I need advise from decluttering exports..

[Hannah]

We manage to keep the surfaces in our house fairly tidy and clutter-free, so it doesn't look as if we live in a cluttered house, but I know that whatever cupboard I open has too much stuff and things we don't need.

 

If you live in an excess-free, clutter-free house, how do you do it??

 

Do you have a decluttering schedule, rotating through a cupboard or shelf every day? A room a month? A major clearout every season?

 

It seems that I'll have to rotate through everything in the house a couple of times before I've purged all the excess. I started a major clearout at the beginning of the year when we thought we were going to move, but looking at those same cupboards now, there's still stuff I'll throw away this round. And there will probably be more I'd be getting rid of in a third round. Do you just keep going through everything until there's nothing left to purge? How do you deal with the most difficult category - books?

[Frontier Mom]

I read "Clutter's Last Stand" and it really opened my eyes to the ill effects of clutter and he has some ideas to help.

 

I usually go through spurts when I feel clutter is accumulating and I stop and take care of that area. I always use black trash bags and set two up:

 

one for throw away (trash)

One for give away (the black trash bag keeps me from rethinking what I am giving away)

 

I also get a laundry basket for put away (things that belong somewhere else in the house)

 

I find when I attack a problem area with these three I can usually work really quick. I turn on some "get moving music" and work until I finish.

 

Others work in small spurts but, for me, I like to attack one area at a time. When it is finished, oh the joy!!

[AnnetteB]

:iagree: Clutter's Last Stand is a good read. We add a brown paper bag or cardboard box to the gathering tools for a "Burn It" category. It gives us great pleasure to burn schoolpapers, ancient paperbacks that no one would be blessed by anymore, and old bills in our fireplace as kindling. When we are de-cluttering I ask the children to run around the house and find me a certain number of objects to dispose of. It gets everyone into the act.

 

Another trick is to go through the mail immediately and put the junk into the burn container or trash asap. I also try to guard the door against incoming future clutter. We welcome hand-me-downs, but we sort them they day they are given to us and hang on to only a few choice items. The rest are donated immediately to Goodwill (a donation site is one block from our local library). We always have a bag or box in the back of the van to drop off.

 

Have you seen the FlyLady.net website? She has ideas to keep you going around the house to get it cleaned up and keep it that way, although I wonder if she has 6 kids and a large dog at home?

[LisaKinVA]

I start by eliminating all of my "organization" and "clutter" and "cleaning" books :D I swear, at one time I must have had a 3' shelf of books just on that one topic.

 

Attacking one area at a time works for me.

 

Next, I got the kiddos involved, and haven't had to seriously pick up their room in nearly a month (that's a record, worthy of note).

 

Start with the "easy" rooms first. They will give you immense relief, and sense of accomlishment.

 

Break the "big" jobs into smaller jobs (say, breaking the office space into: storage cabinet, main desk, book shelves, file cabinet). Seeing progress is crucial to remaining on-task.

[fshinkevich]

I hate clutter so I have no problem tossing things, lol.

 

But I saw on an Oprah show once to stick things you don't use daily into a box, and if you don't pull it out in X amount of time then it goes. I think it was like 3 months, but I think you have to take certain things into consideration, like special dishes you might only use for holidays.

[plansrme]

I hate clutter and LOVE to throw things away. Here are my top 2 hints:

 

1. Contrary to what others have recommended, I do a lot of decluttering while the kids are asleep. I do get them to help me on occasion, but I have thrown away LOTS of their stuff while they were asleep. We also have a rule that if you repeatedly don't put something back where it lives, you must not care enough to keep it. I will give one final, very stern warning, and then throw it out if I find it has been left out again. I do follow through on this one, so they know I am serious.

 

2. If you throw something out and realize a month later that you could have used just that item for X, don't sweat it. Don't beat yourself up about it. It's a small price to pay for clean closets.

 

And one more: if it's too much trouble to give away items to Goodwill or another charity, don't feel guilty about putting them in the trash. Your first priority is your home, not maintaining Goodwill's inventory. We have several charities that pick up items from us periodically, which is very helpful.

And one more: if you have junk drawers or boxes, pull it out and clean while you're watching TV. Gives me such a feeling of accomplishment.

Good luck!

Terri

 

Terri

[WTMCassandra]

I'm a huge anti-clutter fan, so I'm kind of in "maintenance" mode.

 

I ALWAYS have a Goodwill box going. When I open a drawer/cupboard and see something I know I don't use, I take it out right away and put it in the box. When the box is full, I stop by Goodwill on my regular errand run. I'm just always on the alert for things we aren't using anymore so I can get them out. In fact, last week I saw an ornament on the tree that I simply do not want anymore, so I took it off! ; )

 

If I were in your situation, I would probably do one cupboard or drawer a day until I felt I had a handle on things--I would set an appointment with myself for 15 minutes a day. You could keep give away and throw away bins in your laundry room that are easy to pull out each day for your decluttering date with yourself. You could also put on energizing music.

 

Another way is to do a marathon approach where you invite a friend over. Some of us are really strange souls who find helping someone declutter to be fun! Sometimes it's better just to set aside a day and blow through as many areas as possible.

 

The approach you choose depends a lot on your personality and your mindset. Consider a mindset where decluttering is not getting rid of things that are precious to you, but identifying and KEEPING the things that are precious, making them easier to find when lesser things are in their way.

 

I hope this helps a little.

[hornblower]

I hate clutter so I have no problem tossing things, lol.

 

But I saw on an Oprah show once to stick things you don't use daily into a box, and if you don't pull it out in X amount of time then it goes. I think it was like 3 months, but I think you have to take certain things into consideration, like special dishes you might only use for holidays.

 

I love this tip. It works even better if you don't open the box. Just take it away.

 

The other thing is to get someone else to go through your stuff with you. I'm much more heartless about dh's stuff than mine and v.v. Of course the owner gets to 'over ride' if necessary but it can really help.

 

With old clothes, if someone really wants to keep something (cause it might fit, might come back in fashion, was so expensive, can't part with it....), they have to agree to wear it in public in the next month. Otherwise, bye-bye.

 

We've become spoiled because of all the extra space in the new house. I just keep dumping stuff in one of the rooms we don't use. In our old place, the rule was that for every cubic measure of new thing you brought in, you had to get rid of something with that same cubic measurement.

[Hannah]

Thanks for all the helpful replies!

[cathmom]

lol - I think "exporting" clutter would definitely help! Might be good for the economy too!

[Rosie_0801]

A "no junk mail" sign makes an immediate difference. I have a toddler and a hubby who can't remember to put anything away, ever. There is a box outside the back door, and anything that irritates me gets thrown in there. There is a reason he can't find any clean socks. It's because they're all in that box. Out of sight, out of mind...

 

Rosie