Dora Organizes

making daily life doable

Drawing the Line for Better Organization

As you begin to get organized, the first thing to focus on is the ceasing of accumulation. In other words, be careful as to what you bring into the house. Don’t add to the clutter as you try to get rid of the clutter.

You need to draw the line somewhere.

Here are some good questions to ask:

  • Where do you draw the line?
  • Who draws it?
  • How long does it stay there?

Let me explain.

Where do you draw the line?

Drawing the line means setting a limit that you don’t cross over. Acknowledging where the line is drawn is the first step to limiting accumulation.

Who draws it?

We have this inner sense of how many is acceptable based on a number of factors: cultural, peer, family history. All of these can influence how many you think is right.

Conflict comes into families many times when the line is drawn in different places by different members of the family. What you think is just right may be way too many or not enough for someone else in your home.

No matter who has been drawing the line before, today, you decide.

How long does it stay there?

This is to give you a way out.

Draw a line somewhere, anywhere, and stick with it for a predetermined amount of time so that you can get use to the feel of the new amount.

Drawing the Line – an Example with Shopping Bags

When you go shopping, you usually bring home your groceries these days in three types of bags: paper, tote bags, or plastic (if your area still uses them).

How many of those do you have in your home right now? Go ahead and check, I’ll wait . . .

Most of us have way too many.

When I first started drawing the line I did this exercise and I had 50 plastic bags, 21 paper bags, and 10 tote bags of various sizes. Wow! Too many. This is when I decided to draw the line.

Where do I draw the line?

Plastic bags:

We are using less and less of these as markets are phasing them out in our area. However, we still use plastic bags for the kitty litter so I draw the line at what comfortably fits in a large plastic jar under the sink.

If the jar is full, I can toss the extra.

Paper bags:

I go to one store that still offers paper bags which I like to use for recycling.

I draw the line at what fits comfortably in a paper bag next to the trash can.
If it doesn’t fit in there, out it goes into recycling.

Tote bags:

I have just the right number and size to suit my needs, which means I don’t need to buy any more.

And I have a larger bag that they all fit into so I just have to grab the one bag when I do the weekly grocery shopping.

Notice I don’t need to count how many I keep; just enough to fill a set limited space.

Who draws the line?

I will on this one.

I will notify my family where I am drawing the line, and then I need to keep an eye out for any strays that my family stashes elsewhere.

I also make sure that where I put the bags is easy to reach so I don’t make it hard on myself or my family to put them away and/or get rid of them. I talk more about giving yourself easy access in How to Define “Being Organized.”

How long do I keep it there?

I left it that way for a month. This gave me enough time to see if my family can adjust to the new number, or if we are using them up quicker than we can replace them.

I wanted to give it some time to see if this works. And it did! Experiment.

Drawing the Line Challenge

Pick One Area to Draw the Line

Plastic bags, paper bags, tote bags, clothes, shoes, purses, vases, books, paper clips, rubber bands, newspapers, spools of thread, pens, magnets, dishes, table cloths, towels, cleaning supplies, puzzles, games, candles, socks, or anything of your choice.

Where do you draw the line?

There are two ways you can draw the line – either by number or storage space.

For the first, pick a number, any number that will be your set limit.

Follow the Organizing with G.R.A.C.E. method. Gather all you find, remove the extra, and assign a place them to a place where you can have easy access when you need them, and then contain them in a space that fits the number you chose.

If you don’t want to count, then contain them to a certain amount of space and don’t worry about how many you have.

If it doesn’t fit, out it goes.

Who draws the line?

For this exercise, you are the one who decides where to draw the line with your own belongings.

How long are you going to keep it there?

Give yourself at three weeks to get used to the number.

Honor the limit you set, whether a number of items or the amount of space they occupy.

At the end of the three weeks, or whatever you decide, evaluate again and adjust.

Watch for other areas of your life where you notice a tendency to over-gather.

Whenever you find an area come back to this challenge and draw the line!