a treatment log? One notebook that contains simple entries each time you visit a health professional can be a great resource as life goes on.)
Once you have thoroughly sorted your piles, now you are ready to ask where to store the papers that remain and in what containers because now you know how much you are keeping. Some types of papers live well in binders, some dwell happily in file systems, and some best occupy boxes for sentimental items—not just willy-nilly, people! We are getting organized, after all!
No matter what type of clutter you are about to sort, it is best to do the sorting before deciding how you will store the retained items or where you will keep them. You will make those decisions better once the sorting is done.Now on to calming some chaos!
