Declutter ForEver...
Well At Least ForNow!

Wouldn't it be great to Declutter ForEver? Well let's not get overwhelmed but instead just keep it real and "Declutter ForNow." (Yes, I made that term up but it just seemed right :)

When you look around your home do you feel like it's too cluttered? It's easy to accumulate a lot of stuff even during "lean times." I don't know how it happens but in the majority of homes I've organized there is too much clutter. If we're not diligant about getting rid of old things as we bring in new stuff, clutter tends to sneak up on us and overtake our homes.

Sometimes it may even feel like you'll never be able to declutter forever. Don't worry though, using the method below, you'll take baby steps toward your clutter that will result in a beautiful, clutter-free home.

So What Is Clutter Anyway?

Clutter is all the things in your home that don't really matter or that aren't being used. Clutter wastes time, energy and space. And all of these are things most of us long for more of! Ironic isn't it?

With so much stuff constantly coming into our homes, it can become increasingly difficult to prevent clutter buildup. Add our hurried lifestyles and overloaded schedules to all the stuff and we have a recipe for some serious clutter issues. Now more than ever there is a desperate need for easy maintenance homes.

With the current economy challenges, most folks are buying less and bringing fewer things home. That's a positive! We don't need so much stuff! This also makes it a perfect time to tackle the clutter.

To DeClutterForEver is unrealistic for most of us, which is why the "DeclutterForNow" techniques work... even if they must be repeated periodically.

For example, do you have a room that looks something like the this?

If so, you may be feeling overwhelmed even at the thought of starting to declutter. If that's the case, believe, me it's time to to Declutter ForNow! Don't worry, this doesn't mean you have to do a drastic "clean sweep", just some realistic decluttering. And when you finish a Declutter ForNow session, please be sure to share your story below. It's a great way to encourage other visitors so we can all learn from each others experiences.

Start By Choosing One Room To DeClutter

Collect Four Large Boxes and Several Small Boxes

Label the large ones as follows...

Keep: It's useful, needed and/or worth spending time on

Someplace Else: Anything that belongs in another room

Give Away: To others, charities, schools, libraries, etc.

Garbage: Well, you know what that is!

Next, start at the door and work clockwise around the room, picking up each and every item and placing it in the appropriate box.

Very small items can go into the smaller boxes if needed.

The beauty of the 4-Box DeclutterForEver approach is that if you have to stop, everything stays sorted in the boxes until you can resume. :-)

Please don't agonize over a decision. If you're having trouble deciding on something try asking yourself if you enjoy taking care of that particular thing enough to keep it and then make the best choice possible.

Continue around the room until you have sorted every item.

Once you're done, bag up the Give Away items right away and put them in your car to be donated during your next trip into town.

Bag up the Garbage and dispose of immediately.

Just think, that's two bags minimum out of the room already!

Fun Tip: Some folks find it fun to keep a count of the Give Away and Garbage bags (outgoing clutter). The record so far with one of my organizing clients was 45 Bags from one home! Now that's what I call creating a lot of extra space and time!

The Someplace Else Box

It's best NOT to tackle the Someplace Else Box until you have Decluttered all the rooms you intend to get through. It's just too easy to get sidetracked so I recommend waiting until you are completely done decluttering.

Also, if you want to clean the room or rearrange furniture before putting back what actually goes in this room now is the best time to do so. Make your changes and then put the "Keep" items where they make the most sense.

Before you know it, your made-over room may start to look something like this...

Ahhh, can't you just feel that peaceful feeling wash over you as you look at that room? It's enough to make you want to move on to the next room, isn't it?

Go for it!

Just start the process over in the next most cluttered room. Put on a little music and pretty soon you'll be on your way to a clutter-free home.

And don't forget about that Someplace Else box. Just sort the items by room and go and put them away. It's easy! You can do it!

Great Job! Now reward yourself with some time with a Loved One. Share with them how you created the time to spend with them too.

DeClutter Fast

If you'd like to do more than just "declutter" and really make a lifestyle change to declutter forever, understand why you have so much stuff or learn how emotions are affected by clutter, check out Mimi Tanner's e-book, DeClutter Fast: How To Get Your Home In Order Almost Immediately. Mimi wrote this e-book based on her own personal lifelong interest in Decluttering.

Mimi teaches you...

• Her “ONE-DAY DeClutter Fast Method”
• Emergency Decluttering - (read: unexpected guests?)
• How Does Your Home Affect the Ones You Love?
• How to Declutter When You Don’t Know Where To Start
• The Tough-Love Truth About Order vs. Clutter

It's one of the most sensitively written books I've read on a topic that a lot of us struggle with. You can really tell that Mimi uses her journey from "pack rat to organized" to help others who struggle with clutter and related issues. I hope it inspires you to declutter forever and enjoy the benefits of increased time, space and energy.

And there you have it. I hope you're motivated to Declutter ForNow and get on the road to DeclutterForEver. And please, do read some of the inspirational stories below and share your own!

Decluttering Stories Visitors Have Shared

Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...

• Start with One Small Space Just for You 
I live in a house full of "clutterbugs" that includes: myself, husband, mother-in-law and kids. I am overwhelmed by every space in my home and the lack …
• Sheri's Organized Life 
I have been organizing for a very long time, but only professionally for 3 years coming up in March of 2008. I have a crazy eye for detail that almost …
• A Half Hour a Day keeps the Clutter Away 
I'm a WAHM whose been living in some hard family circumstances for about 5 years. During this time and for the previous 10 years we've lived in the same …

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