Ask Yourself
“What’s the worst thing that could possibly happen if I decided to let this go?”
If you can live with the consequences, you can live without the thing.
When paring down your belongings, aim to leave about 20 percent free storage space.
Having less stuff in closets, cabinets, and drawers will make it easier — and less frustrating — to put away and retrieve things in the future.
“What’s the worst thing that could possibly happen if I decided to let this go?”
If you can live with the consequences, you can live without the thing.
Keep bathroom countertops clear by storing most items in cabinets and drawers. Stash daily toiletries in baskets, bins, or bags for easy retrieval.
Go through the cabinets and drawers in your bathroom and get rid of:
A layer of dust is a sure sign that you should give away or sell an item.
Don’t wait! Once you’ve made the decision to let go of things, get them out of your home as quickly as possible. Put them in your car to drop off at a nearby donations box or take to a consignment store.
Less Laundry: If your clothes aren’t noticeably soiled after one use, hang to air and then wear them again. You’ll end up having to do laundry less often. Bonus: Your clothes will last longer!
Fewer Wrinkles: Remove clothes from the dryer as soon as the cycle is complete. Keep a stash of hangers in the laundry room and hang clothes immediately. Designate a place for folding items and keep that area clear!
Don’t Fold: Save the time it takes to fold a set of sheets by putting them right back on the bed after washing. For variety, switch to a different set when the seasons change.
Just Enough: You really don’t need more than two sets of sheets for each bed and two sets of towels per person — one in use and one in the wash. That way, you can’t fall too far behind on laundering linens.
Sock smarts: Give each family member a mesh laundry bag marked with his or her name for dirty socks. Hang it in or near the laundry hamper with the “mouth” open to make it easy to insert items. (Adhesive hooks come in handy for this.) Wash and dry socks in their bags so they stay sorted by owner.
If it takes longer than 60 seconds to decide if you should keep something, you probably don’t need it.
Though you can begin to see the result of your organizing efforts immediately, you can’t undo years of disorganization in a few days, weeks, or even months. So be patient and keep at it. Strive for consistency. As you begin to regain control over your physical space, you’ll immediately start to feel better (and happier) about your home and yourself.
Roughly 80 percent of the clutter in most homes is a result of disorganization, not lack of space. Take time to really look at the stuff that never gets put away. Chances are it doesn’t get put away because it doesn’t have a home. Find a place for everything so you can always put your hands on any item when you need it.
Ask your local pharmacy if they collect expired prescriptions. If not, the usual suggestions are:
Our belongings often end up homeless because we simply have too much stuff. Clean clothes, for example, might “live” in laundry baskets because drawers and closets are full. That’s when you know that it’s time to declutter.
You’ll never find time to get organized. You need to make time.
To decide how to most efficiently store things, use the “Hot, Warm, Cold” rule.
If an item is Hot (used frequently, such as the remote to your television), find a spot where it’s handy to where you use it.
If it’s Warm (used occasionally, such as a muffin tin), it’s okay if you have to cross the room for it or retrieve it from a lower cabinet.
If it’s Cold (rarely needed, like last year’s tax return or your turkey roasting pan), store it on a high shelf or in the attic or basement.
Trying to organize your entire home in a day is like trying to eat a whole cake in one bite. You’d choke! Work on organizing projects in small chunks and strive for consistency.
Choose five areas where you most want to be organized. Your clothes closet? The kitchen? The mud room? That basement that’s become the graveyard for all things unwanted?
Then take immediate action on just one of them.
“What does ‘organized’ look like to me? How does it make me feel?”
Then choose a space to organize. Close your eyes and visualize what that space will look like without clutter.
If you can’t be a good example, then you’ll just have to serve as a horrible warning.
— Catherine Aird, novelist
Should you store things you never use in the basement, attic, garage, or shed?
Careful . . . this is a trick question! If you don’t use those things, why are you storing them at all?
On your desk and kitchen countertops, keep out only those things you use daily or often. My mantra: If you use it every day, it gets to stay; otherwise, put it away.
An uncluttered room looks cleaner than a cluttered one. If you pick up more often, you can get away with less cleaning.
Display framed photographs in a grouping on the wall instead of a standing display. This will significantly reduce the amount of dusting you have to do and looks less “cluttery.”
Today’s purchases, especially unplanned ones, become tomorrow’s clutter.
“Could I borrow, buy, or otherwise get another one of these if I need it someday?”
In most cases, the answer is yes.
