By Ann Springer

Most people really do want to get organized. In fact, getting organized makes the top of many people’s New Year’s Resolutions each January. If it’s a top priority for most people then why do so many people struggle to stay on top of it all? Why is clutter winning the fight? Why can’t a person get organized and stay organized? What is the real cost of disorganization in someone’s life – monetarily and emotionally? Why is it so hard to let go of things?

Holding onto possessions from our past can offer the feeling of comfort and stability, but the reality is that holding onto things from our past that are no longer practical is like carrying dead weight. Instead of helping us live in the present or look forward to the future, these items hold us down.

Keeping clutter from our past not only weighs us down emotionally, it can also cost us financially. Some people have so much stuff that they buy extra storage spaces or sheds to house their possessions. Disorganized people may end up buying multiple items because they don’t know how the first items ended up in their house. This leads to wasted time, money, and storage space that could be devoted to other things.

Staying organized is an uphill battle. Once you’ve gone through and purged your house of excess and clutter, you must continually purge in order to maintain order and aesthetic peace in your home. This is often the most neglected step to becoming organized. It’s also the step that requires only about 10 minutes per day to tackle.

Here are three excuses people give when they don’t want to get rid of the things that are cluttering up their life.

1. “I use all of the things I have.” Even when you’ve paired down the items you own there are always more things you can part with. Who really needs 12 coffee mugs? How often do you really use all of those mugs at the same time? You may think you use items, but in reality you haven’t touch them in years.

2. “The items I own have sentimental value. I could never get rid of them.” While some things – like a chest of drawers passed down from your grandmother – may have sentimental value, hang onto those that also have practical value. For example, keep a chest of drawers because it holds clothing. On the contrary, your teddy bear collection from your childhood is not practical enough to outweigh your sentiment. Pictures are a great way to memorialize favorite items long after they’ve worn out their practicality.

3. “I might use it someday.” While preparing for the future is important, it’s also important to realize that we need to have space to breathe in the present. If your house is cluttered with items that may be useful someday but haven’t used in the past six to 12 months then you should considering donating it to someone who can use it now. Retail stores consider items to be a loss if they sit on store shelves more than three months because they take up valuable shelf space.