Declutter Faster
What if you could make one decision that allowed you to easily declutter many things? That is the power of the meta-decision, a technique I use to fast-track decluttering efforts and help clients avoid decision fatigue and overwhelm that goes along with a large organizing project.
What is a Meta-decision?
The definition of a meta-decision is to decide one time and act on that decision all the time. It’s a technique used to speed up decision making and eliminate errors in business, programming, and healthcare. I learned how this decision making process makes home organization easier for clients completely by accident 7 years ago. Here is that story…
A client I was working with to declutter before a move mentioned she wanted to purge her closet but she knew she wouldn’t have time before the packers arrived.
I told her that I had recently decluttered my closet by deciding to donate everything with spaghetti straps (I was too old to wear) and everything brown (this color makes me look even more tired than I actually am). She just stared at me for the longest time. Just when I decided that I had completely overshared and she thought I was an idiot, she said “That’s exactly what I need - can you go through my closet and do exactly that?!”
While she ran an essential errand, I went through her closet and pulled out tops with spaghetti straps and all brown clothing. She reviewed the pile when she got back and made the decision to donate them all in less than 10 minutes.
Rather than going through items one by one, this technique speeds the purging process as we are making a decision about an entire category of items - for example, we decide to shred all bills older than 1 year rather than going through piles of paper and asking ourselves “What should I do with this??”. Making one decision and acting on that decision as we move quickly through a space eliminates decision fatigue and gives us quick wins that keep us motivated to finish the project.
Examples of meta-decisions that allow for FAST decisions:
Photos:
Delete all blurry photos off your phone.
Take out the photo and donate the photo frames that are not being displayed.
Kitchen:
Recycle all stained plastic storage wear or anything missing a lid.
Toss any nonstick cookware that is worn or has scratches.
Panty:
Tossed all expired or dented cans.
Donate unopened food in glass bottles or jars before an interstate move (Fragile, heavy, and expensive to pack properly)
Office:
Shred utility bills older than one year.
Recycle printed articles or journals older than 2 years.
Fast Track to Organization
The above decisions are ones I use with clients to save them time and to speed up the decluttering process. Making our decluttering decisions first allows me to go to work editing and gives my clients the freedom to do other things while I organize their spaces. Clients often love the process because it feels less overwhelming, they spend less time organizing, but they still have the opportunity to review items before I donate/recycle. Meta-decisions allow me to quickly edit homes the the timeline is tight due to a move and to work with clients that have intense schedules or health issues that prevent them from working by my side for hours.
My goal as a professional organizer is to make organization easier for my clients. Quick, painless decluttering prevents the decision fatigue that has stopped organizing progress in the past. Meta-decisions are one of the techniques in my toolbox that I use to help clients declutter quickly.