The Gale Force Organizers Podcast

Feeling Overwhelmed: The S.O.R.T Method Will Transform Your Cluttered Spaces

• Tami Gale • Episode 5

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Where Do I Even Begin When I Feel Overwhelmed By Clutter? 

Ever stood in the middle of a cluttered room feeling completely paralyzed, unsure where to even begin? You're not alone. In this enlightening conversation, professional organizer Tami Gale breaks down exactly how to overcome that feeling of being overwhelmed by too much stuff.

Tami shatters the common misconception that buying storage containers will solve your organization problems. "Please don't confuse decluttering with organization," she cautions, explaining that bins and baskets won't alleviate the anxiety caused by simply having too much. Instead, she reveals her strategic approach that transforms insurmountable chaos into manageable projects.

The episode introduces Tami's proven S.O.R.T method (Save, Off-load, Relocate, Trash), a systematic approach that works for everything from closets to paperwork. She explains why taking everything out of a space and categorizing similar items together is crucial for making clear decisions about what truly deserves space in your home. Particularly illuminating is her advice on storing items where you actually use them—a simple concept with profound implications for daily functionality.

Perhaps most valuable is Tami's guidance on maintaining your newly organized spaces through intentional habits like the "one-in, one-out" rule. By tackling clutter in small, timed sessions and addressing the psychological aspects of our relationship with our possessions, Tami provides a roadmap to not just a tidier home, but a more peaceful mind. 

To learn more about Gale Force Organizers visit:
https://www.GaleForceOrganizers.com
Gale Force Organizers
719-653-5610

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Gale Force Organizers Podcast, where clutter gets conquered and chaos meets its match. Hosted by organizing pro Tammy Gale, helping Colorado Springs families and small businesses bring order and function to their spaces. Organize your space to simplify your life. Let's get started.

Speaker 2:

When clutter feels out of control, getting started can be the hardest part If you don't know where to begin, don't worry, tammy will walk you through the first steps to reclaim your space and bring order back to your life. Welcome back everyone. I'm Millie M, co-host and producer, back in the studio with owner of Gale Force Organizers, the Tammy Gale. How's it going? Great Thanks for having me today. Absolutely, tammy. I think every one of us has felt the weight of clutter at some point. I can't wait to hear how you tackle it. Where do I even begin when I feel overwhelmed by clutter?

Speaker 3:

I think first and foremost, you have to realize you're not alone. Lots of us feel this at any point in our lives.

Speaker 3:

I always say that cluttering your home can significantly improve the quality of your life. But a lot of people don't really know where to start, and I really think that the definition of clutter is anything that gets out of control in your home, so it isn't just necessarily an object or a piece of paper or too much stuff. It's out of control Absolutely. And so we encourage you to be strategic, but also really take things in a systematic way that doesn't overwhelm you, and so, really, we say you tackle one space at a time, you sort and categorize items, and then you're strategic about what goes back, and so we can talk about each of those things in more detail. But I always say the first thing to know is please don't confuse decluttering with organization. If you are convinced that if you just bought a bin or a basket and came home and put the stuff in it, it would all go away I'm unfortunately here to tell you that's really not the case. You're still going to feel anxious because you have too much of what you have that's overtaking your life, and so instead, we encourage you to first really look at everything you have, make sure it's what you need and what you want, and then make space for what matters, and so we really like you to encourage you to think about decluttering as multiple projects. Don't just think of decluttering as just your home. Instead, we want you to take every single space in your house and think of it as an individual project, make it much more manageable by cutting it down to size.

Speaker 3:

We want you to choose a room, a closet, a space, a drawer, and tackle one thing at a time and I will tell you really quite quickly. You can find that you are making huge progress and that's a huge motivator. When you actually see it working, you're willing to keep going, and so people ask yourself well, okay, where do I start? Everything is out of control and really, organizers typically suggest two methods. One will work for you. One school of thought says that you should tackle something small, so that maybe it's a drawer, maybe it's a closet, so that you can immediately see quick results. It gives you some fast motivation and convinces you you're capable of it, absolutely a possibility. The other school of thought suggests that you should take a space that is really annoying you the most and tackle something that you see every day, because once you've conquered, you can see the results and it totally changes how you use the space and how you feel when you enter that space.

