Archive for Declutter
Reclaiming the Porch
Posted by: | CommentsWe were on a trip through the country and porch after porch was piled high with clutter. The thought that popped into my head was, "If the porch is that laden with stuff what will the inside be?" Many people tend to think the inside will be claustrophobic and uncomfortable when they see a really cluttered porch. Even if the rest of the house is spotless, a full porch is unwelcoming.
Now I’m not talking about a porch with a few things scattered here and there. I’m talking about a porch so cluttered the porch becomes unusable.
The porch is not a junk room. It is supposed to be a space that invites you to see the outdoors. Maybe to have friends in for lemonade. Feel the breeze on a summer’s evening. When you can’t even get on your porch, it makes those things difficult.
The sad thing is many people pile their porch with stuff they feel is cluttering their house. Well if it’s on the porch it is still clutter.
Take a hard look at what you have on your porch today. Is it welcoming and inviting?
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Photo by: Cinemarty
Take Care of Your Puddles
Posted by: | CommentsI was on the phone with a client today and she was talking about my declutter calendar. She liked it because she could post it in whatever room we are working on and she could quick do one of the items without it weighing down her to do list. Sometimes she realizes it took almost no time to declutter that area so she can do the next day’s area as well. She gets that little boost when she can say she is ahead. And if she gets behind, it doesn’t matter because some days she can say, "I don’t have to do that because it’s already done."
Well she decided to use another empty calendar to take care of what she calls Puddles that accumulated over the holiday season. You know- stacks of bows, a box of decorations to be put away, a gingerbread house, a paper pile, something to be returned. As a whole it can be overwhelming. So she is putting one on each square of a calendar to get them all taken care of by the end of January.
She also is saying to her kids if they want to do one before she gets to it they can get extra spending money.
You can break down all sorts of projects with this – work, decluttering, organizing, health habits, getting through a non fiction book.
What project do you need to break down?
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Need more support in decluttering? Join me a we create a great plan for decluttering your life and enjoy fun support! I have declutter groups twice a year in January and again in the fall. I love hearing about how much people declutter during our 8 weeks together. Wouldn’t it feel great to have your home with a lot less clutter by March?
http://www.encouragingcoach.com/programs-decluttergroup.htm
Cleaning Out My Closet
Posted by: | CommentsThe trickiest place to keep organized in my whole house is my office closet. One reason is because I live in a 90 year old house and the closet is the weirdest shape. The closet goes under the stairs so the door is at the right and then the closet just gets smaller and smaller towards the left. We had to put in three lights that you press just so we could see in there.
Secondly, is the catch-all nature of the closet. It needs to hold books, office supplies, scarves, beach bag with the towels and suits, the picnic basket, tote bags, paper memorabilia which I don’t want in the damp basement and the farmer’s market basket. We don’t have a coat closet, linen closet and our bedroom closet is laughably small.
This office closet had become unwalkable again, so it was time to cull. I got rid of a box of promotional totebags, a coat I no longer wore, and a 20 year old phone. I found my other boot (I was wondering where that was!) and enclosed some blankets so I could bring them into the basement. Now I can walk in there again.
I have a small bookshelf in the clloset for books and on the right side of the closet are shelves for office supplies and file folders. I was excited to be able to combine a few boxes so I had more room on the shelves. Did I really need 3 misc boxes? I made sure the labels on the boxes were facing out so I could find them. The box labeled adhesives was hiding the label under the lid of the box.
I have hooks all over the walls for tote bags, scarves and purses. Things were re-hung.
I removed a few things that belonged further back into storage from an easier to access shelf. Then I was able to put my picnic basket up so it didn’t get stepped on, along with a box of things I use more often.
I love going into a new year with a clean closet!
Declutter Your Holiday Schedule
Posted by: | Comments
How much of the holidays do you do because it’s expected or it’s what has always been done and how much of the holidays do you really enjoy?
Create a more meaningful holiday by focusing in on what matters most to you and your family. Each family is unique.
My sister loves making fantastic cookies with her mother-in-law. I rarely bake.
My family has to see the lights, visit with our relatives at the annual reunion dinner and Christmas Eve service is a must. I love the Handel’s Messiah. The Christmas tree? Some year’s we have one, some years we don’t. It’s not a must have for my kids.
Our decorating is simple while my friend goes all out and loves it!
How can you declutter your holiday schedule?
- Ask your family what they loves most about the holidays.
- Ask your family what their must haves are
- Write down everything you hate to do regarding the holidays
- Delegate to someone else who thinks they have to have it
- Or ask yourself and your family if it really must get done
- Look at your upcoming calendar. What are you anticipating? What are you dreading?
- Make choices from that information
You have more freedom to choose then you think. You can create your own traditions.
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Photo by Nina Matthews Photography
Simplifying for the holidays? Try my $2 Simpler Holiday Plan
Decluttering for the Holidays
Posted by: | Comments
If most years you bring more stuff into your life for the holidays, it may be time to do a little pre-holiday decluttering.
Kids’ Toys
Let start with the kids. Which toys have they outgrown, no longer play with, never liked? Are any in good enough condition to donate? Take the kids when you donate so they can feel good too.
