I’m working on an article for Catholic Digest on how to declutter your home (yours, specifically. Or maybe mine…).
I’d love any practical questions you might have, to help me cover the bases in my article. When it comes to Clutter in Your Home, what would you like to know? Be as specific as you’d like!
Also, if there are any readers out there who used to struggle with clutter and have learned to manage the beast, please let me know! I’d love to hear your story.
Thanks, and Happy Friday! And before I go, a few quick links:
My friend Kelly loves Downton as much as I do. And she writes real good.
I love suggestions for good books to read and Sarah at Clover Lane recently asked for help. I can’t wait to make a list!
And from Tony Woodlief, here’s something to get your mind off the fact that you can’t have that Baconator today. Our suffering is so small, isn’t it.
Here’s my clutter question – what do you do with all the papers/artwork/junk that comes home from school? We have an under-the-bed-box for each kid where we save the favorites, and then throw out the rest, but we’ve had a few too many instances where the kids find their masterpieces in the trash.
For school artwork I take pictures of the artwork either by itself or of my child holding it if I have no intentions of keeping it. Every couple of years I have to go through the boxes of artwork and decide what needs to be kept and what to throw away. Sometimes we pass these art projects on to the grandparents.
Nice idea!
I always sort the paperwork when Im in a very pragmatic, unemotional mood. When I’m not feeling sentimental, it helps me part with things I know we don’t really need to save!
I found Tsh Oxenreider’s book “Organize Simplicity” hugely helpful because it gave me a “why” to organizing, not just a “how”. I’d love to know what you do with old papers and how long you save them – tax documents, utlities, retirement fund docs, etc.
Thank you! I will include this!
I’ve been cleaning out my house for the past month. I’ve found a common theme of why I keep certain things that just end up collecting dust: I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. Truth be told, I don’t need all of that junk, so we started giving it to the Salvation Army. I feel as though a huge burdent has been lifted. I also got a ridiculous amount of rubbermaid containers and put a bunch of my kids toys in there.
I good book I recently read is This Little Piggy Went to the Liquor Store. It’s for adults, but I found it hilarious and real.
Awesome! That sounds hilarious.
Yes, wondering also about school papers. Also, how to get over the “I may need ths later issue”.
It can certainly be dangerous. I have been known to toss things we end up needing. One thing I do for “random papers we may or may not need” is keep them on a large clip that I hang on one of those 3m plastic hooks. It’s on the inside of our bookbag closet. That way it’s within reach but out of the way.
I found a good bill payment system, good old three ring binder with dividers that have pockets. IT’s only taken oh 17 years of being married to come up with one that works and doesn’t get us a red lettered late water bull, I’m not kidding when I say I have payed our water bill late more than on time…sad.
My question would be like Colleen’s , what to do with the school papers???
Thanks for that idea!
School papers – I’ve never done this, because my boys don’t particularly care, once the novelty has worn off. But I read a suggestion somewhere of scanning the artwork into the computer, so you have an image of them saved, and then you can toss the actual. It would be cool to make some sort of photo book when they get older of their artwork. I find that when I’m in a de-cluttering mood, it helps if I just tackle one tiny area at a time. Even if I just do one thing a month, it helps to feel accomplished. Sometimes it’s a shelf, sometimes it’s a drawer – I find my hardest thing is just getting started. Once the project begins, I always finish it. And then I’m amazed at how quickly I got it done. I hope you post the article on the blog, too!
Thanks for the tips! And I’ll post the article for sure!
Has it moved in the last several months? No, then you’re probably not going to notice it when it’s gone.
Great advice!
This is perfect! I’m doing the 40 bags in 40 days challenge for Lent. I posted a pic today of one of my clutter pet peeves – my hubby like to dump things on any available horizontal surface, and it drives me insane! The pic I posted on my blog is a cabinet just inside our front door. UGH! How do you get the dumper to just STOP?? Trust me, if it were just that he dumped his stuff on that cabinet, I’d remove the cabinet, but he puts stuff everywhere, and I’m constantly cleaning. I don’t usually touch this cabinet, though.
Maybe you can try giving him a designated area — but also (in a loving way) explain how stressful it is when he just leaves junk all over the place. Maybe he doesn’t realize just how frustrating that can be!