Speaker 3:

So, regardless of which method you choose, just pick one and start. And so once you've picked a project, we encourage you to set a timer. Really, only plan to do this for 30 or 45 minutes at the most. Don't overwhelm yourself. Don't decide you're taking your entire weekend and decluttering your home. Instead, let's take this in manageable chunks of time. We want you to feel progress, but we don't want you to feel like all you're doing is decluttering your life. So set the timer and if you're not finished with the project at the end, you just pick it back up on the next. And so once you've got that now you're ready to start.

Speaker 3:

So we say it's a daunting task. We tell you to take everything out of the space, because the only way you know what's in it is if you really see all the nooks and crannies. And once you do that, we tell you to sort and categorize. Put like things together. It's a lot easier to sort a stack of books when they're all together versus scattered in a different space. So tackle that by using what gale force uses is our. We are a navy and army family.

Speaker 3:

We have an acronym for everything, and our acronym for decluttering is sort s-o-r-t. Sort stands for save those things you're keeping. That's the s, though, is off those things that you were giving away, donating, selling. They are leaving your home. R stands for relocate You've discovered things that don't belong where you found them, and we're going to put them back in the place they should go. Finally, t is for trench those things that you really just need to let go and discard, so all of your items should fit into one of those four categories.

Speaker 3:

So once you've done that, once you've relocated all the things that no longer belong, once you've separated the things that are going to go away or floated somewhere, you're left with the things you're saving. That's what goes back into the space. That should give you adequate space for what you have found that you want to keep and that serves you. If you discover you still have too much of something, I encourage you to go back and ask yourself this question when was the last time I used it? Why do I have it? Why am I keeping it? Does it still serve me and the life that I currently live? So when you do that, you end up with space, and space creates freedom in your brain and in your physical space, so that you can see what you need and you can easily access it.

Speaker 3:

We often tell people the best way is to store things where you use them. Don't put your crock pot in the call closet. Unless you only use your crock pot three times a year. If you're making meals once a week in a crock pot, it needs to find a hole in your kitchen, and so, truly, we want you to just make sure that your home functions for how you're living. So keep things where you use them and then sit back once you've accomplished this and bask a little bit in your success, because you've conquered your clutter and now, hopefully, it has motivated you to tackle another space, another room, and it will be short times later that you will discover your house is much more organized and when you walk in the door you have a sense of calm and anxiety.

Speaker 2:

Anything we can do to lessen that anxiety. I have two quick questions for you. The sort method this is what you use for no matter what the type of thing you're organized, because how you organize paper might be a little bit different than how you organize clothing. So do you use the sort method for everything?

Speaker 3:

We really do. We choose that because we sort and categorize like items together first. So by taking your closet and organizing it and pulling all of your blouses and I'm taking all the short sleeved white blouses and putting them all together, when you see like items together, it's much easier for you to make decisions about them. You can say, oh, I didn't realize I had six of those. I guess I could get rid of a few of those. And that way, once you've done that piece, when you come back to the S-O-R-T you can say, yep, I can save two, I can donate four onto the next task. And so, really, it's about making everything manageable in your brain and physically. If you can see that you have six of something and you only use one of them, it's a lot easier to send the others on their way.

Speaker 3:

Most of us end up having multiple copies and duplicate things in our home because we can't find what we're looking for when we need them. And so if you can eliminate that process by tearing down those excesses, those duplicates that aren't used, you'll find that you have more space for the things that you do need and that you do want. At the end of the day, create some one-in-one-out rules One comes in and one goes out so that you always have the space to manage future purchases. We tell people we don't want to stop you from buying something new or refreshing your wardrobe, but we want you to do it strategically. We want you to really think about what you're doing and bringing it in, so that you don't become overwhelmed by what you own. Instead, you take control of your space.

Speaker 2:

I love how you answered instinctively my next question, because I was like why weren't I clothing? Now that you have all this new space, what's to keep people from going out and buying more? But I love that one item in, one item out rule. This is such empowering information. It's such an empowering conversation because I feel like you were talking about anxiety. Just having a decluttered, organized space can do so much for your mental health. So thank you for sharing those actionable steps To our listeners. See you next time for more ways to conquer clutter and simplify life. Thanks, gail.

Speaker 1:

That's it for today's episode of Gail Force Organizers Podcast. Ready to bring calm to your chaos? Of Gale Force Organizers podcast. Ready to bring calm to your chaos? Call 719-653-5610 or visit galeforceorganizerscom. Organize your space to simplify your life. Until next time, stay tidy and let it go if it's gotta go.