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Declutter Your Home in 11 Easy Steps
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Declutter Your Home in 11 Easy Steps
by Maria Gracia - getorgnow@charter.net
Description: Eleven easy steps to decluttering your home.
Feeling overwhelmed at the thought of organizing your home?
Start on a smaller scale instead and it will be a whole lot
easier.
For example, instead of starting with the entire house,
commit to starting with one room.
Follow these 11 steps, and you're well on your way to an
organized home:
1. PICK A ROOM--ANY ROOM.
Decide on what room to start on. Write it at the top of an
8 1/2 x 11 inch sheet of paper. This will be your Action
Sheet. Example: BEDROOM A
2. CHOOSE AN ENTICING REWARD.
Designate an appropriate reward to give yourself on the
Dumping portion of the job. The reward concept serves as
your motivation, so be sure to choose something that you'd
really enjoy! Write this reward on your Action Sheet.
Example: Treat yourself to a massage or go out for a nice
dinner -- whatever it is that you love to do. Write it on
your Action Sheet.
3. SET A DEADLINE.
Set a specific Dumping Completion Deadline for this one
room. Write it on your Action Sheet.
Example: DUMPING DEADLINE: APRIL 30
4. SCHEDULE TIME TO DUMP.
Schedule 3 specific dumping dates (one hour for each).
Hopefully this will be enough to complete the dumping
portion of the job. Write it on your Action Sheet. Then,
post the Action Sheet in a prominent place where you are
certain to see it every day, like your bathroom mirror. It
will serve as a reminder of your goal, deadline and pending
reward.
Example: DUMPING DATES: APRIL 18 from 8-9A, APRIL 21 from
8-9A, APRIL 24 from 8-9A
5. KEEP YOUR APPOINTMENT.
When the 1st dumping day arrives, keep that appointment,
just as you would any other important appointment. Bring a
bunch of large garbage bags. Play your favorite music in
the background.
6. TIME IT.
Set a timer for 1 Hour -- one that sounds off when the hour
is up.
7. SORT THROUGH IT.
Pick up one item at a time, and start dumping. (If you come
across items you want to give to charity, designate a
special bag for those items) Whatever you are going to
keep, just put to one side of the room.
8. DO IT UNTIL THE TIME IS UP.
Continue doing this until the timer goes off. If you prefer
to continue, keep going. Otherwise, stop and follow the
same procedures for your next two scheduled dates. Don't
let the garbage bags sit there. Make sure they are thrown
out now (or donated), or on Garbage Day at the latest.
9. CELEBRATE.
Once you've managed to dump everything you don't want or
need in that one room, it's time to celebrate. Take
advantage of that reward you designated.
10. KEEPING IT ORGANIZED.
Now that everything in that room that you wanted dumped is
gone, you're ready to begin putting everything you are
keeping back in an organized manner. Be very careful not to
put anything else in this room that you don't want.
11. REPEAT.
Repeat this process for each of the other rooms in your
house.
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