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HOME/ Organizing/ Simplifying

How to Declutter When Overwhelmed

How to Declutter When Overwhelmed

I’ve gathered some tips and tricks to help you know how to declutter when overwhelmed.

If you read my post last week called Facing the Clutter in that One Dreaded Room, you know I’ve been busy decluttering around here, and honestly was quite overwhelmed when facing my own clutter. I talked about how we cleared out the study (that had become a storage room) and put all clutter in one area upstairs.

I purposefully transferred all clutter to an area where I could not close a door or drawer and ignore it. It is in our upstairs landing area, a place that I must walk through to get to my bedroom. I can’t stand seeing it every day, so I have been very motivated to chip away at the clutter.

In the process of dealing with my own clutter, have gathered some tips and tricks to help you declutter when you are feeling overwhelmed, too.

How to Declutter When Overwhelmed

 

~Just start. There is no system or checklist that is going to do the work for you. You have to just start.

 

~Don’t be an overthinker. If you think too much, you will be paralyzed and get nothing done. This is when procrastination happens. Stop analyzing and just get busy!

 

~Clear out a small space, then keep plugging away at the rest. Think progress, not perfection.

 

~Have bins/boxes and black yard waste bags all ready to grab and use.

 

~Use black yard waste bags. You can’t see inside the bags so you won’t second guess or retrieve, and neither will your kids! I have one kid that is notorious for searching through my donate bags.

 

~Use these 3 things:

  1. Keep Box or Bin
  2. Donate Bag
  3. Trash Bag

*Notice I did not include a ‘Sell’ box. This has tripped me up too many times. I end up keeping clutter thinking I’m going to sell it, which just creates more work and does not help me embrace simplicity. No more ‘sell’ box for me. It all goes to the ‘donate’ box.

Cube Timer- Great for decluttering!

{My FAVORITE timer. Click here to buy on Amazon}

~Set timer 15, 30 or 60 minutes. You choose. When the timer goes off, go make yourself a cup of tea. Then repeat or give it another go the next day. Pace yourself.

 

~ Find trash first. Scan the area and get rid of obvious trash. When trash bag gets full, take out the trash and keep going. Only use one trash bag for trash at a time. 

 

~Start with easy decisions–the easiest being gather obvious trash. Make harder decisions, like what projects to keep and finish or what sentimental items to donate, for later. Set them aside and move on to something else.

 

~Self-talk is important. When you feel overwhelmed, change your thoughts. A ‘can-do’ attitude makes a difference!

“I can do this.” 

“I don’t have to do it all now.”

“A little bit every day will get the job done.”

“I will be amazed at what I can achieve in a short time”

“One session done quickly will add up to a finished room in time.”

“My worst room might just become my best!”

These type of thoughts will lift your spirits and help you get the job done.

 

~Those items that are hard to let go? A helpful way to think about them is, “Am I holding onto someone else’s blessing?” Just because something has value does not mean you need to hold onto it. It could bless someone else.

 

~Use the 20/20 rule. This is a great tactic I’ve read about. If you can replace it for under $20 within 20 minutes, don’t keep it just because “WHAT IF I need it in the future?” Many things that are hard to part with can be found at your local thrift store, less than 20 minutes away and less than $20. So let it go, because if you truly need it in the future (you most likely won’t) you can get it in 20/$20!

 

~Take the ‘donate’ bag right to the car when full, and replace with a new bag. Doing this with both donate bags and trash bags will keep your area clear and you will see progress quicker, which will reward and motivate you. This tip is key for me! It is so motivating to see the area I am working on getting more and more clear as I take out the bags. It is so rewarding!

 

~Go through the ‘keep’ box as it fills up. If you find duplicate items or if one item replaces another, get it right to the donate bag. Put items you want to keep into ‘like with like’ piles.

 

~Ask a friend to help. Have them be the one to put things in ‘like with like’ piles, while you move quickly and take the items from the piles to their home.

 

~Make it fun. Play music or listen to a favorite podcast.

 

~Be ok with stopping but make sure you pick it back up the following day. A little each day and you will get it done!

 


How about you?

Do you have a dreaded room that needs decluttered and that is overwhelming?

