I've written several years of weekly d'cluttering tips to help in small ways to control the 'stuff' in our lives.  Here are some short easy things to challenge you to control the clutter in your lives. Hope they are helpful.

d’cluttering Tip 1: The first suggestion is to commit to do some amount of d’cluttering each week – you decide how much time you can spend at it – a couple hours, an afternoon – remember every bit helps. Then, a great place to start is to evaluate your some seasonal decorations before you put them away for the next year. What are you keeping just because it was given to you but you really don’t like or are ready to give away or sell? I did this as I watched some football and it felt really good. It’s okay to eliminate what you once really liked but no longer do. And, someone else will love it! Good luck.

d'cluttering Tip 2: This is good at the beginning of the year but if you aren't organized already, give it a try: d’clutter your financial records. Why wait until April when you do your taxes? Go through all your files and sort last year’s (or this year if you are already into the New Year!): paper records: filing what need to keep, setting aside for later the info you need to do your taxes, keeping the receipts you need to save and setting up the cleaned out files for the next year's records. This can be an easy task to do while watching your favorite movie!

d’cluttering Tip 3: I suggest this week as you d’clutter, just tackle one small area – clean out the one closet or junk drawer that creates the biggest headache for you.

If you choose to d’clutter a closet: take everything out, immediately sorting into piles (KEEP pile, DONATE or SELL pile, STORE ELSEWHERE pile, THROW AWAY pile). Go through and seriously evaluate whether you have used it in the last year, and if you really need to keep it. One trick is to have a friend who is willing to be honest with you look at the KEEP & STORE ELSEWHERE piles. If she laughs when you show her something, it generally means you aren’t tossing enough! Before you put things back in, look at the empty space and see what organizational helps you need – often people can go higher. If it’s tall closet, consider adding another shelf above the one that’s there – you may want to get boxes to label what will go in them (mittens, hats, etc) or a name of the person who will put stuff in it. Then as you neatly put things back into the closet, make sure there is adequate room for what you are putting back in. If not, only put in what neatly fits and put the rest elsewhere or rethink adding to the THROW AWAY pile.

If you choose to d’clutter a junk drawer, often you just need a THROW AWAY BAG. I sort a junk drawer differently, not taking everything out but starting by overall grabbing any bits of paper that I can toss. Then I get some small boxes that will fit into a drawer – perfect are a variety of jewelry boxes because they are flat and you can use several. Then I ‘sort as I go’ grabbing coins to put in one box, paperclips in another, rubberbands, etc - I keep adding small or long boxes as I fill them, it creates room for more. One of my favorite things is to stow extension cords in empty toilet paper rolls! Everyone’s drawer will be different as it depends on if this is the only one or if it is in the kitchen or just the office – extra keys, pens and pencils (remember to throw out the ones that are broken or do not have lead), stamps, buttons, etc.

Good luck – remember, my very first tip – it’s all in being committed to d’clutter so much per week!

d’cluttering Tip 4: One of the issues often identified when we get into d’cluttering is whether or not you have good places to really put your things away – places where you can easily access the things you use the most.  So this week, I am suggesting you evaluate your space critically with the goal of maximizing your space. This usually will require spending some money to do this job well – on organizing aids to help you make the best use of your space – shelves, baskets, buckets, files, etc.

1.      Consider first, if you are in a temporary living situation or can invest in permanent solutions as this determines the types of options to look for.

2.      Decide what area you will evaluate – a room, a closet, etc.

3.      Decide your budget or if you can just do what needs to be done in a given space.

Next – look at the area you have selected to evaluate and say “where can I add space to this area?” The biggest missed space is often the walls – going up. We see too much stuff at eye level and down on the floor and often, empty walls! You may want to look at a magazine to see the “perfectly organized” closet or go into a “Container Store” or “Storables” and see all the options. These stores have websites that you can browse for ideas if there is no store near by. Again, this can be fun to do with a friend! Once you have created some space to store things, it’s easier to put things away.

d'cluttering Tip 5:  I have a friend who just helped her mom & dad move to a 950 sq ft retirement apt from a 3000 sq ft home and her words for the week were "TRASH is your FRIEND". I thought we could all use those words of advice.  She came back to her home & as her husband said, if it's not nailed down, it might be gone when he gets home! Seriously, I saw some of what she was getting rid of and it has challenged me to be more severe in my own d'cluttering.