Practice random acts of organizing. If you see something out of place, put it away. While you’re waiting for something or someone, take a few minutes to clean out your purse or a file folder.
Re-purpose items you are not using as no-cost organizers. Examples:
Periodically sort through your belongings and reevaluate what you really need to keep and what you want in your life. Purchase new items only to replace items that are worn out.
When looking for more storage space, think vertical.
With the right systems and shortcuts, you can zip through housework and save hours every month — plus enjoy a cleaner home to boot.
The best system by far is to clean as you go. Doing this can cut your weekly cleaning time by as much as 25 percent or increase the length of time your home can look presentable between cleanings by that same percentage.
The most effective way to teach children to be more organized is to set a good example!
There will be days when you might begin to doubt if you’ll ever be able to clear your home of clutter. When you feel like giving up, remind yourself why you started.
Clean Lampshades: Vacuum lampshades with the dusting brush attachment on your vacuum cleaner. You can also dust with a clean paintbrush, a foam latex sponge, or a lint-removal tool.
Make a Bed Easily: For a bed that practically makes itself, replace your top sheet and comforter or bedspread with a duvet and duvet cover. Just whip the duvet back into place and your bed is made.
Have a Cleaner Shower: Use a daily “no-wipe” shower cleaner or automatic bathroom cleaner to prevent soap-scum buildup. Squeegee doors and walls after each shower to discourage mildew and minimize water spots.
Clean Ceiling Fans: Use an extendable duster that tilts at a 90-degree angle. It’s quicker and easier than getting out a ladder — and safer.
Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.
— James Baldwin
“Where would I be most likely to look for this?” instead of “Where should I put this?”
It’s a lot easier to keep up than to catch up. For example, it takes only a few minutes or less to sort through mail every day. The longer you wait, the bigger the pile gets and the more you dread the job. The same goes for doing dishes or laundry.
Pour boiling water down your bathroom drains once a week to cut through soap scum and hair and prevent backup.
To unclog a slow drain, pour 1 cup of baking soda down the drain followed by 1 cup of vinegar. Let it bubble for a few minutes, then flush with a kettle of boiling water.
Install a continuous cleaning system in your toilet that cleans with every flush. Or brush the bowl every couple of days to keep it clean. Better yet, clean it while you sleep! Pour cleaning product in the toilet before going to bed and just brush and flush in the morning.
Keep remote controls and other small “cluttery” items in a decorative basket or tin on a shelf just above eye level so all you see is the container. Or use Velcro to attach your TV remote to the TV when not in use.
Declare one day in the spring and fall as “donation days.” Make a note now in your daily planner or calendar and stick to it.
Here’s a good way to save material from magazines and newspapers (for instance, decorating ideas or travel tips or recipes):
In a closet: Add two or three tension rods all at the same height above an existing shelf to create a new “shelf” for boxes or a small suitcase.
Under a bed: Instantly create more storage under a child’s bed with a set of bed risers. Use the extra space to store art supplies, toys and games, seasonal clothing, bedding, and more, in labeled plastic storage bins.
On a counter: Hang paper towels and other necessities under cabinets to get them off your countertop and create more room for food preparation and cooking.
Off-site: Use off-site storage only as a last resort. If you are currently renting storage space, think carefully about the items you are storing. Is it really worth the money to store this stuff? Or could you get rid of some, most, or even all of it?
It’s so much quicker and easier to get organized when you have less stuff. So if you aren’t using something and don’t have an immediate need for it, just let it go. Easier said than done, isn’t it?
We tend to develop emotional attachments to our belongings that make it difficult to give them up even when we no longer love them. So we keep holding on to stuff in this unhealthy relationship. Why? Because breaking up is hard to do!
Clip a set of attractive shower curtain rings together and hang the top ring over a hanger in your closet or a hook on the back of a door; thread scarves through the rings.
Evaluate your cleaning tools. Are they in good working order? When’s the last time you replaced the vacuum filter? (Yes, you need to do that!) Is your mop head worn out? Make a note of what needs repairing or replacing. If you don’t use something, donate it to Goodwill or the Salvation Army, or sell it at your next garage sale.
Next, gather your cleaning supplies. Clear out all those products you don’t use or need; give them to a neighbor, friend, or family member. If you haven’t used them in the past year, you probably won’t ever use them. If trashing, follow the label directions for proper disposal.
