Purge

Last week I moved out of the house that I had lived in for 13 years. I lived in this house longer than any other in my life. Through the experience I realized how much I despise moving. I hired movers and while that dramatically helped the process, I was overwhelmed by the amount of stuff I accumulated. Deciding what to purge was my biggest challenge.

This process of purging comes much easier to my wife. She has no attachment to things and is constantly eliminating clutter in her life. Unfortunately for me, I inherited my mother’s gene of holding on to things. How do you choose what to keep and what to save?

For this question I go to the expert, my wife. For clothes, aside from formal wear, if you’ve gone though an entire year without wearing it, you won’t. Donate it. You can apply the same logic for things. If you’ve gone through 4 seasons and not needed the item, purge away.

For the office, dedicate one hour per week to staying organized. Try to schedule it on your calendar at a time of day that you have the energy to stay focused and finish the task. Get in the habit of reading something once and taking immediate action, especially email. If it’s something you can get done in a few minutes, just take care of it, delete it or throw it away. If not, set up folders for action, delegation and retention. Use folders on your computer for your electronic correspondence and for scans of hard copies. If you will also use physical folders, give them the same names as the digital ones. Use your organization time to triage the folders. Remember the goal is to complete the task and eliminate the document or email.

Some people are naturally good at these types of tasks. I married one and work closely with several others. I am grateful for this because it forces me to purge in my both my personal and work lives. I certainly have a long way to go, but to my point on last week’s blog, it’s always great to surround yourself with people who are good at the things you are not.