I did some reading and it's interesting the thought that we have become a society that holds onto lots of things we aren't using (for a variety of reasons). Sometimes we just don't take the time to evaluate our stuff unless we have to (after all we are working, raising kids, volunteering, worshipping, trying to eat well, etc).  That's why I think it is important to challenge us to commit to d'clutter, a little bit at a time! I doesn't have to be big changes to impact us.

So, I looked at a corner hutch I have and I said "okay Diann, you are never going to use those teacups you have been collecting - you are a 'mug' kinda gal! So, that was a very quick and easy d'clutter - I took them out and have a choice of what to do with them:, give them away to friends or family, donate or sell them (my first choice). So, I have listed (& sold) them on eBay.

What can you easily and quickly d'clutter this week? Keep what you use, and really be honest - do you need to keep it all?

d'cluttering Tip 6: Do you live with family or friends? That can create organizational problems because most of us organize differently than who we live with - I won't go into differences of loved ones! A neat trick to to define peoples personal spaces when they overlap in an area, is to get colorful bins so everyone knows who's color is theirs. In the bathroom - people can end up easily using someone else's stuff because it was easy to grab. This is a great idea whether you have lots of cupboards, or they have to sit on a shelf, or in a closet in another room or out on the counter. There are many different types to go with your decor from baskets to stainless to boxes to canvas cubes,etc.

d'cluttering Tip 7: I hope you are d'cluttering & that hearing about it weekly motivates you to tackle some area that will improve your quality of life. I am amazed how every week I find something else that can be d'cluttered. I saw in a recent magazine, a comment to just have one set of sheets per bed to reduce need to store extra sets. When they get thin, then you get a new set!! So how many linens do we need? Towels, sheets, etc.? So my next task is to d'clutter my linen closet.

I am going to donate or toss (depending on their condition) all the miscellaneous parts to sets that are not complete. We too can have linen closets that look like organized neatly stacked piles - we just cannot do it if we keep more than the closet can hold neatly! It seems that we are used to seeing things stuffed into closets, so we get used to a cluttered look & that becomes our normal. We have to change our thinking & recognize seeing space around items - looks good!

d'cluttering Tip 8:  It's always a great time to d'clutter your desk area! You may want to sort all the paper laying on the desk into 3 piles: to READ - to FILE - to TOSS. Everything should be able to go into those 3 piles. The READ pile will have anything that you need to take action on: read a brochure, pay bills, copy phone numbers into a permanent location, fill out permission slips for your children's events, etc. The FILE pile is all the stuff that needs to be sorted and put in its place: receipts, photos, articles to keep for reference, recipes, etc. The TOSS pile is everything that you can recycle or throw away.

One of the keys to the effectiveness of this sorting process is to thoroughly complete the task. After the initial sort into the 3 piles, taking the time to go through the READ and the FILE piles - don't let them get too big without managing those piles - often more of those piles end up in the TOSS pile.

d'cluttering Tip 9: After the desk, you may want to look around now that your desk is cleaned up and decide where you can add better storage. One of the most unused spaces is the vertical.  Look up from the floor and be creative on where you can add shelves or baskets to store things into.

When I say look up, don't forget above things that are already there. A wood shelf above a doorway extended out along the wall, looks great with baskets on it.  If you need suggestions on how this would look, pick up some catelogs or decorator magazines which helps those of us who need to see what things look like. Don't forget to look at the catalogs of IKEA, Container Store and Storables, or you can even look online at them.

d'cluttering Tip 10: Another thought about your desk - can you see the top of your desk? I've been reading a lot about how clutter affects us negatively and this week I am focusing on the desk! It is a good habit to always leave your desk with more desk showing than stuff! So, when you sit down the next time, there will not be leftover clutter to impede yourself from easily getting in the frame of mind to work. Sometimes we need to be creative, sometimes focused to make calls, etc and a cleared space allows us to go forward rather than looking at a mess of leftover work that didn't get finished, which can feel overwhelming.

