I am a neat freak and cannot stand clutter in my home! It just drives me a bit batty - LOL! Now, my home isn't totally clutter-free all of the time because I do have a life, but I like it cleaned up at the end of each day, if possible. Here are some tips for keeping the clutter down in your home.
- Regularly go through the rooms and look for things that are not being used anymore. We use the one-year rule in our home. If we haven't worn it, played with it, listened to it, watched it, etc. in a year's time, then it's time to donate or sell that item. Assign a room a month to keep up with this task so that you are regularly going through EVERYTHING in your home.
- Keep up with the papers. Go through the bills and pay weekly. At the end of the week, decide which of your kids' papers are "keepers" and toss the rest. Put their papers in their own container. At the end of the school year, go through them all again and further consolidate those items that you want to save.
- Recycle magazines or donate to a Dr.'s office, beauty salon, etc. I take my old magazines in each time I get my hair cut and my hairdresser really appreciates this! Don't forget to UNSUBSCRIBE to those magazines that you just do not have time to read!
- Another rule in our home is that we must get rid of something when we bring new items in. For example, I buy a few new shirts at Walmart. I must then find the same number of shirts to give away or sell. The idea is that I have to determine needs vs. wants. If I don't WANT to give away any shirts, then I don't NEED to be buying any new ones, do I? The same goes for my kids' toys, although that's a little harder :-) However, they are learning that keeping toys they don't play with just clutters up their room.
- Box up items. If you have items that are cluttering up your home, but you can't bear to part with them, then try this. Box them up and put them in the garage or attic. Do NOT mark the box. After a year's time, if you can't remember what is in the box, then you probably didn't need it in the first place! However, if they are family heirlooms or keepsakes, it is ok to mark the box so that you don't toss those types of items out.
Well, I hope those tips help a bit as you work to conquer the clutter in your home this summer!
