Clutter is not a sign of laziness or moral decline. It’s just clutter, and it can be organised
Clutter is not something shameful, for many factors can cause it.
American psychotherapist Casey Davis has developed a simple algorithm to help you easily deal with clutter in your flat. Her “Five Things Method” involves sorting items into only five categories, which allows you to quickly organise your space and reduce stress from chaos. About it writes Storinka.
“Clutter is not a sign of laziness or moral decline. It’s just clutter, and it can be organised!”, notes KC Davis, author of I Hate Tidying Up.
How the Five Things Method works
Davis advises not to try to clean everything at once, but to divide things into five main categories:
- Rubbish – collect and throw away unnecessary items.
- Washing clothes – collect dirty clothes and put them in the basket.
- Dirty dishes – put them in the sink or dishwasher.
- Out of place – determine where to store them or get rid of them.
Cleaning algorithm: what to do and when to do it
To begin with, you should walk around the flat and get rid of all the rubbish. After that, you need to collect all the dirty clothes, without distracting yourself with other things. Next – focus on the dishes, without trying to rewash them at once. Step 4 – to put in place the items that have their specific place. And at the final stage you need to deal with those things that do not have their own place.
If there is no time or energy, the author of the method advises to distribute these steps in several stages during the day or even a week. This will help to gradually put things in order without stress.
KC Davis emphasises that clutter is not something shameful, because it can be caused by fatigue, stress, busyness or childcare. The key is to find the right approach for you, and the Five Things Method can be a simple solution to keeping things tidy without too much effort.