Do this tips resonate with you? If so which one?

Please share your favorite decluttering tips!

HOME/ Homemaking/ Organizing/ Simplifying

Facing the Clutter in That One Dreaded Room

Facing the Clutter in That One Dreaded Room

Don’t we all have them? That one dreaded room full of clutter? I’d like to think I’m not alone. The time has come for me to face the clutter in the one dreaded room in our home. There are a couple of little areas in my home that need my attention, (and a big garage) but for the most part, the main areas stay decluttered. These are not the ‘dreaded room’ I’m talking about.

How to Paint a Deconstructed Chevron Wall

{the home office before it became a room-sized junk drawer}

The Dreaded Room

For me, the dreaded room was our home office. I’ve posted before about this room, about how to do the deconstructed chevron paint treatment on the wall, and how I organized the desk drawers, and the office closet.  Honestly, I’m embarrassed to admit how bad it got! The organizational systems I set into place worked really well for at least a couple of years, but then… life happened.

A year-long fight with anxiety, raising 3 teenagers, a blog that became a business our budget depends on, and medications that take me on an emotional roller coaster ride every 3 months…these are the reasons that come to mind when I think of why our office became a dumping ground. Yep, these are my excuses and they are quite good ones if I do say so myself!

If you have a similar room, have grace for yourself. You are certainly not alone, and it is ok to not have any good excuse. I just like to make myself feel better by listing mine. {grin.}

The office is on the main floor of our home. Until the last 2 days, it was full. Imagine an oversized junk drawer–it was a place to stash things that do not have a home. That was what our home office became and it was driving me crazy.

 

Clutter Attracts Clutter

An additional problem–the office is a room that one must walk through to get to my oldest daughter, Teagan’s room. She has always been my creative-minded daughter, who sees beauty in a lot of beautiful things, and likes to keep those things. I have to say, she has become much better releasing some of those things the last couple of years.

{door to my daughters’ room, must walk through the office}

Teagan has the ability to be organized, but it is not easy for her. She loves all the things but has the smallest room in the house with the tiniest, most dis-functional closet. You literally have to step up about 2 feet to get into the tiny closet. Once inside the floor slopes and makes it hard to stand straight and reach anything. She does NOT enjoy this.

Ironically, she choose her tiny room when she was little because of this “fun” step-up and slanted closet…it made the perfect private fort! I found her a few times using it as a place to pout about her ‘annoying’ little sisters or when she got in trouble for reacting to that annoyance! I picture her all tucked into the closet with her favorite yellow fuzzy comfort blanket, and it makes me smile..she was so little!

Now it is overflowing with clothes, high heels, and past homecoming and prom dresses. My baby has grown up and needs more usable space in order to live more organized.

Prom dress

Because of her lack of space and her love for all the things, I would often find her stuff overflowing into the office area. We all know clutter attracts clutter, so I take responsibility for how easy it was for her to add to my piles with her stuff.

 

Facing the Clutter

Teagan and her Grandma came up with the brilliant idea of clearing out the office and giving Teagan the space. It made sense since the rooms flow into each other, but I was immediately resistant. I feared a few things: giving up space where I stored a lot of my stuff, facing my room-sized junk drawer (who has the time?), and fear that I would just be trading my messy clutter for Teagan’s.

The last few weeks I have softened to the idea for a few reasons. I know it would force me to declutter and get rid of stuff that has been overflowing the office and office closet. I also recognized that Teagan (being a senior) has at least a year left with us, and has been talking about living at home for her first year of college, so we might get her for 2.

Over the summer, she worked so hard, saved a ton of money and showed so much responsibility in many areas. She is such a good kid. During the school year, she studies her cute little head off and needs a calm, clutter-free, quiet place to do it, especially as she enters college. She is amazing, and could use more space…and I have the ability to give it to her!

After communicating with her about my expectations for the ‘office turned Teagan’s extended room’ area, (which really is just to keep it orderly enough for me to easily dust and vacuum it with the rest of the house once a week), I decided she could take it.

I’m ok with just shutting the door to her main bedroom, but this second room I truly want her to keep orderly. She understands this and part of our agreement is that I can take the room back if it is not appreciated and taken care of.