You may wonder, what to do with the work that did not get finished when you have to call it quits for the day! Develop a system that works best for you - put the project or notes neatly on top of your notebook, in a box, or file to start with the next day or file it for things to do in the future. (I personally like a file folder on top the desk with all loose notes, unfinished tasks, & to do items.)  Throughout the day I get things from the folder done which limits how much unfinished stuff I allow to accumulate, because the folder can only hold so much. By doing that, you are deciding when you are going complete a particular project and puts you in control of the tasks, not the paper controlling you. When you start the next day, you are then looking at tasks that you are planning to do immediately - otherwise a mess of incomplete tasks will be staring at you as you begin work and can be too much pressure or stress.

d'cluttering Tip 11: It may be time for you to look at your bookshelves. I love books - but how many can I keep acquiring?  I suggest you really think about it - are you going to reread any of those books on your shelves?  If you say yes, great - that is the place to start! If you say yes to all of them, then you are a rare person and this tip is not for you!

If you did not say yes to all of them, then it is time to decide how you will give away, sell or donate the books you already read or didn't and now need to d'clutter. Look critically at the books you have - immediately put aside all the ones you know you will never read, you are not interested in the subject anymore or your aunt gave you and you have never been interested in! 

What to do with them once you have d'cluttered your shelves? I like to sell mine and if they don't get purchased, I donate them to my favorite thrift shop. I suggest whatever you have decided, do this week, so the pile of books doesn't become another source of clutter.

d'cluttering Tip 12: Getting away often helps us to rethink things we do and so today's d'cluttering tip is to think about your activity level and ask yourself what part of it is clutter? Do you run around and do so much that you have created 'activity clutter' in your life? Are you needing some calmness in how you live? This is a tough one because many of us are helping out others or are parenting, etc. I just thought I would put it out there so we can step back and take a look at how we possibly clutter our lives with activity. 

How can we create some clutter-free time amid the activity? It has to be a conscious effort to have some part of your day or week that is calm and that you protect to have your clutter-free time. That may be an hour a day to read, pray, cook without interruptions, etc - it definitely would look different for all of us.

Another easy tip - maybe you all do this already - is to consolidate your driving chores rather than run out several times. Make use of the time you are out taking a child to an activity. You may want to watch only part of the time, then do those quick little errands while they are in their activity.

d'cluttering Tip 13 :  Springtime is a great time of year to d'clutter your clothes closet! Lots of people will say, if you haven't worn something in the last 12 months, toss it! WOW, since I live in the Pacific NW, I think that is too strict since the weather changes so much from year to year and sometimes you do not have the opportunity to wear something. If that rule works for you, take the time this week to evaluate your closet items and fill a give away bag or sell them. I like to look at it things pragmatically ~ evaluating my closet contents with thoughts of

"Does this fit into my current lifestyle & do I still like it & does it fit?"

When I go through my closet, I ask those questions. When we move, change jobs, shrink or grow in size then we will have lots to d'clutter. If we just no longer like it & even if it is in great condition and we feel we should keep it, we will not wear it much and it is taking up space, so why keep those items? I have to say when I can create space between the hangers, I really like the look!  Don't forget to d'clutter shoes, belts, scarves, etc.

d'cluttering Tip 14:  This may seem unusual as a d'cluttering tip, but I went throught the house and evaluated what I have on my walls and sitting on tabletops, etc - the decorative things! Just because we loved something at one time does not mean we have to have it forever - or maybe it needs a new place. 

This is fun to do with a friend - be sure it is someone who enjoys rearranging and will be honest with you. My sister is great at it and I learn so much - I can even call her and she remembers where and what is on my walls to rearrange!  The fun about eBay is you can sell what you don't want anymore and find something new that works for you! 

