Keeping my home clutter free NEVER happens. Part of it is due to the fact that I have children and part of it is just ME. I have a very hard time keeping our home decluttered. I have many, MANY excuses for this (some of them more valid than others), but at the end of the day, in every room of our home, there is some form of clutter. And YES, it drives my husband nuts (which I feel terrible about)!
This is why I am making 2015 the year of DECLUTTERING our home! It is a HUGE job and that is why I am looking to the 40 Bags in 40 Days to get me into a new routine of decluttering. The truth is, though, this is going to be a process that will likely take me until the end of the year. And that is ok!
One thing that I have learned is that when I set my mind to it, I can declutter like nobody’s business! I have easily gotten rid of 40 grocery sized bags of garbage, recycling and donations out of my home already since the beginning of January. BUT, my challenge lies in the fact that things continue to enter my home and I have yet to find a perfect system that works for us to keep the clutter under control.
I also need to continue to carve out a small amount of time every.single.day in order to continue tackiling this HUGE decluttering job that I have on my hands.
My Mom is VERY good at keeping her living spaces decluttered (despite my Dad’s best efforts – YES, I get the clutter gene from my Dad). So, since the beginning of January, she has shared many wonderful ideas with me in order to help me reorganize my life. Here are some ideas that she shared with me:
Only touch things once.
Everything has a place.
Easier said than done, but I am definitely working on practicing these three amazing tips!
Put like with like.
This is a great way to organize things in your home so that you know where to find them in the future. This is one of the things that I find the most challenging as I have some many items that I could categorize as miscellaneous! Do you?
Only touch things once. I am guilty of moving things, especially papers, from one place to another without taking the extra few seconds to put it away where it belongs. This tip can especially be applied when it comes to filing bills and other papers. If you pick up a paper, put it where it belongs immediately so that paper piles don’t accumulate.
Everything has a place. It is no wonder our house gets cluttered easily when there isn’t a specific home for everything. We have “dumping piles” all over the place and so sadly, the kids are learning from the best. I am working at making a specific home for everything with less miscellaneous dumping bins so that everyone knows where everything belongs.
Here I am making my confession that 40 days isn’t long enough for me to organize and declutter my home….
Do you have any tips to share?
I love the idea of only touching things once. I am good at that, but my husband is forever moving things from one place to another on the way to where they belong.
Great tips! I did a major decluttering last year. A lot of the stuff we got rid of we have not missed. This year I am just trying to stay on top of things so the clutter doesn’t come back.
I love Everything has a place if only I could teach my man that lol
I to have a bad habit with the documents and bills, I organize and tidy, then move in a new spot..lol..I should just put them where they belong in the first place
It’s definitely not an easy job if it is already very cluttered. I think it’s a good idea to do a bit each day that way it’s not such an overwhelming task.