Teagan has all kinds of plans to update her room and create a great space for her extended room. She and her boyfriend (who is super handy and helpful in these projects, and who has already helped by clearing the room) came up with a list of things that need to be done, from taking down wallpaper and painting/updating her room, to buying a few things to make the old office space beautiful and functional for her.

 

Clear Out the Clutter

She started clearing out the office clutter–another part of our agreement. She had to help by clearing the clutter, or really just transferring it to a place where I would be forced to deal with it. I wanted her to be a part of the process of making this space her own, experience hard work, and frankly, I needed the help to get it all up the stairs!

I had her carry it all upstairs to our landing area, an area that I pass to get to my bedroom. I could not handle having it strewn all over the house, and was purposeful in choosing where to gather the clutter. A single area, and a place where I would be forced to deal with it ASAP.

She made a bazillion trips up the stairs and commented on how great a leg workout it was. Ha!

I have a post coming out very soon titled ‘How to Declutter When Overwhelmed’ which will walk one through the process of tackling overwhelming clutter. I plan on making quite a bit of progress on the transferred clutter mess using the steps in the upcoming post. One thing about me is when I finally face the clutter, it has no chance. I’m good a tackling it and getting it done!

My anxiety rises every time I pass the transferred clutter. It is jolting to come up my stairs and walk through it to get to my nice, clean, de-cluttered and peaceful bedroom. It doesn’t feel good….talk about motivating!

Sometimes all it takes is to pull clutter out of closets and drawers (or entire rooms!) and place it in a space where you have to come face to face with it. It is definitely working for me, and I have already had two 20-minute sessions of decluttering in the area. Progress! I have a lot of tips and tricks I’ve learned when decluttering over the years, so watch for my upcoming post.


What about you?

Do you have a dreaded room or area that you need to unclutter?

Tell me all about it…it will make me feel so much better about mine!

DIY/Crafts/ HOME/ Organizing/ Simplifying

Simple Tips Tricks and Routines To Keep Your Car Clean

Simple Tips, Tricks and Routines To Keep Your Car Clean

“This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Armor All, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #LessTimeMoreShine http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV

We bought a new car about a year ago, and have been establishing some good routines to keep it looking (and smelling) like new. I have all kinds of simple tips, tricks and routines to share with you, from using Armor All Ultra Shine Wash & Wax wipes to keeping a lint brush in your glove compartment to pick up all those small things!

Simple Tips, Tricks and Routines To Keep Your Car Clean

As a Mom of 3 teen girls, I am in my car ALL THE TIME. Not only do I want to be a good steward of the blessing of a new car and take good care of it, but I also want to be in an environment that is clutter-free and easy to be in, where everything I need has a place.

Intentionality is the only way to keep life from overtaking our car, and routines are the answer! I have found that simple routines are the best way to keep the clutter out, and the interior and exterior of the car clean and shiny!

Simple Routines To Keep Your Car Clean

Routinely take trash and items that don’t belong out of your car

This is the most crucial step to keeping a clean car. If you can’t carry all items in right when you get home, do your best to get the rest either right away or next time you leave your car. The key is making a habit of pushing pause before heading inside to see what you can grab. Remind the kids to do the same as they head out of the car. Do this every time you arrive home and things won’t pile up or get overwhelming.

Glove Compartment Cleaning Kit

The simple decision to keep trash bags in the car has truly worked wonders for me. I keep a roll of small trash bags in the glove compartment and whenever I see more trash than I can carry piling up in the car, I will grab a bag off the roll and get rid of the trash in one easy sweep!

Armor All Wash & Wax Wipes

Keep items on hand to conveniently clean

The key to keeping routines is to make them as easy as possible. Having the right items on hand is the path to efficiency.  I keep a cleaning kit in my glove box for easy grab and go clean for the interior of my car, which I will share below.

There is now grab and go clean for the EXTERIOR of your car, too! Armor All has 1, 2, 3 step system to be used anytime, anywhere. The Ultra Shine Wash & Wax Wipes and Ultra Shine Tire Sponges are NEW Armor All products – all THREE available at Walmart.

