Organizing Season: Tackling Visual Distractions

Have you ever heard of the concept of visual distractions as it applies to the home?  You might well have heard about it if you've dealt with a child who has ADD/ADHD or if you've been involved in getting a classroom ready for 30 students.  They even talk about it in the workplace. As for me,  I had never heard the phrase before a friend mentioned it in relation to her child's ADD and her need to combat visual distraction in his homework zone.    When I heard that phrase, a lightbulb went on in my head.  Finally, an explanation for why I work so hard to keep my house organized.

Visual (n):  Seen or able to be seen by the eye.

Distraction (n.):  something that diverts attention; something that interferes with concentration or takes attention away from something else. 

So, a visual distraction is anything you see that diverts your attention away from something else.  In your home, that can be too much stuff, stuff in the wrong place, stuff that isn't finished, and even not enough stuff or not the right stuff.  Think about it.  A visual distraction is a discordant note for your eyes.  You "see" it all the time, to the point that you can be blinded to everything else.  Alternatively, you can stop "seeing" it to the point that you don't notice it at all...no matter how big and distracting it really should be.

Think of it like this: Driving down a country road, you see trees and greenery. The occasional cow or horse brings a smile to your face. You notice more...you actually see more of what you're looking at. Looking around is actually calming. Driving in the city, on the other hand, you're bombarded by billboards, street signs, speeding cars, and storefronts. You literally can't take it all in, so you start shutting it out. You deliberately "don't see" what you're looking at because it is all too much...you simply can't process it all, so you don't. Definitely not relaxing.

The same thing happens in our homes. In our hurry-up lifestyles, clutter-filled surfaces become distractions so great we don't allow ourselves to see them out of self-preservation. The flyer from the kids' school, permission slips, homework to be looked over, the newspaper, the magazines, the stack of bills, yesterday's dishes, the overflowing trashcan, the pile of clean clothes, the pile of dirty clothes, the toys on the floor, the carpets that need to be vacuumed, the dust on the shelves, the smudges on the mirror, the cluttered bathroom counters, the dirty toilets...it all feels like too much, so we stop looking. We have to in order to go about our business with any sanity. The only problem is that eventually, as we avoid dealing with the visual distraction, the space we can still "see" becomes so small, we don't fit in it.  So we head out...we shop in nice big clean stores...we eat in clean restaurants...and suddenly, are homes aren't homes anymore.  They're way stations...

Now, I'm truly not OCD and no one in my family has been diagnosed ADD/ADHD (I'm not swearing that no one suffers, though.).  Through trial and error, though, I have discovered that I simply cannot function in a house with a lot of visual distractions.   It takes very little messiness to throw me for a loop...so, I try not to let that happen.   Even more importantly, I've discovered my children function far better with orderliness...clean lines, empty surfaces, etc.  For example,  I can't watch a movie with my family if the room we're to sit in is messy.   I can't sit down to read in a room that needs attention.   I simply can't relax.  I can't sit down to study in a room that is untidy.  (Man, oh, man, was my house clean when I went back to school to finish my degree!)  I have trouble writing blog posts if my desk is messy, even if it is messy for a good cause.  (Hey, it can happen!) 

For me, a harmonious home is all about minimizing visual distractions for all of us.  I like to decorate with clean lines (no ruffles, please), simple patterns, and colors that flow.   Let me be perfectly clear:  IT IS NOT ABOUT PERFECTION.  It is all about making a home that truly works for you, not one that you work around.   The macaroni and cheese room was fun for the kids, but it got very tiresome very quickly.   Suddenly, I realized I was working around it...I wasn't enjoying it at all...time for the orange to go.  Now the room works again.   Have you ever wondered why you feel so good after tackling a big clean-up project?  Being productive feels good, but looking around and seeing everything in place actually calms your mind.  Think about it...you know I'm right.

So, what does this have to do with Organizing Season in my house this year?    Let's face it, we all have weird situations we face when attempting to organize our own homes.  Each family is unique.   In my case, 



I find myself amused to see hamster supplies next to cat supplies...I don't know why.

Part One:  The Garage - I know, it sounds weird, so let me explain.   Pulling into the garage everyday, I was always frustrated by how much disorganized clutter I had to walk through to get into the house.   We have seven mammals that need to be cared for, which means I'm always struggling to deal with pet supplies.  (I looked for "before" pictures, but, for obvious reasons, I don't have a lot of pictures of our garage...I mean, it is the garage.)  We had trash cans and recycle bins and dog food bins and cat food bins and bins for the cat litter and bins for the hamster bedding and none of the bins went together.   Some rolled, some didn't.  Some were big, some were little.  It was really inefficient, too.   In order for the kids to get to them, they were always pulled out of place and left in the way.  (Translation:  left out for me to deal with!)  With Superman overseas, I have been dealing with the garage more than ever before and it was making me crazy.   When Superman is home, I don't "see" the garage.  It is his domain.  These days, however, I'd want to head out to do a quick project and I'd be so visually distracted that I couldn't focus on my intended project that I'd spend two hours cleaning, organizing, reshuffling, whatever, in a vain attempt to make it all work and it didn't. 

