10 Ways to Cut the Clutter!

1. Make a rule: when one new thing enters the house, another item leaves.

2. Edit your clothing each season. Give yourself a deadline --- if you haven’t worn it in two years, donate it. If you don’t love it, out it goes. If the color is not complimentary, say goodbye. It helps to enlist a friend for this process. Leave yourself 2 outfits for house projects and getting dirty, toss the rest of those shirts with stains and pants with holes out.

3. Apply the same rules for everything else in your house! If you haven’t used it in 2 years, ask yourself: is keeping it worth more than the space you will gain by giving it away?

4. Is your pantry and fridge overflowing to the hilt? Even if you won’t stick to it 100%, make yourself a menu for the next 10 days, giving priority to the food already in the cupboards, and see how much you really need to buy each week at the grocery store. Don’t be lured by coupons and special offers to clutter up your cupboards! The pennies you gain cost much more in the loss of space.

5. This is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN DO TO DE-CLUTTER! Set aside time for decluttering! Each season. De-cluttering is a way of life, not a one-time project.

6. Purge books not used as reference.

7. Use the library!

8. Don’t bribe your kids with gifts.

9. Work room by room and evaluate each object. Do you love it? Are you using it? Does it hold memories? Are you keeping it “just in case?” Don’t!

10. Take stock of memorabilia and sentimental items. Is your house full of them? Do they cover the walls and tabletops? Consider that you might be stuck in the past, and giving these items away may unblock you from living in the present.