Do you have any suggestions for keeping clutter under control when your spouse feels strongly about not getting rid of things “in case we need them someday”?
This is the $64, ooo question!
P.S. Thanks again for the plug, Rach.
Maybe you could give him a designated area? The garage? A shed? That can be tough (I do indeed know!) so with some of that stuff I just try to find an out-of-the-way area to store what we might one day need.
I got rid of all my copies of classic literature. Every library is going to have ‘Hamlet’.
One good question to ask yourself, ” Will my children want it when I’m dead?” If you think that they will want it, do they know why it’s important to you? My grandfather saved a pink cup from his Aunt Francis’ house and stored it in his basement for years. We have not idea why it was important to him, so it got tossed.
Another good question to ask yourself is, How many <> will I reasonably use in the next 10 years?” We just had a realtor come and look at our house. She was amazed that our linen closets were so neat and tidy. We only keep 2 sets of sheets for each bed.
Also, we have a new de-clutter standard in our house, ‘Is this how we would put our house on the market?’ We find out house to be so much more relaxing now that the clutter is gone.
I hope that these help.
Julie
Thanks! Great insight and advice. I love that thought about if you were to put your house on the market. How many shoes on HGTV have people falling in love with their home once they prep it for sale!
I have a long way to go in the de-clutter department, but here a re few things that work for us:
1. Eliminate some storage – This sounds counter-intuitive, but when we redid our bathroom, I got rid of a wall-mounted storage unit and bought a vanity 1/3 the size of the original one. If you provide a spot, the stuff will come.
2. In a similar vein, I got rid of our dish drainer. If I have one, odd lids, drink bottles, and misc. other items pile up. The dish drainer is in a closet if I need it.
My two cents.
Awesome! Thanks so much!
What do you do with gifts and gift bags you don’t want or need? And how do you organize your receipts and recipe clippings? I’ve tried various methods, but many end up being too time-consuming. Right now they each get stuffed in their own box, which is fast, but it’s a nightmare trying to find a specific one later.
I keep a box of gifts on the floor of my closet; a box of gift bags in our “supply” closet. If it doesn’t fit there, we can’t keep it.
Rachel, thanks so much for your blog!!! It really helps keep me sane knowing there are others who’ve gone “there” before me!
My question about clutter is how do you find the time to declutter when you’re in the thick of it with little boys making messes? As soon as I turn around, they seem to be getting into other things and making more messes for me to clean up, not to mention the regular daily stuff that needs to be done for the family. I have piles that are essentially labeled “pre-decluttering” that need to be organized “when I have the time” and have now become just as overwhelming as the rest! Before I started to “get ready to declutter,” at least it wasn’t all staring at me and mocking me that I don’t have time to get it all done!
So, basically, where do you find the time to declutter? I feel like I’m too far behind to even start!
Thanks for the question. My two cents: this will be a long-term project, so think of it in layers. And yes, you never want your decluttering efforts to send you backward. I never take on a project if it means the boys destroying some other part of the house. But if you work in small step — a closet here, a bathroom cabinet there, you should slowly dig your way out without giving your boys too much time to make another mess!
Thought you might like to read this article my friend wrote about religion on Downton Abbey. http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2013/february-web-only/god-shows-up-at-downton-abbey.html?start=1
Thanks for the post, Rach. I love de-cluttering. It makes me feel calm and happy. I, too, am doing 40 bags in 40 days and have recruited my ENDOW group to join me. After Easter we will have a group garage sale and donate proceeds to our ENDOW sister who is paying huge medical bills after breast cancer treatment and reconstruction.
I have two practical ideas/thoughts.
1) When I am de-cluttering, I place items into a rubbermaid tub and hide it in a closet. If no one notices the item is gone over then next month or three, I give it away. In 10 years, the boys have asked specifically for one or two items. I think I have heard that you use a container/black bag to keep items from prying eyes.
2) For school papers… I only keep original artwork, essays or items with photos or finger/hand prints on them. Everything else is recycled.
I think this should be the topic of your next book!
I love this school paper philosophy! I truly think it would help my sons make the right decisions themselves if I voiced this as my criteria. Currently, the oldest wants to keep the fun ones but they’re hardly ever the ones he had to get creative with. We always disagree on which to keep, and end up keeping twice what we should! Thanks Carrie!
Great advice! Thanks!