Eric Saber, 33, is a professional organizer who helps others become more organized at home, at work, and digitally.
He attended the University of Delaware and graduated in 2006 after studying Communication. After finishing college, Eric became a sales professional at a technology startup. In the beginning of 2017, he decided to shift careers and start his own professional organizing company, Outer Calm Organizing. In addition to working privately with clients, he was recently invited to speak to Uber employees in NYC about how to get clutter under control, both at home and at work.
Here are 3 important keys to staying organized at home and at work that Eric shares with clients.
1) Define your dream space.
It’s important to set a goal and know what one is aiming to do. Just as with any project, it helps to know where you’re going and what you want to accomplish. Visualizing the final look of the area you’re organizing will help inform the whole process.
2) Take it one step at a time.
Eric’s clients often think that every room or area can be tackled all at the same time, but it’s more productive to organize in small steps. For example, begin in one small area and stick to that area only, then finish it in one sitting. “Starting small will keep the person motivated and create a sense of true accomplishment,“ said Eric.
3) Find a home for everything.
“Every possession should have a home,” said Eric. If certain things don’t have a home, designate a place where those things should belong, otherwise clutter will build up. “For example, every night when I get home, I process the mail on my desk. Every item gets archived permanently, acted on, or tossed. Each of those steps requires knowing where things should go, and this prevents paper from piling up,” he said.
Besides these 3 important keys to success, he also likes to share the L-U-L System with his clients:
L- Love it
U- Use it
L- Lose it
One’s stuff can be broadly divided into two categories. The first category is meaningful things and the other category is useful things. Anything that falls outside of these categories can likely be tossed. In other words, if one has stuff that is neither loved nor used, then it’s time to “lose it.”
Eric also spoke about how physical clutter is mental clutter, and the negative impact of becoming too disorganized. “When you have physical clutter in your life, that is in some ways a manifestation of how you feel inside. Taking the time and effort to put things in order can be hard. It’s really easy to procrastinate and say you’ll put things away later, but that’s a bad habit that leads to more clutter,“ said Eric. For example, if one is tired from a long day at work, it can feel exhausting to muster up the strength to put things away, but forming the right habits can make the behavior of putting things back in their home feel like second nature.
Eric suggests to clients that in order to form good habits, follow the 3 keys to success and use the L-U-L system. By following these tips, staying organized becomes much easier day-to-day. For more information visit www.outercalm.com.