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Greetings!
Greetings! I promised you last month to help you win the war on clutter. And I'm delivering on that promise today with our feature article, 8 Steps to a Clutter-Free Home. Once you finish these 8 steps, you'll be surrounded only by those things that you love and use. Can you imagine how good that will feel? Bear in mind, your home may still need some cleaning and organizing when you finish uncluttering. That's okay, because right now it should be about purging, not prettying it
up. Next month we'll conclude our three-part series on clutter with a plethora of tips
for organizing your space and keeping it clutter-free. If 8 Steps leaves you hungry for more great uncluttering ideas, check out our new feature, Letters from Our Readers. We love reading your thoughts and ideas, so keep 'em coming to jeff@thecleanteam.com! Please take note: At the bottom of this (and every) newsletter, we feature a coupon code for a great Clean Team product related to our feature article. This month, you can buy The Home Owners Journalat 50% off the list price. Read the promo spot at the end of this newsletter to find out how. | |
 8 Steps to a Clutter-
Free House
Do You Own Your Stuff? Or Does It Own You?
If you're ready to take control over your clutter, then here's one simple truth you need to know: To live a life free from clutter, you've got to set the clutter free.
Getting control over clutter isn't just about filing systems and storage solutions (although organization is important and we'll talk next month about how to maintain an uncluttered stasis.) Getting control over clutter is first and foremost about learning how to reduce the volume of stuff. To turn your mountain of stuff back into a molehill, follow these eight straight-foward steps:
1. Schedule an appointment. You wouldn't just show up at your hair stylist's and expect her to cut your hair on the spot, would you? Then don't make the mistake of thinking that you'll magically find the time to unclutter. This is important -- You're changing your life here! -- so schedule the time.
2. Equip yourself. You can't clean your house without the right tools, nor can you unearth the clutter from your home without the proper equipment. You'll need 4-7 large cardboard boxes (or laundry baskets, or garbage bags), masking tape, and a permanent marker for labeling the boxes.
3. Unclutter like a clock works. Pick a spot to start and then work your way around the room clockwise. Do not skip a spot, do not go back to a spot you've already uncluttered.
4. Sort. Sort. Sort. This is the biggie. As you work your way around the room, pick up every item you encounter and ask yourself: Do I love this? Do I use it (regularly)? If the answer is no, then toss it into one of the following boxes:
· Sell/Give Away -- Having a garage sale or selling stuff on eBay can be a great incentive to part with your stuff. But for some of you, the hassle may be more than it's worth. Remember: It's okay to give away things that don't serve you -- they might serve someone else!
· Throw Away/Recycle -- When in doubt, throw it out! Toss anything that is irreparably broken, expired (batteries, medicine, food), or otherwise unsafe. You might want a separate box for recyclables, especially if you're likely to find a trove of aluminum cans hiding under your desk.
· Put Away -- You child's baseball cap doesn't belong in your home office any more than your expense report belongs in the playroom. Toss all waylaid items into the Put Away box, which you'll rehome at the end of your uncluttering appointment.
· Repair -- Think twice before putting something in this box. If your broken bread maker has been cluttering up your kitchen counter for months, then maybe you don't really need it after all.
· Not sure -- Truth be told, your uncluttering efforts will be more effective without this box. But if reading through the above categories has you breaking out in a cold sweat, then give yourself the breathing room of "not sure". Just use it sparingly.
5. Trust your first instinct. You pick up an old college essay or a pair of Levis that haven't fit you in a decade. You're about to toss the item into the "Throw Away/Give Away" box, but then you hesitate. You start remembering how good it felt to earn that A+ -- or to be a size 6. Next thing you know, your trip down memory lane has completely stymied your uncluttering efforts. Stay focused. Handle things quickly and move on. Your first instinct will never fail you.
6. Throw out the garbage, put donations and repairs in your trunk. Your uncluttering appointment is nearly finished. Don't end your session without clearing away the debris. Put the Throw Away into the garbage and put the Recycle into the car so you can drop it off. Put your donations in the car so you can drop them off at Salvation Army (or your charity of choice) tomorrow. Do the same with your repair items. And if those boxes should still be riding around with you next week, then get real with yourself and toss them.
7. Re-home misplaced items. Return items to their rightful place. This is not the time to create a new filling system for your old credit card bills. Just put each item where it belongs and move on.
8. Take a deep breath and smile. You did it! Okay, so there might be a little cleaning and organizing left to do, but you'll get there. For now, revel in the fact that you've just taken the first -- and hardest -- step toward reclaiming your life from the clutter.
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 Letters From Our Readers
I asked you last month to share your thoughts on clutter and boy did you ever! Seems like clutter is a sticking point for a lot of us.
Nice article on Clutter Control came in my e-mail. I already own the book! ... One thing that helps me is the
one year rule. If I have not touched that object in a year, then I have to
seriously consider if I really need it. Amazing how that focuses me on what is
really clutter surrounding me.
-- John Pombrio
What worked for us was hiring a professional organizer... She taught us some skills for letting go
of things. My husband and I developed a
system along those lines. Sometimes I have something that I don't really want
to keep anymore, but have some reason I can't personally throw it out. I can
say to my husband "It would be OK if this just went away". And he makes it go
away. And I never see it again or feel guilty about it. It's just GONE.
-- Cathy Moya
You must have visited my closet recently! Last year I threw a 30 gallon
garbage bag stuffed with clothes (none of them fit, and they all went
out of style before the dinosaurs were wiped out) in the dumpster.
-- Annonymous
A number of you commented on the design of our newsletter, and suggested a color scheme that might be easier on your eyes. Thanks for your input. We've redesigned the look and feel -- and hope that you'll be pleased. We sure are!
As always, we'd love to hear from you: How's your uncluttering going? What's working for you?
What's not? The more you share with us, the better we can serve you -- and
the rest of our readers -- with our monthly newsletter. Please send me
your emails at jeff@thecleanteam.com.
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As you unclutter your home, you'll probably discover a hefty stack of house-related paperwork -- from the paint chip you used in your dining room to your plumber's phone number to various appliance owner's manuals.
The Clean Team has the perfect solution for organizing this information:The Home Owner's Journal. It's where you keep track of everything you (and others) have done for or to your home over the years. Get your copy at 50% off the list price during the entire month of June. To order your copy, from the list of products, select "Specials," then "Code" and then enter CTNJUNE8. | |
Thanks for reading us this month! Come visit us on the web at www.thecleanteam.com.
Sincerely,
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Jeff Campbell
The Clean Team Catalog |
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