This has challenged me to actually do something with those prints that I have saved to use but never framed! Find a way to use them or evaluate if they are really worth keeping. If you are really being brutal, use them or lose them!  I had a great architectural large poster that I got for $5 that was haunting me because a frame shop wanted to charge me over $1000 to frame it! I noticed in magazines, different ways without frames so purchased a large stretched canvas - painted the edges and 1.5" of the front in black, rolled on Yes glue and mounted the poster in the center and voila! - it looks so updated - I set some architectural items on the table in front along w family photos and got a brandnew look!  Good luck in d'cluttering your knick knacks and wall decor!

d'cluttering Tip 15: The tip this week has to do with misc d'cluttering ~ closets or drawers full of things you feel you may need in the future but haven't used in a long time. Look at past unfinished projects, fabric purchased and never used, games once loved but not played in 5 years, movies saved that you now do not even own a VCR to play them on. It may be time to evaluate whether you really want to store and keep things that you haven't used in many years.

SO my challenge this week is to look at one area - for me I choose to evaluate the fabric that I am keeping which I purchased for projects that never got completed or even started. What about you - are you ready to pick one type of thing you have just hung onto for so long & really d'clutter?? 

d'cluttering Tip of the Week 16:  Have you really looked at your garage lately? Often it is where things get dumped to keep the house tidy. When spring in the air, it's a nice time to be in the garage - pick a sunny day and decide how much time you have to spend and select your area to work on.

Since the garage often has things stashed there that need repairing, I suggest you deal with broken items first by deciding to repair them yourself, send them out to be fixed or get rid of them! The longer they sit there not being functional, the more you are able to do without them. NOW is a good time to free up the space that broken things take.

If your garage is really a jumbled mess of a variety of things, I suggest you sort like items by making piles - general tools, sports equipment, gardening related implements, auto goodies, etc.  Then put each pile into a designated box or shelf or area of the garage to help you easily locate things in the future.

If you have the time and a little extra money, it may be a good time to invest in things that you can use to store things up off the floor. Not too long ago, my husband purchased a rack to hold his bike on the wall -space that we were not using and it freed up that valuable floor space.

d'cluttering Tip 17:  So as soon as I finish this, I am getting started cleaning out the pantry!! Since everyone in the family is in and out of this space, it easily gets messy. Can you easily see everything in it? Are there partial bags of things that need to be tossed? Are you storing non-food items in your pantry?

I suggest having the grab-n-go food area that children get into often - that will help the rest of the pantry to stay a bit more organized.   Also, set the cold cereals near the grab-n-go food! I also keep pet food in the pantry, so it has its own section. Of course put the rarely used things up high. And the area I really like, are things that pertain to baking! So I have a baking section - I have a low box lid and can slide that whole section out when I am doing major baking.

Think about and problem solve things that get out of order quickly such as grocery bags.  I put the plastic ones in a fabric sleeve with elastic in the top and bottom - I stuff them in the top and pull them out one at a time when I need them! The brown ones I stack inside one of them that is open.

I hope you end up w a nice looking pantry or food cupboards if you tackle this area!

d’cluttering Tip 18:  So I am d’cluttering by reducing my stress. And I thought you may have stress in your life that needs a little d’cluttering so I thought I would share that challenge with you.

 

We can easily have things come into our life that is out of our control and yet we feel the brunt of the issue. So, what we can do is reduce what is within our control! So for me this week, I am working less: thus listing less & especially not dealing with the awkward items that I still haven’t figured out the shipping on yet!

 

Good luck d’cluttering stress from your life this week!

 

d'cluttering Tip 19:  When was the last time you looked at the expiration dates on the things in your medicine cupboard?  If it's been awhile, now is a good time. As you  d'clutter your bathroom medicine cabinet, remember

• Discard outdated products (including medicines) & damaged containers
• Restock supplies that are low or missing by making a list of what is needed for next time you go to the store.

How we discard medicines has changed: I suggest you ask your pharmacist since there is some concern about just dumping them down the toilet like in the old days.

