Clear the Clutter

Over the winter break I had some time off so I cleaned the basement which is just a collection of all my craft supplies, things going to consignment, stuff I've accumulated for gifts, extra school supplies, patio furniture stored for the winter, Christmas decorations, suitcases, the snow skis and seldom used furniture plus the REQUIRED work out machine. I own an excessive amount of stuff (and some junk too, I admit).

I made good progress and decided that I need NOT purchase anything for our annual Easter Egg hunt treats, college kid gift bags, Christmas wrapping or school next year I am so well stocked. Think of the money that is tied up in all those things...YIKES.

It felt so good to give and throw stuff away I developed a plan for some of the other areas of my life.
Clearing the clutter requires a stout heart as I find it hard to part with sentimental items, things I can re-purpose (broken!) or those items of clothing that are of good quality (but too outdated to wear). At the end of your work you should have items to donate, discard or sell/consign. IF you can't bear to part with a particular item, place it in a DATED box and put it in your basement. WHEN you go to use the item, you'll still have it and can re-claim it from the box. If after 12 months, you haven't opened the box you are good to part with it. WARNING: You'll be tempted to open the box...but DON'T. It is like Pandora's box at this point!

I find that setting a time limit provides me the focus I need to get the task completed. Don't be discouraged if a project takes several session to achieve the effect you want. Large scale projects like your basement should be broken down into manageable tasks, areas (Christmas decorations) or storage containers (the craft desk).
Begin by emptying the place you plan to clean, such as a drawer or closet (if feasible) . If you are cleaning an entire room, work clockwise.
Arm your self with trash bags, boxes for donating, consigning, repairs, etc. rags and supplies for cleaning, the vacuum, etc. depending on the scope of the project. Remember it doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be good enough.

Here is a 7 day plan to CLEAR THE CLUTTER. I've listed more than 7 tasks so you can do those that most need doing in your life, require the most or smallest amount of work, etc. Just do one each day for 7 days and you'll be amazed at what you've accomplished.

1) Lighten the Linen Closet.
Send frayed and stained towels to the rag bag, fold sheet sets and place in their corresponding pillowcases or large zip lock bags. Consign, donate or e-bay items you no longer use such as a the pottery Barn Twin comforter set (since you haven't had a twin bed in the house since 2003) or the Barney Towels.
If your closet also acts as storage for bath and beauty supplies arrange these in old shoe boxes or other containers so you'll know what you have and won't have to purchase items just because you can't find them. I have some "produce" stacking bins on the floor of my closet which holds toothpaste and smaller items. This allows me to take advantage of really GOOD sale prices since I know what I already have and when I need to stock up.
Donate unopened lipsticks, makeup etc and toss the ugly nail polish, half used bottles of hand cream from the last century. Be brutal. If the item is 12 months old and you haven't used it...you aren't going to!

2) Mop out the Medicine chest
Toss all expired PRESCRIPTION medications (DO NOT FLUSH) by mixing them in cat litter or delivering them to your community's designated location for disposal. The remainder can go in the kitty litter too or the garbage can in their original containers.
Make a list of the items you'll need to replace so you will not be without in the middle of the night when the child wakes up with a 103 degree temperature and find you are out of children's Tylenol drops.

3) Jettison the Junk drawer.
Get some dividers or small boxes, zip lock bags, etc and sequester all the paperclips into one place. I find that jewelry boxes and some frozen dinner containers work very well for drawer dividers. Identify keys with a piece of masking tape. Throw out pens that don't work, empty tape dispensers and the phone book from 2 years ago.

4) Attach the Art supplies
Every so often I have my kids try every marker and we get rid of those that are dried up and donate the over abundance of orange markers to our local nature center. Employ this same strategy with paint, playdoh, colored papers. Put like items together or use zip lock bags to create craft packages for a rainy afternoon, I use old paper boxes, diaper wipe container and cookie tins to sequester items. My kid area has a desk and a bookcase. Consign unused craft supplies or donate to your local preschool, favorite teacher or church.

5) Purge your Purse
Clean out each pocket and discard all the crumpled tissues and old receipts. Clean out the billfold. Close out (in writing) the unused credit cards, remove the outdated library card and redeem those gift cards and frequent buyer cards. I like to do this when I change from the winter bag to the summer bag.

6) Dump a Drawer.
I once cleaned out my utensil drawer and found I had 10 , count 'em, 10 wooden spoons. Enough said.
Wipe out the drawer liners, purge duplicate or broken items or that fancy garlic press you've never used. Use this strategy on every drawer in your kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and office. You'll be surprised as just how many pairs of black socks you have, single socks, ratty underwear and stained t-shirts. Donate E-bay or consign.

7) Get into the Glove box and Car Console
Discard those outdated maps, receipts and carryout menus. Match up the CDs with their cases. This is where you'll find your missing glasses! Take a moment and read the owners manual!

8) Attack the Attic-

9) Scrub the Shed-do you really need 3 lawnmowers, two of which won't start?

10) Get it out of the Garage-remove all the items, clean and reorganize. Sell the toddler bike that once belonged to your now 16 year old linebacker r give it to his cousin who idolizes him.

11) Banish it from the Basement-

12) Tone down the Toy Chest-put game pieces back in the proper boxes, gather all the barbie shoes into one container, get rid of the items your kids JUST HAD TO HAVE but have never really played with.

13) Lighten the Library--remove old books and donate or sell

14) Spruce up the Spice cabinet. If you can't remember when you bought that spice it has probably lost its flavor as spices are only good for about a year. Begin dating items when you purchase. Discard outdated yeast, powder and soda which may render them ineffective.

15) Prune the pantry-place all the soups together, rotate the oldest items and be sure to use those first. Discard any items past their "best used by date"-printed on the top of cans and on boxes. Empty your pantry of all those stale, half eaten bags and boxes of chips and cookies.

16) Clean the coat closet-get rid of the out of style, too small coats. I like to do this in the spring.

17) Move out the Movies and CDs-We sell our unwatched movies to a local half-price book store and get cash.

18) Clean out the clothes-if you haven't worn it in a year, it hasn't fit in 2 years or it is not your color. Toss it.

Once you've gotten an area clear make an effort each evening to keep it clutter free. Toss the daily newspaper, put scattered toys away, fold the afghan and increase your sense of peace and calm. Studies have proven that less clutter in the bedroom helps us to sleep better. Good luck on cleaning out your clutter.