Poor sorting isn't hoarding but it can look like it

Poor sorting can make you feel terrible about yourself

Poor sorting skills is a sneaky problem.

People who struggle with sorting might not see it as that.

Instead, some see their problem as hoarding.

I can see why.

Nothing gets put away.

There are piles of stuff on the floor and all over the place.

Decluttering is beyond overwhelming.

A lack of motivation is created by this problem, not the other way around.

Sorting household items sounds like an easy task that anyone can do.

If you can't do something that should be easy, it doesn't exactly build your self-esteem.

There's too much thinking about it that doesn't change anything.

And you want to know why you.

Everyone has heard of hoarding

Thanks to TV shows hoarding is famous.

It has become a reason why there’s a growing mess that never gets cleaned up.

But here’s the thing.

Hoarding does not disappear in a 1-hour session with me.

Given the right motivation, that is, sufficient pressure, hoarders do discard.

But that doesn't mean the person is cured. 

Believe me, working with someone who doesn’t want to throw anything out is entirely different than working with someone baffled by sorting.

Sorting strugglers, who aren’t hoarders, willingly discard when they get help with sorting.

Sorting & folding laundry: a good way to learn how to sort  

Sorting has a lot to do with how you pick categories.

Laundry can be sorted with a small number of categories.

That's why it's a good place to start.

People who sort laundry effortlessly don't concern themselves with categories.

This is the goal.

To get there, you have to pay attention to how you group clothes.

It can be helpful to have someone join you to break down the steps.

4 things to watch for when sorting laundry

1. Getting bogged down in creating categories

To sort laundry you need a few high level groups.

For example, all jeans is a high level group.

Don’t break it down by color, evening/day wear, or season.

Once all your laundry is put away, you can go back and arrange in more detail.

Although, you might find that organizing clothes in high level groups works well.

It's certainly easier to maintain.

2. Picking up a piece of clothing and putting it right back in the pile

Create a place for folded laundry that's clearly separate from unfolded laundry.

When you pick up a piece of clothing it cannot go back into the unsorted laundry pile.

That's a rule.

Fold it and move it to a folded pile.

3. Adding clothes to the wrong sorted pile

This happens when you stop paying attention to what you're doing.

You're working with high level groups, so it's easy to see what pile things go into.

Make sure only jeans get into the jeans pile.

Only t-shirts in the t-shirts pile.

And so on.

4. Sorted piles get messy

It takes effort to fold when it's not your habit.

That means moving slowly and thinking about what you’re doing.

When folding gets sloppy the piles blend into each other and sorting work gets lost.

You want nice tidy piles with space around each pile, so it’s clear where the piles are.

If a pile gets high, start a new one.

It's fine to have two or more piles of the same group of clothes.