 

And remember to check expiration dates frequently. Even first-aid kits have expiration dates! It's also good to toss out 'older' beauty products and they are 'older' much sooner than most of us think. I saw these 'toss by' dates online and unfortunately did not keep where they were from: I believe I found these from a few different sources. Toss when????..

 

• Concealer  - 12 months
• Powder - 2 years
• Pencil eye liner & eyeshadow -  3 years
• Sponges Wash weekly & toss monthly
• Foundation - a water-based foundation can last up to 12 months & a oil-based foundation can last up to 18 months.
• Lip liner - 3 years
• Lipstick - Some experts say 1-2 years. Others say keep up to 4 years.
• Mascara This product expires the fastest: Throw out after 4 months

d'cluttering Tip 20: I thought it was a good idea to again really look at our own collections ~ what do we love and what are we just keeping because we really loved it years ago? About a year ago, I started looking at my 'saving' stuff and some elderly parents & friends passed away and my mom was mentioning saving things for my girls (who live in apt with very little space) and I thought WHOA with the stuff!

We (and definitely my children) can't keep all the heirlooms from all the grandparents, parents..and then what about their children?? Homes will have to get bigger and bigger. So I started realizing that it's okay to collect and enjoy but then d'clutter that collection if and when you choose to. And of course, it's important not to expect others to keep your collections. Which is one of the reasons I love eBay! I can get my 'not loved so much anymore collection' to someone who is just discovering it, etc!!!

So, what about books?????? I feel they have always been very difficult to part with. Truth is I rarely read a book twice ~ usually only by mistake when I am almost to the end before I realize I had already read it!! So, right now I am not keeping all the books my husband loves to read (he of course is not a saver so he is thrilled) plus I am going through and purging mine and only keeping a few books for the 'grandchildren of the future'! The shelves are looking neater, less stuffed and I have less to dust around!

d'cluttering Tip 21: It's interesting when you get away and then come home, you see things more clearly! Yep, I easily see an area to d'clutter!  I have craft interests that I am just not currently doing and if and when I go back to them, I will probably take a new slant and be ready for some new supplies. So what about you?

Do you have a hobby that you haven't taken time to do for over a year? You may want to examine the books, patterns & supplies related to that and see what you can d'clutter. If this is difficult, don't get rid of everything at once. Go through and make a pile of all the parts of the hobby that you are certain you will never use, then you aren't parting with the activity of the hobby just the unused items! It makes room to use your space for the things you are currently doing.

My inspiration for this task: I went to a garage sale about a week before I went out of town, and the nice couple had never thrown anything away. They had hobbies they had not done in over 20 years with all the stuff: paint in containers that were all hardened, dolls with no hair or clothes, kitchen gadgets to set up at least 5 kitchens! There was so much stuff & what was interesting was that it was too overwhelming for most lookers to purchase anything! I watched how people  people were affected by the overabundance of stuff. This is also a good tip if you are having a garage sale - too much is not always best.

Good luck if you take this d'cluttering challenge

d'cluttering Tip 22: When the kids are out of school, try to involve them in d'cluttering their own spaces. If you get this started at the beginning of their time off, they will have room for new things to keep and can stay organized to find their things easily.

Depending on their ages, it is be most successful when you help them & provide structure for how to do it, as that breaks it down into manageable tasks.  Don't expect too much at one time. You may break it down by categories & just tackle one task a week until it's all done: clothes this week, toys next, schoolwork, etc.  Maybe they can help with things in the garage, especially if it's partly their stuff.

With younger children, they can so easily get overwhelmed or distracted once they get started. To break it down into smaller steps, provide them labeled boxes: 'keep', 'toss' (things too broken to be good for anyone) 'give or sell'.  Then demonstrate as you go through the category you have assigned, showing  them how to decide what stays and what goes. Then leave them alone to do a small bit of sorting. Check back often so you can help them stay on track. After they have sorted, help them to decide where to put their 'keep' items. As always, constantly encourage and praise their effort. Ilook at this as 'life skills teaching moments" as they will not be really good at this until they have done this with you several times.

