Cleaning, Organizing, & Decluttering: What's the Difference?
This article originally appeared in the August 2, 2021 edition of the Kingsport Times News. Click here for the original pdf.
A few weeks ago, I received an email informing me that Shipshape Solutions had been nominated for a local newspaper’s Reader’s Choice Award. Of course I was thankful for the nomination and excited about the exposure that the business might receive as a result. When I clicked on the link, I saw that we had been nominated in the category of “Home Cleaning Services.” While we sometimes do some very light cleaning during the process of organizing, we are not a cleaning service.
Another detail of the nomination was actually quite humorous. Shipshape Solutions was listed as “Ship Shape Solutions” (two words instead of one). And if you clicked on the link for “Ship Shape Solutions” in the nomination, you would be directed to a website for a business in Australia.
Now, before you dive into the rabbit hole of trying to find the Reader’s Choice Award nomination or the business in Australia, let me save you the trouble. I had my business removed from the nomination (since we’re not a cleaning service). And I can’t seem to find the Australian business by that name now, although I did find a boat and yacht cleaning business called Ship Shape Services in New South Wales, Australia. Maybe that’s the same one; I’m not sure.
This incident got me thinking about the many times since launching Shipshape Solutions in 2016 that people have confused cleaning with organizing or decluttering. In fact, I often hear all three of these terms used synonymously. Although the terms are related, they're definitely not the same thing.
Definitions
Cleaning is all about removing dirt, dust, and germs. Cleaning involves vacuuming, dusting, mopping, spraying and wiping off counters, etc.
Decluttering is the process of getting rid of things you don't need. If clutter (anything you don’t use and love) is on a surface (like a piece of furniture, a counter, or the floor), clearing those items by decluttering makes the area look much better. But it's not the same as cleaning.
Organizing is putting things in order. It's about finding proper homes for items and keeping them there. Organizing can include physical items like clothes in a closet or intangible things such as activities on a calendar. Organizing also includes planning and figuring out systems for actions you repeat regularly.
How are They Related?
Imagine trying to clean a counter that is covered with stuff or to vacuum a floor that is covered with stuff. Once you've decluttered a space, you can then really go about the process of organizing and cleaning it!
Example: A Kitchen Counter
Picture a kitchen counter covered with all of the following items: a toaster, a stale bag of chips, a month’s worth of mail, a bag of clothes that doesn’t fit, a stack of books that you might want to read, a box of crayons, five hair bows, and ten bottles of medication. If this were your home and you needed to clean the kitchen before having guests over, what would you do?
This is how I would approach the situation:
Declutter
Identify obvious clutter. In the scenario above, I would consider the bag of clothes that doesn’t fit and the stale bag of chips as obvious clutter. I would put the bag of clothes somewhere near the door to be taken for donation soon, and I would throw away the chips.
Identify any other clutter. Any item on the counter that isn’t used and loved is fair game for possible decluttering. Even the toaster is a candidate if you don’t use it! If you use it frequently, the counter is a good location. If you use it rarely, storing it in a cabinet or pantry might be a better choice.
Glance through the stack of books and be realistic about whether you’ll actually read them. Add any books that you probably won’t read to the other donations.
Quickly sort the mail. Set aside any items that require immediate attention (like a bill that is due). Look for papers that can be recycled or thrown away (junk mail, expired coupons, a flyer for a past event). If the stack of papers is particularly large, you might save it for later since sorting paper is time-consuming. You could save it for your next television binging session.
Check the expiration dates on the medication. Put aside any expired medication to be safely disposed of later. Many people are unaware that expired, unused, or unwanted medication should not be thrown away or flushed down a toilet. Search for a drug take back site in your area.
Organize:
The crayons might belong elsewhere, like a playroom, a craft room, or a bedroom. If so, take them to their proper home. If coloring is often done at that particular counter (perhaps a child sits at a bar stool at the counter to color while another family member is busy in the kitchen), then that may be the best home for them.
The hair bows might belong elsewhere, like a bathroom or a bedroom. If so, take them to their usual location. Sometimes it might make sense for hair bows to stay in the kitchen. If you usually fix your daughter’s hair for the day around breakfast time, the kitchen might be the best spot. You might want to consider putting all of the hair supplies in a container for quick access and easy removal for cleaning.
The medications might belong elsewhere, like a bathroom or a bedroom. If so, take them there. If you plan your medications around mealtimes, the kitchen might be the best location. Again, a container of some sort will keep them both handy and easy to remove for cleaning.
The books you intend to read might work better elsewhere. In the kitchen, it’s possible they would get dirty. Consider relocating to somewhere like a bedside table, a bookshelf, or a living room end table.
If an item doesn’t have a home and you want to establish one, here’s a good question to ask: “If I were looking for this item, where would I look?” The answer will give you good ideas.
Clean
Now that the clutter has been removed, items with homes elsewhere have been removed, and loose items have been placed into containers, it’s time to clean!
Grab your favorite cleaning supplies to remove the dirt, dust, and germs.
If you need help with decluttering and organizing, I’d love to help! Contact me at angie@shipshape.solutions for a free telephone consultation.