These products are pre-moistened and treated, so you literally need nothing else to clean the exterior of your car. These are the perfect go-to for making your car shine without requiring a bucket and hose. Talk about a convenient way to clean!

Rescue car once a week.

My Todd does this for me every Saturday. He brings in any items that do not belong in the car and throws away all trash. I so appreciate his faithfulness in this, and try hard during the week to bring things in to make less work for him. He often will vacuum the car out for me, too, so it is important to me that the car is empty and ready for him to do this. He also fills the gas tank. I am a spoiled girl! This weekly rescue does make a difference!

Make use of sitting time.

Use the time that you are already stuck sitting in the car. As a mom of teens, I am often sitting in my car waiting for my girls to finish soccer practice or socializing at church. Other times I find myself sitting is when I am picking them up from school, or picking one of their friends up to hang out. My girls will go in to retrieve their friend and more times than not take a few minutes to return to the car–teen girls can get distracted! Instead of getting annoyed, I try to use those moments to take a quick but purposeful glance around the car to see what needs to be rescued. This is when I make use of the tools in my clean car glove compartment kit.

Simple Tips, Tricks and Routines To Keep Your Car Clean

Tips and Tricks To Keep Your Car Clean

Keep a small duster in the glove box

It is so easy to grab and quick dust the dash and areas around the driving seat during those periods of time when you are waiting or right when you arrive home. Don’t have a small duster?  Coffee filters are great for inexpensive, lint-free dusting or wiping crumbs. I found that coffee filters are even great for wiping fingerprints off of shiny surfaces.

Use a can of compressed air for detailed cleaning.

I personally think this is super fun and satisfying way to banish dust anywhere that it has accumulated, especially in small cracks. Use a blast of air to move those trapped particles out!

Simple Tips, Tricks and Routines To Keep Your Car Clean

Use storage spaces wisely

Decide what you want to keep on hand in your car, then create a space for those items. Use the storage spaces your car comes with, and add your own containers to maximize the usefulness of these areas. I added these small square containers to the little storage space between the front seats of my car.

Notice what makes up clutter in your car, decide what to keep in your car and create a home for it. Example items I like to keep around–lip balm, hair ties, mints, spare change, pens, an extra phone charger and my favorite essential oil to put in my car essential oil diffuser.

Throw carpeted floor mats into the washing machine

I had no idea you could do this until I stumbled upon this tip on the web. They suggested using the gentle cycle and air drying. I have not tried this because my floor mats are rubber.

Throw rubber floor mats in the dishwasher

Bang debris off of your car mats then lay them over the top rack of your dishwasher. A pressure wash that requires no work from you!

Simple Tips, Tricks and Routines To Keep Your Car Clean with Wash & Wax Wipes

Armor All Wash & Wax Wipes

Armor All Wash & Wax Wipes

Use Armor All Wash & Wax Wipes to keep the EXTERIOR of your car sparkling

Armor All Ultra Shine Wash Wipes are extra large and sturdy, use to simply wipe your car clean.  I absolutely love using these wipes for the car exterior and also for the neglected areas right inside the car door seal that tend to collect dirt.

The second step is Armor All Ultra Shine Wax Wipes, simply wipe and go. I was amazed that it only took one wax wipe for my entire car. I was also amazed at how shiny it left my car.

I will share the 3rd step —Armor All Ultra Shine Tire & Trim Shine Sponges— below, where you can see my hubcaps and tires shine! So simple. So easy! You can find all of these wipes at your local Walmart.

Use a foam brush to clean vents

Foam brushes are a great item to have handy in the glove box. They fit perfectly into the little slats of air conditioning vents. You can buy them at your local dollar store.

Trunk Organizer

Use a trunk organizer

I LOVE my trunk organizer. It has 3 compartments that hold my groceries nicely, and also a detachable cooler that I take right into the grocery store with me. It is so convenient! This organizer has a zipper pouch on the end for storing an emergency car kit, maps, and my Armor All Wash & Wax wipes.

Keep a roll of small trash bags handy

I shared this tip earlier. You could also use plastic grocery store bags, but a roll is nice and compact to fit in the glove box for a quick grab.

Have tissues on hand to wipe up small messes as they happen and for multiple uses.

