A house becomes a haven when it inspires easy living. Ridding your home of needless clutter and organizing the things you use and care about will help make your home an enjoyable place for all. Use these strategies to bring clutter under control.
Declutter in a Day
Schedule a day when you can do a whole-house clutter sweep. This way you'll save on start-up/knockdown time.
Schedule the Salvation Army or another charity to come to your house soon after your decluttering day. This gives you a deadline.
Dress so you can put all your energy into the job. Wear comfortable clothes and sneakers.
Be prepared. You'll need several types of containers: boxes labeled "Give Away," "Garage Sale," and "Store," plastic storage bins (the see-through kind are best), and a large plastic garbage bag for every room. If you think you'll be distracted by things you don't know what to do with, put them in a box too. Label the box "Questionable" and give yourself a deadline for deciding where those difficult items will end up. Also have a small box to collect safety pins and buttons, a shoe-size box for random photos you find, and another box or a piggy bank for coins.
Start with the most cluttered room in your house. Work your way methodically around the room. Remove clutter from shelves, bookcases, drawers, tabletops, floors, and walls.
Toss or give as much as possible. Be ruthless with things like gift boxes, grocery sacks, old magazines and catalogs, and craft materials you saved but haven't used. Weed out games your family doesn't play and books you'll never read.