Clearly labeled.

I finally conceded defeat and got rid of all the mismatched bins.  I liked our recycle bins (lids keep the animals out), so I kept those.  But I invested in new pet supply containers.  Then I labeled everything with vinyl from my Silhouette (still love that machine!) and set it all out. 

Cutter free...and definitely usable.

Now when I pull into the garage, this is what I see.  I feel happier when I walk through the door into the house because I didn't have to walk the gauntlet of "stuff I should be dealing with".  I've dealt with it...it is done...and I like it.   My solutions were simple and sustainable, even for teenagers.   Best of all, I'm pretty certain Superman will approve!

To be continued...

Part Two:  My Closet!

Organizing Season Always Involves Decluttering

The best part of Organizing Season is how the act of decluttering helps me align the real me with the "vision of me" I have.  Have you ever thought about it like that?  All that stuff we hold on to represents the vision of ourselves we have, but doesn't necessarily mesh with our reality.  We can go two ways.  We can change our reality to match our vision of ourselves or we can change our vision of ourselves to match our reality.  In my case, it seems that this time of years is all about changing my vision to match reality, which means I shed those things that just aren't "real".  Does that make sense?  Think about it for awhile.  Let it bounce around.  You hold onto stuff that you don't use because it is part of an unrealistic vision you have of yourself.  

Enough serious stuff.  You'll be thinking about that idea all day, I promise.  So, let's move on to the nitty gritty of my Organizing Season week.

Getting organized just wouldn't be complete without a hefty bout of decluttering.  Especially after the holidays, it always feels like we're surrounded with too much stuff.  From holiday decorations to layers of clothing to undone projects, it all just starts to feel like too much.  I feel weighed down by my own expectations for myself.  I just start to feel like my stuff owns me.   Do you feel that way, too? 

Fortunately for me, last week a local charity called to let me know they'd have a truck in our neighborhood Tuesday and offered to pick up anything I'd have for them.  Woot!  Now I had a deadline--just what I needed!  They're wonderful motivators.

The first thing I tackled was 13 years worth of scrapbooking materials, of which I'd used none in the last six and half years.  Yep, you read that correctly.  I have not done any scrapbooking since we moved to Eastern Washington.  Without my friends in California, I didn't enjoy doing it anymore.   Still, I held onto the materials and equipment for "someday".  Well, this year, I finally accepted that my vision of myself as a person who made amazing scrapbooks for my children was not ever going to become reality.   Paper is just not a medium I am creative working in.  (Hopefully, my children won't be scarred for life.) 



The scissors were actually dusty!

The scrapbooking stuff had to leave.  I didn't need the guilt anymore.  Three Trader Joe's bags of stuff had to leave, to be exact.  This was after I'd sent two boxes of paper to my sister last year.  Rewriting your vision of yourself takes time.   For me, it has been a process of letting go of that "ideal" vision...it takes some honesty to say to yourself, "I'm just not going to do that...ever."

Idea books, pages, etc...

Fortunately, my bff Andi loves to scrapbook, make cards, and generally create beautiful things with paper, so I gave it all to her.  (She was thrilled, I promise!  I wasn't just dumping stuff on her.)



Paper trimmer, punches, stickers, the works!

She said I had tons of good stuff, we didn't have as many duplicates as she had expected and she'll pass the books and some duplicate supplies onto other ladies who have interest.  All my unused stuff will finally get used.  That is a fabulous feeling.

Still, none of this got me any closer to stuff for the charity truck.  Next up was my fabric stash.  Yes, I've been sewing a lot (for me!) lately, but there is still a ton of stuff I will never use.  Tastes change, kids grow-up, etc.  I don't have babies...I won't use some of this fabric for anything and someone else might...but, not if I leave it in my stash.

Tastes change...

All this fabric just got added to the pile.

A huge bag of fabric leaves the house...

Pretty cool, right?  I hope people get to make wonderful stuff out of this fabric.

Three bins that were too full were culled into one bin that isn't full.

