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Each month, readers write asking questions about organizing their homes or offices.

A subscriber in Wallingford, CT writes:
I would like to learn about getting rid of the clutter and keeping it that way.

Rosie from the United Kingdom writes:
Clutter clearing! What do 'really ruthless' people believe that enables them to do it well?
Thanks, Rosie

To both subscribers... Clearing clutter is one of the most fundamental and important parts of getting organized, whether you're organizing a drawer, a closet or an entire room. There are four basic steps to decluttering a space, and you can use the word A.T.O.M. to help you remember them.

A. Assess & Categorize
The first step in the decluttering process is assessing what you have in your space, and discerning which items have present or future value. Remember that the larger the volume of your possessions, the more difficult it is to find things. Those things that you save because they are "special" become less special when there are in competition with so many other things in the same space.

T. Toss & Donate
Once you've assessed the items in your space, the next step is clearing out those things that are no longer serving you or giving you value. You can toss them, donate them or sell them but in any case, they need to leave so you have the space and mental clarity to continue the process.

O. Organize & Store
After you've assessed and tossed, your next steop is to organize by creating logical homes for the items that remain. Use core organizing principles such as:

Store like items together.

Store items near where they are used.

Store every day use items where you can easily access them.

Use vertical space for maximizing storage capacity.

Choose the appropriate storage tools based on the size and shape of the items you're storing.

M. Maintain Maintain Maintain

Every day you brush your teeth. Every day you do the dishes. These are maintenance tasks. Just like your teeth and the dishes, getting organized once doesn't mean you never have to do it again. Organized living means more than assessing what you have, getting rid of what isn't working for you anymore, and organizing and storing properly. The fourth and very important step is to maintain your systems by carving out small pieces of time daily to restore your environment to a state of organization. Doing a little bit each day, week or month will ultimately keep you living in an ongoing state of calm rather than chaos. Regular maintenance is the secret to long term organizational success!

Decluttering your life is a wonderful way to rid yourself of the things that no longer give you value and a great way to help someone in need at the same time. All over the world, people are helping others and decluttering their lives by giving away the things they no longer need, through FREEcycle.org. This means that fewer items are going into the trash and filling up the landfills of our planet.

It's so simple to join! You just sign up through the web site, and you'll begin getting the emails that people in your local FREEcycle group send out either seeking free items, or offering free items. It's as simple as that! Just go to www.FREEcycle.org to sign up!

Number of communities FREEcycling last month: 2335
Number of communities FREEcycling this month: 2451

Number of people FREEcycling last month: 925,995
Number of people FREEcycling this month: 983,814

Check it out and let me know what you think of the idea. If you've received something or given something away through this wonderful concept, tell me about that too!

Episode #609 Home Office Cleanup
We transform a dark, cavernous loft room into a gorgeous guest room, entertaining area and home office!
April 21, 22 and 23
http://tinyurl.com/3ko3b

Monica Ricci is an Organizing Specialist, and the founder of Catalyst Organizing Solutions, an Atlanta based company. You can see Monica on the popular HGTV show,
MISSION:Organization.

She is the immediate past president of the GA Chapter of the National Association of Professional Organizers and was recently named to the Editorial Advisory Board of Atlanta Home Improvement Magazine. To schedule Monica to speak to your conference, team, department, or association, or for an on-site organizational evaluation, contact her at 770-569-2642 or Monica@CatalystOrganizing.com