To declutter and organize your home is everyones goal, but rarely does it happen. It feels like an overwhelming project that can never be accomplished. We urge you to take the time. It will greatly reduce the stress in your life to have an organized and clutter-free home. We were forced to do this when we moved into a 670 square foot, one bedroom house -- with a toddler! Now we are living in this same house with a 2 1/2 year old and a 4 month old! Here are some of our tips to help you with this project (and to prevent the re-acculmulation of stuff):
1. Don't let the seeming enormity of the task overwhelm you. Take it 15 minutes at a time. Take 15 minutes to tackle one closet or one cupboard or one drawer. Even organizing one small thing will feel like a great accomplishment and will motivate you to tackle the next project.
2. Anything you don't use on a daily (or near daily) basis consider getting rid of. Or at the very least re-assigning it to another location that is out of the way and not taking up prime real estate in your drawer, closet, or cupboard.
3. "A place for everything, and everthing in its place." If you organize according to this and continue to live according to this principle, your home will become clutter-free and organized AND will stay that way!
4. Instigate the no-net-gain rule for most things. Once your home is clutter free and organized you want to keep it this way. This means returning things to "their place" and not accumulating things you don't have room for -- things that don't have a place! Your clothes closet and dresser drawers is a good place to start. Most of us have many clothes that we do not regularly wear and we tend to keep accumulating more. Edit your wardrobe to what you wear often and to what you need to keep on hand for special occasions (weddings, funerals, holidays, etc) and get rid of the rest. Each time you get something new consider getting rid of something you already own -- preferably a shirt for a shirt, pants for pants, etc. Give your extra clothes to a friend, put them in a consignment shop, or give them to a thrift store. This is also a good rule for those of you who tend to accumulate kitchen gadgets -- if you use it often, keep it; if you don't, get rid of it!
1. Don't let the seeming enormity of the task overwhelm you. Take it 15 minutes at a time. Take 15 minutes to tackle one closet or one cupboard or one drawer. Even organizing one small thing will feel like a great accomplishment and will motivate you to tackle the next project.
2. Anything you don't use on a daily (or near daily) basis consider getting rid of. Or at the very least re-assigning it to another location that is out of the way and not taking up prime real estate in your drawer, closet, or cupboard.
3. "A place for everything, and everthing in its place." If you organize according to this and continue to live according to this principle, your home will become clutter-free and organized AND will stay that way!
4. Instigate the no-net-gain rule for most things. Once your home is clutter free and organized you want to keep it this way. This means returning things to "their place" and not accumulating things you don't have room for -- things that don't have a place! Your clothes closet and dresser drawers is a good place to start. Most of us have many clothes that we do not regularly wear and we tend to keep accumulating more. Edit your wardrobe to what you wear often and to what you need to keep on hand for special occasions (weddings, funerals, holidays, etc) and get rid of the rest. Each time you get something new consider getting rid of something you already own -- preferably a shirt for a shirt, pants for pants, etc. Give your extra clothes to a friend, put them in a consignment shop, or give them to a thrift store. This is also a good rule for those of you who tend to accumulate kitchen gadgets -- if you use it often, keep it; if you don't, get rid of it!
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