10 Ways to de-clutter your home.

Listed below are several ways of going about the process of de-cluttering. Of course, this process will not be done in one day, after all it took time to make it this way. Start slow and take the time needed to follow through. You will find that de-cluttering is not as hard as you thought it would be.

1. Cupboards - Go through all of your kitchen cupboards, one at a time of course, and you will be amazed at what you find that can be thrown out. When I cleaned mine out not too long ago, I had 10 coffee mugs and Dan is the only one that drinks coffee in our home. I also found spices that were about 7 years old eek (Don’t worry I NEVER used them, hence the age)!!

2. Bedroom Closets - The saying goes - If you haven't worn it in a year, get rid of it. I am not sure I agree with that statement totally, but it is a good guideline to follow. I am always amazed at the clothes I get rid of (and how many I still have) when I clean out my closets!

3. Bookcases - Now, I don't know about you, but I have a tendency to gather books. I looked them all over and got rid of the ones that didn't sound interesting. Also, go through knickknacks, papers, magazines, or anything else filling up those bookcases.

4. Kids Room - This is something that needs to be done about twice a year. Go through their clothes, toys, video games, etc and out goes anything they are no longer interested in. If age appropriate, get the kids involved and tell them your family will be donating these items to kids less fortunate. This is a great way to motivate them and teach them the importance of giving.

5. Bathroom - We know how cluttered and overflowing those vanities and medicine chests can get. Go through all those goodies and if it has hardened, softened or changed color, or of course expired, get rid of it!

6. Linen Closet - Towels, sheets, curtains, etc, are also things that need to be periodically sorted and tossed. I discovered that we still had 3 sets of queen sheets, but no longer have a queen bed in the house! Who knew?? I gave the sheets to my mother in law for the family cabin. I also took my old kitchen towels that no longer matched my décor or were worn and put them in the cleaning rag pile in the laundry room.

7. Under Your Bed – Personally I do not store anything under here, just a personal preference. But I do know for many people it can be very convenient storage for off-season clothes, etc. This part of the de-cluttering can be quite scary. Proceed with caution and always have a weapon, such as broom, vacuum cleaner or bug spray with you! Who knows what you will find under there, but I bet a lot of it can go.

8. Organize - There are so many great products these days that hold everything. Get some inexpensive plastic boxes and neatly store all your items that are not in display or not used daily. You can get small ones in the dollar stores to organize your CDs, use them in your pantry or cupboards, store odd and ends, letters, papers, you name it!

9. Throw Out the Old - One thing you must absolutely remember when de-cluttering is you have to THROW AWAY the NOT USED or WANTED. DO NOT just take everything out and rearrange!!! That is a temporary solution and is not sufficient!!!!!

10. Everything in its Place - Once you have everything de-cluttered and organized, get everyone to keep everything in its place and your home will remain organized and clutter free forever! Yea, right - nice dream, but we will be doing this very same thing in the not too distant future!

Go through this process about once a year. De-cluttering and organizing gives me a sense of control and achievement. This might not mean much to some folks, but think a moment......... if you can get control over this part of your life, maybe taking control of the big things will not be so hard! And you will have MORE TIME!!!

Small Steps

Start Small. Small, easy tasks will help you begin to feel the satisfaction of organizing/de-cluttering without getting overwhelmed.

1. Toss 10. Grab a trash bag. Find ten items in your home that you no longer need or want and put them in the bag. Toss the bag in the trash or put it in your donation box, and never look back.

2. Clear a surface. Find at least one cluttered surface, like a coffee table or dresser top, and completely clear it of all clutter, swiftly dumping any trash.

3. Toss old magazines. Go through your home and gather any old magazines or newspapers you've already flipped through. Recycle or donate them today.

4. Weed out 5. The thought of weeding out your entire filing system may seem daunting, but anyone can weed out just 5 file folders.

5. Pick through a junk drawer. Whatever you can't identify or is clearly junk (meaning you'll never use it) gets tossed.

6. Toss anything expired. Go through your fridge and medicine cabinet gathering anything perishable that has expired.

7. Dump junk mail. Quickly go through your pile of mail and dump anything that is clearly junk mail.

8. Put things away. While carrying a large shopping bag with handles, go through your home putting at least 8 things that are not in their correct place in the bag. Then, deliver those items to their proper homes

Try to complete one or more of these tasks each day and build up from there. This can help you feel accomplished without it being too overwhelming. In time, these will become habits and you will begin to be pro-active on avoiding clutter instead of re-active after the clutter builds up.