Remember that due to shorter attention spans, you need to be realistic in how long they can stay at this task ~ staying at it until it's all done is often way too long because if they get side-tracked it can drag out to all day which is too long for a positive experience. After they have sorted, help them to decide where to put their 'keep' items. You are helping them develop a great lifelong skill ~ have fun!

PS: Since I write on d'cluttering,  I have been asked if I ever buy anything on eBay. Well, I too like to collect favorites ~ I just recently purchased (at a great price) a lovely ivory ironstone pitcher. I love their different shapes, both antique and newer ones. This one only looks old world and is a big one that is currently on my dining room table with blue hydrangeas from my yard! (Oh, and last night I scored a really old one!) Isn't summer beautiful!

d'cluttering Tip 23:  This week's tip is displaying your collections in a d'cluttered style. How do you enjoy them but not have things look messy and cluttered? To achieve the best way to showcase your collections and still have an organized d'cluttered look, you can get an idea from catalogs & magazines about of how to group and layer your favorite things.  One item here and there can often look like lots of stuff that doesn't create interest whereas a small odd numbered grouping together with space around them gives that pulled together look that creates a statement and makes you take notice. The space around gives sets them apart as something to notice. 

There are different ways to arrange groups of things and that is determined by the look you like. You will know you like a certain look, when you browse the catalogs and your eye rests on a particular look. A good way to start is to look at some things that you haven't known what to do with or they never looked quite right where you have them. Often we know what doesn't look right, but we don't know what else to do. Sit them on a table and play with an arrangement. If you have the depth where they will be placed, put a few things just partially in front of each other; the layered arrangement pulls your eye into each other and you see the group rather than the individual items.  Remember that things don't have to be perfect. In fact, if things looks too perfectly arranged they can lose their 'warmth & hominess'.

I recently learned this with a blank large wall that I have never been able to figure out what to do with it. I was looking through catalogs and magazines to see what they put on walls besides large pictures. I saw ledges that had a variety of goodies on them & so I used 2 4ft long ledges that I placed a bit overlapping horizontally but 8" apart vertically. This gave me so much room and broke up the big wall and space to put my collected things. I grouped them onto these ledges & overlapped some of them. Wow, I absolutely love how it looks, a pulled together group of favorite things I already had! Friends have asked where I got the various things as they had never noticed them before!

So, if you are not happy with how you have some of your favorite things or you are ready for them to be shown off differently, play around with grouping some or all of them and look at catalogs for great inspiration and design ideas.  Good luck.

d'cluttering Tip 24:  The tip is for those that love to cook ~ but when was the last time you sorted through your recipes and that stack of  'I want to make this one day' ideas?  It's great to collect ideas for when you need a new recipe but it will keep you more organized if you have a system to sort them into when you tear them out of magazines or a friend gives you one to try.

 

Here are 2 different suggestions to keep your 'potential recipes' and maybe one will help you out. One is to take a 3 ring binder and divide it by food types: entrees, desserts, salads, etc. Keep stiff paper in the notebook and when you get an idea, just tape it onto one of the papers in the appropriate category. Or use a Recipe Box to sort your recipe ideas. I prefer the 3 Ring Binder because often the ideas are from a newspaper that is larger than folds into a recipe box neatly.

 

d'cluttering Tip 25: : Here's a quick tip that you can use for any closet where you have a door that opens out. Awhile back, I menitoned that often we need to go up to create more space - well, this is another way to create space. Add some towel bars to closet doors on the inside to hang things that would fold over it nicely. For example if it is a woman's closet, you could hang your shawls & scarves. If it's a man's closet, you could hang, ties and belts. If it is a hall closet, you can hang your tablecloths! The last one is what I did with similar space: I hung 2 large hooks far apart along along the wall of a deep coat closet - then I put a long tube between the hooks and hung all my tablecloths. I love it as it keeps them from getting creases. And I have the clothes rod free to hang coats (yep that is what a coat closet is for!)