I like having items in the car that can have more than one use. These are great to use if my coffee drips, to wipe my hands if I’m putting on makeup in the car (can’t beat all that natural light!) or to blow my nose during allergy season.

Armor All Wash & Wax Wipes

Shine up those tires & hubcaps

This is an area I neglected all year until I discovered Armor All Ultra Shine Tire and Trim Shine Sponges. I had no idea my hubcaps were so dirty and how easy it would be to wipe them down with these sponges. It also made my tires look brand new again.  I’ve been amazed at how my tires now seem to repel dust and dirt.

Vacuum from the top down.

Don’t forget the car ceiling! Make use of those detail attachments on your vacuum.

Use upholstery cleaner.

Along with a microfiber cloth, upholstery cleaner is great for spots on the ceiling (how do they get up there?) or on seats or even seat belts. They also can be used on a child’s car seat.

Use a toothbrush

Brush dirt and grime out of seat cracks with an old toothbrush. Use it with cleaner to get dirt that has embedded itself in the textures of your vinyl.

Use a wooden skewer.

Wooden skewers and a cloth to remove dirt from small crevices. This allows you to do your own detailed cleaning.

Keep a lint brush handy.

A roller-type sticky lint brush is a great to get crumbs from upholstery and carpets in between vacuuming. It can also be used on a child’s seat. These are fun to use! Hand them to your kids to do some cleaning for you as they hang out in the back seat!

Get those vacuum attachments out.

Use a vacuum attachment for sucking up dirt as you dust cracks and crevasses. Have the vacuum attachment in one hand, and a brush in the other, vacuuming the dust right up as you brush it out of all the nooks and crannies.

Move those seats.

Slide all your seats way forward to get all dirt and debris behind them.

Roll the window down a bit before cleaning.

This gets the very tip top edge of it clean, too.

Keep it smelling clean

I love using a car essential oil diffuser. It plugs right into the car lighter which gently heats it and sends the scent throughout the car. I store a bottle of essential oils right in my car, usually something citrus which is super uplifting and smells amazing. Hint: don’t use relaxing lavender oil in the car…you want to stay alert!

Play music while you clean

This is a must. Play your favorite tunes while you clean and keep those windows rolled down if it is nice out and let the fresh air in!

DIY Glove Compartment Car Cleaning Kit

Glove Compartment Car Cleaning Kit

Glove Compartment Car Cleaning Kit

Glove Compartment Car Cleaning Kit Items

tissues

roll of small trash bags

lint roller

foam brush

coffee filters

mini microfiber duster

old toothbrush

wooden skewer

small brushes

toothbrush

microfiber cloth

essential oils for car essential oil diffuser

——–

What about you?

Do you have routines that keep your car clean?

Would you like to purchase your own Armor All Ultra Shine Wipes? If so, shop your automotive section in Walmart and use this  $2.00 off any one (1) of the Armor All Ultra Shine Wipes coupon while supplies last!

Decorating/ HOME/ Homemaking/ Simplifying

Tips For Redecorating and Simplifying A Small Sunroom

sunroom-decoration-2

Thank you HedgeScapes, for sponsoring this post. Visit HedgeScapes to find your perfect artificial decorative hedges capes that are 100% maintenance free.

Our sunroom has been on my list to simplify and redecorate for quite a while now. It is the first room that any visitor to our home sees, and I want it to be a warm, inviting and welcoming space.

I have found this area to very easily attract clutter, as it can be a place where we dump items from the cars that go in the house. We also seem to put things that need to be delivered (like a box for donation or to mail) and instead of taking those items all the way to the car, they get left in the sunroom. Well, not anymore! By keeping it picked up and beautifying it, we are much more purposeful to put things where they go instead of leaving them in the sunroom.

