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Cut the Clutter!
by Jennifer Gove

Description: Tips for decluttering and organizing problem areas of your home.

Is clutter bogging you down? Is it living on your shelves collecting dust and in your closet stealing valuable space, has it wandered down the hall to the kids room and taken over? It’s time to cut the clutter.

What is Clutter?

It is some thing you have had for more then six months and have used one time or less.
It is too many items crammed into a small space.
It is mail that is unsorted lying about in piles.
It is all projects lying about unfinished.
It is any thing you no longer have use for.

Where Does the Clutter Go?

You should sort clutter into three categories:

Trash – Paper, broken items or any thing in bad condition.

Sell – Brand name clothing items or any thing in almost new condition such as toys.

Donate – Clothing in good condition, toys or any usable item in good condition.

What Will I Need?

Grab two big boxes and a good sized trash bag. Label one box sell unless you do not plan on selling if not label it donation as well as the other box. Otherwise you should have two boxes, one sell and the other donations.

Getting into the Clutter

Once you have decided it is time to get rid of all that clutter it is just a matter of getting started.

Choose a room determine the clutter hot spots. For example the top of the refrigerator is often a clutter attracting spot. Remove each item and ask your self is this trash? What value or use is this to me? Do I have more then one of these? Sort items into Trash sell or donate. If you decide to keep it designate it a permanent home. Move to each room fine the hot stops for clutter and repeat the process.

Clutter Hot Spots

Children’s rooms (closets, toy boxes, dressers selves the floor) – broken or out grown toys, worn or out grown clothing, papers from school

Kitchen (counter tops, table, drawers, cupboards, under the sink) – Papers, mail, over abundance of useless appliances, empty product bottles or products that do not work

Bedrooms (closets, dressers, shelves) – Clothing, paperbacks, knickknack

Living or family room (shelves, Entertainment center, drawers) - Books, paper work, mail, toys, knickknacks, magazines, newspapers

Bathroom (Shelves, medicine cabinet, under the sink) Old make up, used products, empty products, old magazines, newspapers

Coat room - make sure all outer wear has working zippers and fastens; toss worn shoes or unworn shoes.

This is not clutter what do I do with it!

Baskets are great for organizing many small related items together in one spot.

Totes are a woman’s best friend store away half your children’s toys and reticulate then every month or so. Put out of season clothing away or blankets.

Shelves give books, magazines and knickknacks a place to live.

Laundry baskets make great toy storage for stuffed animals and other big toys. They are also great to leave in a central location for family members to toss things in until they get to putting them away.

The golden rules of clutter:

If you do not use it lose it.
Build a wardrobe, once you do when you buy new replace the old.
Every thing has a place if it doesn’t toss it.
Every thing must have a use if it doesn’t toss it.
Less is almost always more!
Less is easier to clean and care for!

More about cutting clutter. If you enjoyed this article please stop into http://www.simplymoms.com or check out the forums at http://www.simplymoms.com/forum for great advice articles and ideas!

Jennifer is a stay at home mother who resides in the state of Maine with her husband and children.