Bust Clutter In One Month, Week 1
March 14th, 2008 by admin
Today, many of us share one common problem: too much stuff in our homes. For four weeks, I’ll give you another insight into clutter, managing it, and getting control over it. You don’t have to live in a disorganized, cluttered home that frustrates you anymore. Having an uncluttered, organized home will repay you in time and money — and will return your peace of mind — and in just four weeks.
What is clutter?
Clutter is anything that you don’t regularly use, things that you don’t like or enjoy or that are broken, or items kept out of guilt and obligation. Clutter includes items like old clothing, unused toys, mismatched dishes, or stacks of magazines. One of the worst sources of clutter is paper. Newspapers, mail, magazines, old greeting cards, and various paper items all clutter up our coffee tables, desks, and refrigerator.
What clutter isn’t
Clutter isn’t anything you truly love or use regularly. Clutter also isn’t a valuable collectible. Some things shouldn’t go in a landfill or in a garage sale. Your grandmother’s Fostoria crystal isn’t junk and shouldn’t be treated that way. Special items like that can be sold to Replacements.com, a china store that will purchase your unwanted crystal or china. Or, you can check online for places where you can sell your item. Local antiques or consignment stores are another resource to help sell your items. Lastly, if you know someone with an Ebay account you can ask them to list your item or open your own Ebay account to sell your things.
Whatever you do, you should have an idea of what an item like yours is selling for elsewhere. This will help you determine the appropriate place to sell it. For instance, I had a number of old Life magazines I thought might be valuable. When I found out they were selling for under a dollar apiece on Ebay, I decided to sell them in my garage sale and if they didn’t sell then, they’d go into the dumpster. So do some research yourself to determine if your item(s) is valuable. This way you’ll find the best place to sell it and get the most for it or find out if it should go in the trash or donated.
Let’s get started
Get ready to be the Nolan Ryan of your household. Yes, you need to become the fastest pitcher in the house. Have everyone in the house fill a box with items they don’t want or need. Next, talk to your neighbors about having a neighborhood garage sale. A neighborhood garage sale draws more traffic, gets rid of more junk – and makes you more money from your old stuff. If that fails, hold your own. Whatever you do, just start decluttering and you’ll start to see your living space grow. You’ll also be amazed at how much better you’ll feel.
Your goal for decluttering this week:
Spend 15 minutes a day in each room of the house throwing away items and getting clutter sorted for donation or to sell.
Kathryn Weber is a decorating and lifestyle columnist and the publisher of RealHOME E-zine, the e-zine with ideas and tips for today’s real families. To subscribe, log on to http://www.realhomeezine.com and get this free special report, The 10 Habits that Help You Keep a Cleaner House.
Tags: clean, clutter, cluttered, home, house, mess, messy, organization, organize, organized, spring
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