It was also time to simplify the decorations. My tastes change over the years and I wanted a rug that would ground the eye and be a calming center. As you will see in the photo below, I had a rug that was pretty and bright. It was gifted to me years ago and I loved it, but it is more of a decorative statement and one that was appropriate for spring and summer, but felt a bit too flowery during the fall and winter months, and I wanted a more minimal look.

before-sunroom

I decided to give our sunroom a mini-makeover, by purchasing a new rug, new pillows, some fun new lights, adding a topiary, and rearranging items.

sunroom-decor

Simple Color Scheme and Simple Patterns

The above photo clearly shows all of the new items I bought. I wanted to keep just a hint of bright color and did that through the red pillow and the red ribbon on the chalkboard hanging. Red is a great color for all seasons. Grey is the other accent color, which is quite neutral. I love having two pillows, in the same pattern but in different colors.

sunroom-porch-swing-pillows

Add Texture

I added texture to the room with the fuzzy, striped white pillow, the patterns on the other pillows, the rug and also plants. Texture can give a simple, small room some much-needed depth and interest.

hedgescapes-window-sunroom

hedgescape-2-sunroom

Add Greenery

My favorite new addition to the sunroom and just outside on the porch are my new 100% maintenance free HedgeScape Topiaries. I ordered them from HedgeScapes and they arrived in no time, which really made me happy and motivated me to get on with decorating my sunroom. I love that they do not need water or care, but look amazingly real. I had a real hanging fern in the before pictures, and it was not happy with me! I never got the watering right and it was losing its leaves all over my sunroom floor, but no more! Now I have these lovely topiaries. There are so many different types of topiaries on the HedgeScapes website, and I love the ones I chose!

hedgescape-plant-sunroom

sunroom-watering-can-candle

Add Ambient Light

My new obsession are these battery-operated fairy lights. I am sticking them in jars and vases all over my home. This one in the sunroom is a great way to welcome guests who come in the evening, or to turn on when I want to relax on the swing at night.  Candles are a great way to add ambient light, and I love choosing scents to match the season. Pumpkin for fall, Evergreen or Cinnamon for winter, Berry or Fruity scents for summer and Floral for spring. The lantern on the hook has a little battery operated tea light in it. Our sunroom is now magical with everything lit up in the evening!

string-lights-sunroom

Hanging Lights

I love that these lights can be seen from the street, welcoming my guests even as they drive up. I have another string of globe paper lanterns on the opposite window, which you can see from inside our living room, that cause me to turn down lights inside in the evenings, light more candles and enjoy the globe lights while watching television in the dark. It makes me so very happy!

parsely-plant-sunroom

Edibles

I love keeping edible plants and potted herbs in my sunroom where they add some life and are conveniently located for cutting. They give such a fresh look to my sunroom. I have found parsley to be the easiest to grow in small pots on the window sill.

sunroom-fall-pumpkin

A Touch of the Season

These little pumpkins add a touch of fall. I will replace them with three little evergreen trees or maybe a nativity for Christmas. In the spring I will put bulbs in vases, and the summer it will be flowers or succulents. I used to add a bunch of seasonal decor to our sunroom but it was always so hard to clean around. The minimal me now just adds a touch.

hello-sunroom-chalkboard-sign

Use Chalkboard

I hung this little chalkboard and wrote a friendly greeting on it. I may add a simple little pumpkin drawing under the ‘hello’ for October and November, a star or tree in December, a heart drawing for Valentines Day, a flag in July. It is a great way to add a touch of holiday without adding more items to dust, store or keep up with.

sunroom-before-after-pin

So those are the steps I took to simplify, minimalize and redecorate my sunroom.

What do you think? Do you like what I did with it? Do you have a sunroom or porch you would like to do a little mini-makeover on?


I’d like to thank Hedgescapes for sponsoring this post. Content and opinions expressed here are all my own. Visit them at their WebsiteFacebook, TwitterPinterestLinkedIn, &  Google+ .

HOME/ Homemaking/ Organizing/ Simplifying

Documenting My Preteen’s Room Before Updating

IMG_2569

We just updated my Avery’s room & I’m in awe of how time just keeps passing us by. I am eager to share the update with you, but before I do, I want to document what her room looked like BEFORE the update, when she was still a pre-teen.

I took these photos January 2015.  Avery requested a room makeover for Christmas so “Santa” brought her the new bedspread you see in the photos, the dot pillow, new containers for her shelves to hold all the things, a soft pink blanket to keep at the end of her bed, and the big furry prop up pillow you see her relaxing on. He also brought her the fuzzy robe you see hanging below, the blue side-table lamp, a soft new puppy with floppy ears, & even those fluffy socks you see on her little feet–that have grown a full size since these photos were taken!  She was really into cozy comfort those days and as you can tell, loves all the “soft, fuzzy, fluffy, furry & floppy” things.  She was delighted!

