Clean and clutterfree thoughts and strategies

Anyone else watch Miz Oprah today? (I don't usually watch her, or daytime TV, but one of our TVs didn't get turned off this morning, and when I noticed she had an organization expert, I listened with one ear while I worked online and folded laundry.)

Several good points I heard:

- One in 10 people are paying for a self-storage unit. That's in spite of the fact that our houses are - on average - double the size they were a few years ago, while our families are half the size of a few generations ago. That's pretty thought provoking right there. Then to top it off, most people never use the stuff they store. That's a lot of money down the drain, holding on to stuff you don't need.

- He mentioned that most people hold onto stuff for two reasons:

1) "I might need it some day" or
2) "It reminds me of an important day, person, etc."

In essence, we hold onto stuff because of the future or the past, and it keeps us from living for today. Hmmmm.


He named some very practical strategies for getting rid of clutter:

1) Empty your garage into your driveway. Decide what you want to use your garage for, then walk past your stuff and pull out only the items that will be for those stated purposes. The rest needs to go buh-bye.

(He also mentioned doing this with other rooms, too. Move the clutter "stuff" to another room to sort it, and only put back what you really REALLY need - send the rest to charity or have a garage/yard sale.)

2) Put all your kitchen utensils in a box. As you need and use an item, put it back in the drawer. At the end of the month, get rid of whatever's still in the box, because you don't really need it.

3) Hang all your clothes hangers in your closet "backwards" (hangers facing the wall.) After you wear something, put it back on the hanger and put the hanger back on the rod the "right" way. At the end of six months, look at the items still hanging backwards and ask yourself if you really need them.

4) Every time you buy an item (especially clothing) get rid of an item.

5) If you tend to buy too much of an item (and it becomes apparent as you go through this process) put a moratorium on your spending. Promise yourself you are not going to buy any more [clothes, shoes, whatever] for six months. That gives you time to mentally adjust to doing with less, and learning new habits. Not to mention the benefits to your budget!

Good ideas...now to get busy putting them to use and decluttering my house!