Three bins of holiday decorations was cut down to one and one of the bins ended up get donated.  Holiday decorations?  Really.  I don't know about you, but my holiday decorating changes as my household decor changes.  Things I loved when my kids were little don't seem to "fit" in my house these days.  After a few years of not using them, I realized it was time to cull the decorations.  I also got rid of a ton of gift bags.  (Hey, Tricia, some of them were yours from 12 years ago!  That is how long I held on this stuff!)

Anyone need a punching bag?

I was on a roll.  I got onto Skype and said, "Hey, Honey, may I get rid of your punching bag?"  He said to check with Valiant, so I checked with Valiant.  "Hey, Valiant, you know that punching bag you NEVER use?  May I get rid of it?"  As you can imagine, he didn't care, so the charity truck is going to be picking up a punching bag, too.  (Boxing gloves included!)  A sewing machine carrying case, curtains panels, a bowling ball, picture frames, and a cork board are just some of the things in the pile.

That is a lot of stuff that is no longer in my house!

I don't want to bore you, so I'll stop for now.  I thought you'd get a kick out of seeing just how much the charity truck is picking up in the morning.  It goes all the way up the stairs to my front door.  What do you think?   All that stuff is leaving my house for good!  How cool is that?

P.S.  Oh, do you see the big bag of hangers?  Wait til you see what we did!  Did I mention I love Organizing Season?



Our “We Have Too Much Stuff” Journey…

Picture: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2008/05/five-ways-to-ma/

…has been a crazy one. We moved to this home in Sept. 2005, leaving the hustle and bustle of Southern California for the slower pace of Eastern Washington. The problem? We brought all our stuff with us. We filled up two PODS to do it. Seriously. Two years into our new life here, I found myself looking around and wondering to myself, why did we bring all this stuff with us ? What was I thinking? How could I have paid to move this stuff? What did I think I would do with it all? Those thoughts were quickly followed by questions about lifestyle patterns, value systems, and future goals. Why were we reinventing the life we'd been so eager to leave behind? Were we just following patterns we'd absorbed since childhood, without any deliberate plan? (Short answer: Yes!) Obviously, a change was needed. I started reading books and blogs on clutter and organization and living in small places (great sources for ideas about deliberate living) rededicating myself to the ideals I paid lip-service to. I think I sounded like a broken record a lot of the time.

Superman was slow to come around…holding on to things "just in case". Some of our oddest conversations involved things that came with the house: "Why do we have to keep the hot tub? We don't like the hot tub." "Can't we get rid of the above ground pool? The kids don't use it and it is a lot of work." His responses were varied, but adamant: he didn't want to get rid of them. They added "value" to the property. What? They didn't add value to our lives. They caused us tremendous stress…trying to keep the water levels properly adjusted, paying to keep the hot tub warm, getting the cover on and off the darned pool…they were not worth the energy they required. Honestly? I hated them. Finally, Superman wearied of the discussion and I sold the above ground pool to a family with younger children (look, teenagers don't want to play in 3.5 feet of water). With the departure of the pool, Superman saw the light. He was amazed how much lighter he felt without the worry of the pool. A few months later, the Jacuzzi was gone.

In the two and a half years since I had that epiphany, I've been off-loading belongings like crazy and, sadly, our house is NOT empty. Not even close. But I'm still chipping away, trying like heck to whittle down our belongings to those that a) we use all the time or b) we are passionately in love with. If an item doesn't meet either of those benchmarks, it is gone.

Now that Superman is living away from the family for a year, he's realized how burdened he's felt with the responsibility to maintain our "lifestyle" and how much of our lifestyle we fell into rather than deliberately created. (Yippee!) He's revisiting some of the ideas I presented to him when he wasn't so receptive. One of the most interesting articles I've found recently sums up so many of the things I've learned over the past two years…if you're at all interested in the topic, you should head over to Small Living Journal. This article on 10 Guidelines for Living Tiny written by Hillary at "thistinyhouse" was absolutely fabulous. No, I don't live small, but the guidelines are applicable to all of our lives.

Two Guidelines to whet your appetites:

"#1 – What you own, owns you." – think about it. Anything you own requires your attention, your thoughts. Once you get rid of it, the space in your mind that item took is free for other endeavors.

"#2 – What makes us feel liberated is not total freedom, but rather living in a set of limitations that we have created and prescribed for ourselves." – again, think about it. How much of what you do is because you've actually thought it out and decided that this is indeed the path for you and not because everyone else does it?

What is in store for the next year? Well, with Superman's blessings, more and more stuff is leaving our house. I don't need it, don't want it, and most of all, holding on to it doesn't make me use it, it just makes me responsible for it.

What about you? Am I the only one on this journey?