Electronics
If you’ve been upgrading your electronics regularly, you probably have old versions of what you have. Now is a great time to try to sell them on Craigslist or Ebay so they can become other people’s gifts. This goes for old phones as well.
Decorations
As you put away the Thanksgiving decorations go through your box to see what you never used this year. Do you plan on using them again?
As you get out your Christmas decorations, see what hasn’t been out of the box in a few years. Do you really need them still?
Linens
How many holiday towels and pot holders do you need? Are they taking up too much space for something only used once a year? Do you have too many sets of guest linens? Maybe some are old enough to get rid of.
Last years Christmas cards
Pick out a few and save the letters you want, but let go of the rest. Christmas cards make nice gift tags if you cut out the pictures and print To: and From: on the back.
Clothes
Let go of Christmas seasons past. If it no longer fits you or the kids you may want to give it away. Go through your tacky Christmas sweater pile and see how many you really need. And make sure all out of season clothes are packed away.
Finally, remember the one in one out rule when you get Christmas presents. If you get a book, let go of a book. If you get a new shirt, let go of an old shirt. Keep your home decluttered by seeing decluttering as a process – not a one time event.
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Photo by: Milena Mihaylova
Simplifying for the holidays? Try my $2 Simpler Holiday Plan
Decluttering Progress
Posted by: | CommentsI’m reading the book The Choir by Joanna Trollope. In the book, the organist goes into his cluttered home. He thinks, "It was so unintelligent to live like this, because it was exhausting and sapped creative energies." So he declutters some things until he is sidetracked with memories. The next day day he gets up and the room looks the same to him except now there are two big garbage bags in the room.
This kind of decluttering is probably familiar to many of us. Procrastinating until we can’t stand it anymore. A quick declutter. Get sidetracked. Get annoyed that there doesn’t seem any progress made.
But, I want to assure you. If you keep decluttering a few minutes a day, week or month, you will see progress. It’s helpful to remind yourself in the beginning of decluttering that you might not notice the big progress you had hoped. But, not to give up.
To see progress easier, you can end each decluttering session by looking over the area you just decluttered and basking in the order.
If you declutter a single section, drawer, or shelf instead of a little here and a little there, you can see the progress more tangibly.
Get a partner with whom you can share your decluttering successes. Sometimes it’s difficult giving ourselves pats on the back, but we can get support from others if we set it up.
What progress have you made recently?
Are You Maintaining?
Posted by: | CommentsHow do you know you need to simplify your life? It’s when you can’t maintain your current life.
If you have so much stuff or such a big house that you don’t have enough time to clean and organize it regularly, it may be time to let go of some things.
If you don’t have enough time to eat correctly, exercise and sleep, you are not taking care of your body. And that can only go so long before things quit working correctly. If this is the case, it may be time to let go of certain commitments.
If you can’t maintain your most important personal relationships, what can you let go of?
Think about what you have in your life that you need to maintain so you are taken care to keep in good condition.
- Job
- Health
- Relationships
- Spiritual Life
- Home
- Car
- Technology
- Website/Internet Identity
- Clothes
- Bank Account
- Belongings
How can you simplify these things so your highest priorities are maintained?
1 car instead of 2. Working less hours. Working closer to home. Keeping technology that you know how to use longer, even when something "newer and better" comes along. Consolidating bank accounts and setting up automatic bill paying. Trade gym membership for walking close to home and free weights to your favorite TV programs. Declutter. Give yourself an online limit. Give yourself the first 15 min of every day to nurturing your spiritual life.
The less in your life, the easier it can be maintained. What can you do?
Clearing Space
Posted by: | CommentsLast week, I noticed on top of my bookshelf there were so many photographs that I could barely see any of them. They were a jumble.
So I packed away most of them and left only three. Now the three left can be seen clearly. That space seems more open and easier on the brain.
What space can you clear off?
Making the Bedroom More Serene
Posted by: | CommentsFor mother’s day, my husband got me a new jewelry box, because things were rather jumbled in my old one.
With the bigger box on my dresser, the dresser looked overcrowded. So I put two of the decorative boxes that were on my dresser away. I put the CD’s into one of my dresser drawers. And I put away a lace cloth things were sitting on.
Then the top of the entertainment center where the TV and books are held looked messy. I put my visual journal and supplies on a lower shelf and stored some candles so only a couple pictures of my husband and I, our anniversary candle and the light remained on top.
Look at your bedroom. How can you make it more serene? Are there any pieces you can store for now?
One Less
Posted by: | CommentsThe smoothie maker died after years of at least three smoothies a week and the hand blender’s plastic parts melted. In the same week.
We decided we could replace both with a sturdy blender that can crush ice. This time we got one with metal parts instead of plastic and a glass instead of plastic jar.
In most of our kitchens I think we have too many things that only do one action.
We don’t have the space for most things like that.
A few that we do use like the yogurt maker, bread machine and waffle maker go on a shelf in the basement when not in use.
And today I am happy to have one less thing in my kitchen.
