THE FASTEST WAY TO GET (AND STAY) ORGANIZED

Hint: It’s knowing your clutter-control personality. Find out what type you are and then streamline your stuff in the way that comes most easily to you.

- BY TEDDY WILLSON

The Overwhelmed Clutter Bug

IF YOUR HOUSE is full of so much stuff you just want to cry, hear this: (1) It's OK! And (2) you can find your way to order. Decluttering entails more than purging what you don't need—you also have to decide what you don't want, says Carolyn Caldwell, a certified professional organizer in Toronto who specializes in chronic disorganization.

“Organizing is an emotional experience. It's about evaluating priorities,” she says.

Making choices about sentimental items and facing down your organizational tendencies, or lack thereof, is tough business. How we sort our belongings is personal and can be influenced by things like mental health, traumatic experiences (loss is a big one), and upbringing. Deep stuff.

Clara Schoen, owner of the Home Organized in Birmingham, Alabama, offers a way forward: Start somewhere that takes little emotional bandwidth. “If you try to tackle photos first, you're setting yourself up for failure,” she points out. “Try a space that's more manageable, such as your fridge, where you can get used to the ebb and flow of organizing. Then you can move to the emotionally taxing spaces.”

Once you've decided where to start, pull everything out, one section at a time, says Tara Stewart, an organizer in Lexington, Kentucky. Then sort it into “keep,” “trash,” and “donate” piles.

“When deciding what to keep, ask yourself how you live right now,” Stewart says. Are you going to use those flannel sheets in Southern California? Do you really think you'll start throwing fondue parties?

If you're stressed about a looming reorganization project, make a list of steps, not goals, says KC Davis, author of