Let’s transform your personal space into zen and peaceful rather than cloudy and stressful

Do you find that your room is overloaded with things? Things from camp, things from art classes, things from friends, project things, stuffed things, sentimental things, things your mother thinks are garbage but are precious to you, and so on. You might be surrounded by all the “things” besides for the most helpful “thing one and thing two and their thingamijigger” who can take all cumulative things that equal clutter and make them magically disappear. Since  Dr. Seuss and the Cat and the Hat aren’t coming to save you, let me share some advice that may be helpful.

Physical clutter causes mental clutter. Be mindful that owning less stuff lends to a clearer mind. Let’s transform your personal space into zen and peaceful rather than cloudy and stressful.

Helpful Tips:

■ A popular organizing rule is to designate one drawer or bin for knickknacks. Once the drawer is full, it’s time to ask yourself, “Is there anything in here that doesn’t make me as happy as it first did?”

■ Follow this rule: One item comes in, an old item goes out. This prevents you from accumulating too much over time and won’t overwhelm you later.

■ For memories, get yourself a memory box and place the things that are important to you inside. Keep it in an area that is out of the way such as under your bed or in a designated storage area in your house.

■ Keep your surfaces clean and clutter free.

■ Prevent every drawer from becoming a junk drawer.

■ Don’t lay items on your dresser, unless you’re planning to use it immediately. If you put something down indefinitely, your brain will soon register it as part of the decor, until six months later, when you’ll wonder why it’s been sitting there for so long.

Give Me a Home

■ Using the right containers in key areas is like creating pockets of space that give important items a home and make your space look neat.

■ Start by corralling all daily use items, such as deodorant, lotion, or your watch. Place a lazy Susan or an acrylic tray on your dresser for such items — it’s a great way to make sure they stay contained, easy to find, and most importantly, it keeps the rest of the surface clutter free.

■ Use a wall-mounted jewelry organizer to get all your necklaces, bracelets, and earrings off your dresser, eliminating clutter and helping you find what you need easily, without having to untangle each piece.

■ Utilizing space behind a door is great. You can add some hooks or a hanging shoe organizer for extra accessories and smaller items.

■ Set up a place to showcase your knickknacks, books, or pictures. This can be done by adding some shelves in free wall space to incorporate a limited amount of photos or artwork into your decor.

■ If you don’t have a bookshelf, or even a nightstand, don’t underestimate the utility of a rolling cart. Styled with the right containers, it can be the perfect solution to hold items you use often.

■ A magazine holder can be placed on any surface. It can be an amazing tool to organize current reading material or school assignments.

Don’t get overwhelmed! Once you organize an area one time it just needs a few minutes each week to maintain. Every so often look over your surfaces, ask yourself where each item belongs, and place it where it needs to be.

Miriam can be contacted through Teen Pages.

(Originally featured in Teen Pages, Issue 883)