Most of us need to declutter at one point or another, and an expert will show the way during “The Organizing Myth!” at 6:30 p.m. May 17, sponsored by Hampton Community Library.
The presentation is free and will be held in Activity Room 2 of the Hampton Community Center, 3101 McCully Road. Registration is encouraged but not necessary.
The program will cover why clutter causes so much stress, methods to declutter and how to set up rules and a plan to cut through the clutter, said Stephanie Smith of McCandless, owner of A Space for Home, a business specializing in organization.
“I believe the most important steps in decluttering are to understand why you want to declutter and to establish rules for your journey,” she said.
The library decided to offer the program suspecting that many residents had accumulated copious amounts of goods bought during the pandemic, said Suzanna Krispli, library director.
“We probably filled up the spaces we decluttered when we shut down for the covid-19 pandemic,” she said. “It’s time for spring cleaning, and people are looking for new ideas to do that.”
The library decided to offer the presentation as part of its mission for lifelong learning, Krispli said.
“We are always looking for the things the community can use that they would have an interest in,” she said.
Smith, who is a clutter and organization coach, said the first step to achieving clean, neatly organized spaces is to find out why clients want to declutter.
Spoiler alert: It requires more than buying organization bins.
“I focus on the why and how much energy and time a person has day-to-day to work through clutter,” she said.
Some of the hurdles to overcome is the sentimentality attached to items given by family and friends.
“Yes, you care about these people in your life, but you don’t love what they’ve given you and you don’t use it,” Smith said. “They likely don’t want the item to be a burden to you.”