Her pile of Christmas gifts that year was huge, especially compared to her sister’s gift piles, who are both older so their Christmas gifts turn into Christmas GIFT–singular–like a new phone or a new guitar. If you don’t have teenagers, know that when you do their gift lists get much smaller but more expensive!

Continue Reading…

Featured/ HOME/ Homemaking/ Simplifying

18 Things You Need To Throw Away

18 Things You Need To Throw Away

It is springtime, and while most people are getting their spring cleaning on, I find myself once again much more motivated to get rid of clutter, throw things away & organize.  I do not like to clean, but I love the feeling of organizing & minimalizing, and in order to really get things cleaned, I need to get the unnecessary out of the way & out of here!

 

Get Rid Of Clutter

There are 3 big things I have learned that motivates me to get rid of clutter.

~You Cannot Organize Clutter

~Clutter Attracts Clutter

~The More Items You Keep, The More Those Items Will Need From You. (putting them away, dusting them, fixing them when they break, etc)

 

Throw It Away

 

Old Magazines

Thanks to Pinterest, I don’t subscribe to many magazines anymore.  The few catalogs that come in the mail, keep in a round, shallow wooden bowl in my living room, to grab & read when I have a moment of slow living. I purposefully chose this container, as it will only hold a few magazines at a time, so it forces me to cull & recycle magazines before they pile up

Vitamins/Medications

These can pile up quickly and if not organized, can become expensive as buying duplicates can be pricey! Check the dates on medications & vitamins & dispose of them properly.

Receipts, Bills & Documents

Get the paper shredder out and get rid of out dates receipts & bills.  Something we do every day that really helps with this type of paper clutter is going through the mail shortly after it comes, throwing out what is trash & filing what isn’t.  My Todd gets credit for this daily habit.

School Papers

Now that my girls are all teenagers, we don’t have as many school papers as we did before, at least, the crafty kind.  I have a system in our home that works well for school papers. Each girl has a designated drawer in our home office desk. When I find my girls school papers laying around, I will gather them and put them in the drawer to whom they belong. That way I am not throwing away papers that need to be turned in.  My girls will go through their own paper drawers when they get full.  If you don’t have extra desk drawers, these stackable letter trays work well for this, too. You can use a labeler and put each child’s name on their letter tray.

Boxes

I stopped keeping boxes “just in case I need them.” I used to keep them just in case I wanted to return the item, store the item or because the box could be used to wrap or mail a gift.  I have decided that living a minimal life means getting rid of a lot of things I usually would keep “just in case.” Boxes, no matter what size, take up way too much room to store just have them hanging around. I break them down and take them to recycling as soon as possible.

Extra Plant Pots

I have great plans every year to use up all my pots but have found that they just sit around, year after year.  I use a few large pots & got rid of all the small ones, including peat pots that I had good intentions to use, but always end up buying starter plants from the store instead of starting my own.  I let go of that ambition to keep life simple.

Pens in a mason Jar

Pens & Pencils

I have invested in some good quality pens and pencils, and keep them in just a couple of places in the house.  I find they last longer than cheap pens and are much more enjoyable to use.  There is something about a container of matching pens & pencils that just makes me happy! I keep a jar in our living room area where I like to sit and journal, a few in a kitchen drawer and the rest go in our home office.  I also keep a few in my purse.

Dishes

We just had our kitchen remodeled and updated last summer, and it was a great opportunity to get rid of dishes.  Just like my pens and pencils, I am all about dishes that match.  No more cupboards full of unmatched cups, mugs, and glasses.  I buy square white dishes, use mason jars instead of plastic for food storage, and all other dishes & serving trays white and as simple as possible. These 16 oz goblet glasses are what we use for water now that we have teenagers, we do not have a need for unbreakable glasses or plastic.  This has made a huge difference in keeping our kitchen cupboards organized & even simplifies loading the dishwasher since everything matches and fits well.