Once you’ve decluttered, organize. Group items by use, such as specialized cleaners for silver and other metals, leather goods, automotive, and so on. Install hooks and wall-mounted holders for mops, brooms, and dustpans. Store clean rags in a hanging bag or a basket on a shelf.
If you don’t have a cleaning closet, here’s an idea: hang an over-the-door shoe bag with clear plastic pockets behind your garage or laundry-room door to store cleaning supplies.
No time for a thorough spring cleaning? You don’t have to do it all at once. Tackle one room at a time. In a bedroom, for example, you might wash curtains and bedding, clean under and behind furniture, declutter, and organize closets and drawers.
One of my favorite cleaning tools is a lightly dampened microfiber cloth. Spray the cloth with water and use it to clean smudges from stainless steel appliances, glass surfaces, and mirrors. Just wipe and allow to dry for a lint-free, streak-free clean. The cloth can also be used dry to spot-clean toothpaste spatters and smudges from glass.
“On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest, what is my comfort level with the amount of stuff I have?”
If you answer “5,” then reducing your belongings by about half might feel just right.
Stash often-used cleaning supplies, such as cleaning or disinfecting wipes, in places where they are handy for quick cleanups. For example, tuck dusting cloths behind books on a bookcase for dusting on the fly.
Company coming any minute? If you don’t have a lot of time to clean, focus on these areas:
Try some green cleaning with these effective cleaning solutions from the pantry:
Distilled white vinegar is my go-to cleaner. Mix 1 part vinegar with 3 parts water in a spray bottle to clean countertops and sinks. Spritz and let sit for about a minute before wiping with a microfiber cloth. Bonus: the vinegar sanitizes as it cleans.
Baking soda is a nonabrasive scrubbing agent. Just sprinkle it on a wet sponge or directly on the surface. For extra cleaning power on greasy surfaces, make a paste of baking soda and water. Apply with a scrubby sponge. Rinse off residue with a clean, damp cloth.
Having the right tools on hand will help to make quick work of housecleaning. Get rid of cleaning products and tools you don’t use so it’s easier to retrieve and put away the ones you do use. Then update your cleaning tools if needed. Examples:
Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler.
— Albert Einstein
The average kitchen sponge has as many as 7 billion germs. After using them, wash sponges and dish cloths in hot, soapy water and rinse. Disinfect daily by zapping them — wet — in the microwave on high for 30 seconds. Or drop the sponges in the dishwasher every night to clean and sanitize them along with your dishes.
Have several sponges in rotation: one in use, dirty ones in the dishwasher with dirty dishes, and clean ones at the ready.
Designate a family donations box for collecting items. Look for one thing each day that you could donate. Put it in your donations box. Encourage family members to do the same. When the box is full, put it in your car and take it to a local charity on your way to or from work.
At the beginning of each season, hang clothing with the hanger hook facing out. Throughout the season, as you re-hang items you’ve worn, hang them normally. At the end of the season, you can easily tell which items you did not wear. Donate them.
The closer a hamper is to where household members get undressed, the more likely it is that dirty clothes will end up in it.
With less mess comes less stress.
Once your home is clean and organized, keep it that way with these three Ps:
Every time you see something that would take just a few minutes to do and you think, “I’ll get to it later,” do it now instead. Your future self will thank you for it.
With a quick daily sweep and spot-cleaning of small spills, your kitchen floor won’t need mopping as frequently.
Many of us tend to hold on to things long after their usefulness has expired. One reason is because of the “poverty mind-set.” We subconsciously believe that if we let go of something, we won’t be able to replace it.
When you cling to things you don’t need or want anymore, you are holding on to negative energy. You are also acting, whether you realize it or not, from a belief that you don’t have enough. Donating those items to others sends positive energy into the world.
Just get rid of it. You know you want to!
Have the entire family participate in a household purge twice a year. Ask kids for donations of toys, books, and clothes they no longer use or want. Help them feel good about sharing with kids who don’t have any. Or plan a yard sale and let your kids keep the money they make.
Link chores with key daily activities to remind you to do them. Examples:
Brush teeth → Rinse out the sink and wipe off the faucets
Stop for gas → Empty the trash bag in your car
Get dressed → Make the bed
Get undressed → Put clothes away or in the hamper
Finish eating dinner → Wash the dishes right away instead of leaving them until later
Feed the dog → Sweep the kitchen floor
“Do I still love or value this item?”
If not, it’s time to let it go. Give that thing an opportunity to be loved by someone else. Give someone else a chance to love it. And give yourself the gift of giving.
