Are you spending too much time looking at your home and sighing because it isn’t as organized as you would like? Do you hurt yourself at least once a week stepping on a lego or bumping into a coffee table? Do you have at least one closet door or a drawer that won’t close or a precariously perched pile of paperwork. If you answered yes to at least one of these questions then it might be time to cut some of the clutter. You’ll be happy that you did.
Get One but Toss Two
Do you have a weakness for certain items, such as books, shoes, makeup, crafts, or gadgets? If you find that certain things tend to find their way into the house frequently, make it a rule two of that type of item for each one new one that you acquire. So if you buy a book, remove two old ones from the shelf and donate or sell them. You’ll either start to eliminate some items from your home, or you’ll save money and space by not bringing in anything new because you don’t want to give up something old.
Dump the Duplicates
Sometimes we have an embarrassing number of similar items in our homes, either because we misplace an item such as a pair of scissors and have to buy another one, we get multiple items as gifts (bread boards and whisks anyone, or we pick up something extra because it is a good deal. Sometime we don’t even know where all of the extras come from.
Make it a plan to go through your home and eliminate the duplicates. For example, does a family of four really need twenty five mugs and seven hair brushes?
Pretend You Are Moving Tomorrow
If you had to move out of your home tomorrow and had just a few hours to pack would you take the trouble to bring along the monster-sized book about feng shui or the all of the clothes in your closet that you haven’t gotten around to repairing? Pretending that you are moving can help you sort through priorities in your possessions. Remembering what it was like the last time you moved and had to do all of that packing and lugging can also help.
Related Articles:
Getting the Routines Back in Order
Bathroom: An Easy Place to Declutter
The Importance of a Family Owner’s Manual