Shoes

If a whole season went by and you didn’t wear them, get rid of them! If you don’t love them, get rid of them.  If they only will go with a couple of outfits, get rid of them. You won’t believe how good it feels to donate unloved shoes to your local thrift store.

Nail Polish

I recently went through our bin of nail polish and was amazed to find how many had become thick & gloppy.  Some bottles were even empty & some we couldn’t get the lid off of.  It is so nice to just grab the bin and know the few colors left in it will actually open and go on smoothly.

Books

We updated our basement & moved a couple of bookshelves.  In the process, we got rid of a bunch of unloved books.  Oh my, talk about freeing! I now have empty shelves to decorate with things that I love.  I was also amazed at what dust collectors books can be.  We all have Kindle Fire’s, so we only kept reference type books & some classics that we couldn’t bear to give away.  I noticed most of my cookbooks went, thanks to Pinterest I rarely use them.  I also gave away a bunch of gardening books for the same reason...Pinterest! Another huge hull–old piano books that my girls used for piano lessons when they were young.

Clothes

I tackled my closet last week and got rid of 2 big bags of clothes.  Same rule for shoes applies here–if a whole season goes by and you don’t wear it, get rid of it.  I started working on a capsule wardrobe, & I’m really enjoying the simplicity of my closet, even if I’m not doing the whole capsule wardrobe perfectly yet, I’m already experiencing how great it is to take away excessive options of what to wear each day.

Jewelry

I recently came up with a new system of jewelry storage & got rid of all my out-dated jewelry. I will share with you soon how I store my jewelry.  It is a simple, non-perfect system that includes an egg carton and small cardboard bowls in a dresser drawer. It is not typical but it sure is working for me!

Makeup & Perfume

I am very minimal when it comes to makeup and all that I own can fit in one makeup bag. Yay! I recently went through all hair products, lotions, perfumes & essential oils and kept only that which is pure and that I use daily. Everything else I got rid of.

Notebooks

I used to buy so many notebooks when they went on sale during back-to-school time.  Not anymore. It is just extra clutter.

Memorabilia

Don’t keep it unless you love it. If it was given to you and you want to remember it but don’t love it, take a picture of it. Did you child make it? Again, take a picture and make an album of their creations instead of keeping every single creation.

Old Electronics

These can sit and sit and collect dust. Updating our basement helped us get these moving, but we moved them upstairs and then they sat and collected more dust. Gotta get them out the door, not just moved around!

Home Decor

Minimalize, minimalize, minimalize! It is so easy to keep decor for years because you don’t even see it anymore as it has sat in the same place for so long.  Look at each item and think “is this worth the dusting that I have to do to it?” “Does this bring me joy?” “Does this make my home beautiful and warm?” “Is this item dated?”

……………

I am sure there are many more things that one could throw away, but this list is a great start and has really helped me lately.  Our home is feeling more and more streamlined & simple, but I do have more work to do, especially when it comes to our craft closet, an upstairs desk, and our laundry room.  I am seeing progress, especially as I get rid of clutter instead of trying to organize clutter!

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The More Of Less Book 

The-More-of-Less

Want more inspiration to get rid of clutter and learn just how much purpose there is in doing so? Joshua Becker’s The More of Less is super inspiring and one of my favorite reads. Buy it on Amazon here.

What about you? Does clutter frustrate you? What are your clutter problem areas? Do you have a hard time throwing things away?

Featured/ HOME/ Homemaking/ Organizing/ Simplifying

Best Kitchen Drawer Organization

kitchen drawer organization system

Kitchen drawer organization has been on my to-do list for quite a while now.  This past summer, we had a full kitchen update (posts coming soon!) and I have been so very happy with it! Everything works so much better now, but one area that quickly became a problem was my kitchen utensil drawer.

We only have 2 drawers in our kitchen, but thanks to the update they are now nice & wide drawers that give us lots of drawer space.  I keep utensils in one and kitchen towels and knives in the other.

The drawer with the utensils is the one I will focus on today.

Messy_Kitchen-drawer

As you can see, we were just throwing all utensils in there and it became almost impossible to close the drawer. Even the rubber mat that was supposed to be under all of those utensils was all bunched up. It was driving me nuts!

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