What if cleaning house could help you get in shape and maybe even lose a few pounds? Would that motivate you to pick up a broom more often?
Fact: Doing household chores can burn as many calories as some workouts!
At 180 calories per hour, an hour of vacuuming burns as many calories as 15 minutes of kickboxing. Even just walking around putting things away burns 136 calories per hour.
Plus, the more effort you put into doing multiple tasks, the more calories you burn:
Put on some music to liven up your working workout and start sweeping!
Act as if you already have everything you need and your life will be filled with abundance in more ways than you ever imagined.
If you hate folding underwear and socks, don’t do it! Just toss them into a bin or drawer or organize by color in a clear plastic hanging shoe organizer in your closet. It may take a few moments to find a matching pair of socks, but think of the time you’ll save folding. It might be just the thing to help keep clean laundry from piling up.
Treat unwanted gifts like flowers. Yes, they express a sentiment you appreciate. No, that doesn’t mean you have to keep them forever.
— Don Aslett
Keep a small trash bag up front in your car, plus one or more behind the front seat(s) for passengers to use. Empty them out whenever you stop for gas. (A friend of mine swears by having a trash bag in front of each kid!)
Have cleaning tools and appliances ready to go. For example, empty the vacuum canister or bag when you finish cleaning so you don’t have to do it before you start next time.
Keep a stain-removal pen in your purse or glove box to treat food and drink stains as they occur rather than struggling with them later.
Consider the postage stamp: its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing till it gets there.
— Josh Billings
Maximize your organizing goals by tying them into a larger life goal. Think about how being organized will help you create the time and space you need to pursue a dream or simply enjoy a more peaceful life.
If you never set a larger item on top of a smaller item, you’ll spend less time looking for things.
Set up two boxes for organizing stacks of neglected paperwork: one for important papers you need to keep and one for papers you think you should keep. Working quickly, file papers in one box or the other, or in a recycle/shred pile.
The next step is to find a home for the important papers by filing them correctly. Then schedule time to go through the second box and decide if you really need to keep everything in it. Meanwhile, you know where all your unfiled papers are.
Keep credit card and debit card receipts until you verify amounts on your monthly statement or by reviewing your account online. Receipts for consumables like groceries and dining out can be tossed. Set up a “Home Inventory” folder to store receipts for product purchases and purge it annually to remove receipts for items you no longer own.
Line the bottom of your oven (and toaster oven) with foil or a silicone oven liner that can be removed for easy cleaning.
Line stove burner pans with foil to catch spills; replace the foil when it gets dirty.
To prevent mildew and bacteria from developing, always allow countertops and floors to dry completely before setting the cutting board or area rugs back on them.
When you wash a cutting board, let it air-dry on edge rather than lying flat.
Establishing just one or two of these rules will help you keep clutter from accumulating.
Set a timer for 10 minutes in the morning or evening and clean, clean, clean. Focus on high-traffic areas like the bathroom or kitchen and on tasks that are easily put off, like folding and putting away laundry. Make your kids help out before they watch TV or go off to play.
You can sell that old cell phone! Check out www.sellcell.com to find the best offer for your old cell phone. Or ask at the nearest phone store about recycling programs that help those who need phones.
Removable adhesive hooks for easy organizing can go virtually anywhere; you can move them any time without marring surfaces.
Install a couple in your closet or behind a door for airing clothes you will wear again before laundering (instead of tossing them over a chair or on the floor).
Keep the floor of your clothes closet clear for quicker, easier vacuuming. Store shoes on shoe racks, keep them in an over-the-door shoe organizer, or just toss them all in a basket.
If something breaks and you replace it, toss the broken item. It is officially garbage.
Imagine trying to find a book in a bookstore without a filing system! That’s kind of what it’s like when you just put stuff anywhere and everywhere without thinking about where it belongs. Start looking at your home as being made up of zones (rooms) and zones within zones (closets, cabinets, drawers).
Keep a small laundry basket or tote bag in your closet into which you can toss articles of clothing you decide you no longer wish to keep.
Most people wear 20 percent of their clothes 80 percent of the time. If you haven’t worn something in the last year, it’s probably because you don’t like the way you look or feel in it. Are you really likely to wear it in the next year?
To encourage your kids to put away their stuff, make it easy, and as much as possible, make it fun. For example:
Make housecleaning more enjoyable by putting on your favorite music or listening to an audiobook while you work.
