Declutter Forever - Home Organize It!

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Declutter ForEver...
Well At Least ForNow!

While it would be great to Declutter ForEver, let's start with Decluttering "ForNow." (Yes, I made that word up but it just seemed right :)

When you look around your home do you feel like it's too cluttered? It's easy to accumulate a lot of stuff even during "lean times". I don't know how it happens but it sure seems to in the majority of homes I've organized, including my own. If we're not vigilant about getting rid of old things as we bring in new ones, clutter tends to sneak up on us and overtake our homes.

What Is Clutter?

Clutter is all the things in your home that don't really matter or that aren't being used. Clutter wastes space, time and energy.

With so much stuff constantly coming into our homes, it can become increasingly difficult to prevent clutter buildup. Add to that our hurried lifestyles and overloaded schedules and we have a recipe for some serious clutter issues. Now more than ever there is a desperate need for easy maintenance homes.

With the current economy challenges, most folks are buying less and bringing fewer things home. This is a positive! We don't need so much stuff! This makes it a perfect time to tackle the clutter.

To DeClutter ForEver is unrealistic for most of us, which is why the "Declutter ForNow" techniques work... even if they must be repeated periodically.

Do you have a room that looks like the this?

Cluttered Room

Yes? Then it's time to Declutter ForNow!

Choose A Room and Start Decluttering Today

Don't worry, I won't make you do a drastic "clean sweep", just some realistic decluttering. And when you finish a Declutter ForNow session, please be sure to share your story below. It's a great way to encourage other visitors and we can all learn from each other's experiences.

Collect Four Large Boxes and Several Small Boxes

Label the large ones as follows:

Keep: It is useful, needed and/or worth spending time on.

Someplace Else: Anything that belongs in another room.

Give Away: To others, charities, schools, libraries, etc.

Garbage: Well, you know...

Next, start at the door and work clockwise around the room, picking up each and every item and placing it in the appropriate box.

Very small items can go into the smaller boxes if needed.

The beauty of the 4-Box Declutter ForEver System is that if you have to stop, everything stays sorted in the boxes until you can resume.

Please don't agonize over a decision. Ask yourself if you enjoy taking care of that particular thing enough to keep it and then make the best choice possible.

Continue around the room until you have sorted every item.

Once you're done, bag up the Give Away items and put them in your car to be given away on your next trip into town.

Bag up the Garbage and dispose of immediately.

Fun Tip: Some folks find it fun to keep a count of the Give Away and Garbage bags (outgoing clutter). The record so far with It's About Time Organizing Service is 45 Bags from one home! Now that's what I call creating a lot of extra space and time!

Note: Most of us have clutter issues in one area of our home or another. However, if you or someone you know has a serious clutter problem, please know there is help available. Visit The Plan for more information.

The Someplace Else Box

It's best NOT to tackle the Someplace Else Box until you have Decluttered all the rooms you intend to get through. It's SO Easy to get sidetracked with the Someplace Else box. Please, please wait until you are completely done decluttering.

Now, where was I? Oh yes, perhaps you want to clean or rearrange furniture before putting back what actually goes in this room. Make your changes and then put the Keep items where they will be most useful or enjoyed.

Before you know it, your made-over room may start to look a bit like this...

Clean Room

Ahh, can't you just feel that peaceful feeling wash over you looking at that photo? It's enough to make you want to move on to the next room, isn't it?

Go for it!

Just start the process over in the next most cluttered room. Put on a little music and pretty soon you'll be on your way to a clutter-free home.

Now, don't forget about that Someplace Else box. Just sort the items by room and go and put them away. It's easy! You can do it!

Great Job! Now reward yourself with some time with a Loved One. Share with them how you created the time to spend with them too.

Declutter ForEver...Well At Least ForNow!

If you'd like to do more than just "declutter" and really make a lifestyle change, understand why you have so much stuff or better understand how emotions are affected by clutter, check out Mimi Tanner's e-book, DeClutter Fast: How To Get Your Home In Order Almost Immediately. Mimi wrote this e-book based on her own personal lifelong interest in Decluttering.

Mimi teaches you...

Her “ONE-DAY DeClutter Fast Method”
Emergency Decluttering - (read: unexpected guests?)
How Does Your Home Affect the Ones You Love?
How to Declutter When You Don’t Know Where To Start
The Tough-Love Truth About Order vs. Clutter

It's one of the most sensitively written books I've read on a topic that a lot of us struggle with. You can really tell that Mimi uses her journey from "pack rat to organized" to help others who struggle with clutter and related issues.

No Time To Read?

If you don't feel like you have time to read a book, but still have a desire to tackle the clutter in your home, Declutter Your Home by Genevieve Tudor comes in audio format (as well as book format). The audio format is nice because you can download it onto your iPod and listen to it when you are exercising or cleaning. It's a great way to multi-task and improve both the health of you and your home environment.

And there you have it. I hope you're motivated to Declutter ForNow and get on the road to Decluttering ForEver. And please, do share your story with us below.

Have An Interesting Organizing Story?
Write About It Here!

HomeOrganizeIt.com is all about getting your home more organized so you have more time for what's important.

As a Professional Organizer, I've witnessed first hand the transformation that can take place in people's lives through decluttering, simplifying and getting organized. Do you have an experience that has changed your life? Perhaps you've seen a friend or loved one journey through "chaos" and come out on the other side.

Here's your chance to tell others about your experience.

Share your decluttering stories here and I'm sure those who visit this site will thank you, too!

Enter The Title Of Your Story (ex, "My Own Clean Sweep")

Click here to see the rest of the form and complete your submission.

Decluttering Stories Visitors Have Shared

Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...

Sheri's Organized Life
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A Half Hour a Day keeps the Clutter Away
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