A large part of getting organized is learning to act from a place of self-esteem, knowing what we want and don’t want to do, knowing what we can and can’t do, and taking good care of ourselves.
— Marilyn Paul
Don’t leave bills, papers, library books, items that need fixing, and so on lying around as reminders. Better: Make a note of what you need to do and schedule a time to do it.
Place wastebaskets wherever trash tends to accumulate. Empty them regularly.
If you “pre-organize” your paper piles, it’s easier to deal with them when you have the time to go over them.
Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.
— Robert J. Collier
Always declutter before cleaning. Grab a laundry basket and pick up stray items to put away when you’re done cleaning. It’s quicker and easier to clean when you don’t have to work around piles of stuff.
Bring other family members on board with your goal of a cleaner, happier home.
Plan a family night out after a big decluttering project. Or agree to put yard sale earnings toward a family vacation or a coveted item like a plasma-screen television.
Clean out your wallet or purse weekly or even daily to remove receipts and other items that can be filed or tossed.
Use the time you spend waiting to do one quick chore.
Clearing clutter doesn’t mean throwing everything out. It’s all about figuring out what’s really important to you and letting go of what isn’t.
Choose to complete 10 small decluttering tasks a day every day without fail. Before you know it, chaos will give way to organization and you’ll have the confidence to tackle larger decluttering projects.
Allow it to be easier than you think, faster than you expect, and more fun than you can imagine.
— Michael Neill
Create a happy place where you can feel at peace. It might be a room that is off-limits to other family members, or it might just be a favorite chair or your bed. Make an extra effort to keep that space clutter-free.
Give yourself a “happy uncluttered home” deadline. Schedule a celebration one, two, or three months from now. Offer to host a family dinner over the holidays, plan a party at your house, or commit to participating in an upcoming neighborhood garage sale. Then start chipping away!
Whenever it seems like you need more storage space, schedule a decluttering session.
Set realistic goals. It’s okay if they’re simple. For example, “I don’t have to clean out that entire closet tonight. I’ll just clean out that one junk drawer.”
Instead of aiming for perfection, aim for speed.
Most people have no idea of the giant capacity we can immediately command when we focus all of our resources on mastering a single area of our lives.
— Tony Robbins
Don’t file papers that you don’t need to save, such as utility bills. Save only the most recent one and toss it when the next one comes in. Better yet, opt for paperless billing statements and eliminate filing altogether.
When it comes to stuff, less is more — more space, more time, more happiness.
“Do I need to keep this document for tax or legal purposes?”
If not, shred documents with your Social Security number, credit card and bank account numbers, and other personal information to reduce the risk of identity theft.
The IRS accepts digital receipts as valid tax documentation.
Use your smart phone to snap photos of paper receipts and then store them on a secure cloud server like Shoeboxed.com or Evernote.com
The difference between try and triumph is just a little “oomph”!
— Marvin Phillips
Reduce the amount of unsolicited mail you receive. Go to www.dmachoice.org and ask to have your name and address removed from their mailing lists.
Remember that all you really
MUST do today is b-r-e-a-t-h-e.
Use the first day of fall and spring (or the days you set the clock forward and back) to remind you to do semi-annual chores, such as moving and vacuuming underneath furniture, or purging your wardrobe.
Chores do not need to be done perfectly. “Done” is perfect.
Dust large items like tables, hutches, and dressers with a cloth in each hand to make the job go quicker.
Who do you know whose home always looks the way you want your home to look? Next time you are about to toss something on your kitchen counter or table, ask yourself: “What would [name] do?”
You can choose to create the life you want or you can continue to deal with the life you don’t want.
If you are struggling, join a support group.
On Facebook, search for “Unclutter.com Organizing Support Group,” a private group where you can ask questions and get answers and be inspired to declutter, organize, and simplify your life.
Use the time you spend waiting to do one quick chore.
Do as much as you can, whenever you can. Keep at it.
When you redecorate, don’t allow the old stuff to take up valuable space in your home. Donate it now and let someone else share in the joy of redecorating.
Only what gets scheduled gets done. Block out time on your calendar to clear clutter. Then show up for your appointment.
You set things down with good intentions to pick them up and put them away later. Or you don’t know where to file or store something and put off making that decision. The next thing you know, a little mess has grown into a bigger mess and it keeps growing until
and
Fortunately, you don’t have to stop everything to get organized. You just need to start.
Seek happiness: Pick a single tip from this book and do it right now!