How Do I De-clutter?

To answer your question Annie How do I de-clutter?
Here are some things I've done when de-cluttering my home.

Set up a sorting station: For my De-cluttering sorting station: I get a couple of saw horse and ½ sheet of ply wood and a good lamp and trash can garbage bags, boxes and radio, cd, movie. I like to do this in the morning when I'm fresh, kids can help too. First I round up supplies get kids parents or older grand kids to help me haul in the saw horses and ½ sheet of ply wood, then I get the lamp and movie or music going, after we are fed and the dailies are done, work on this a while several times a week and one room at a time. When you are done think of some type of reward that works for you, maybe going to the library.

Use your timer! A fresh approach, I used to set the timer with my kids for home work 20 min. on each subject. Did this for chores too. I would work on fixing dinner while they did spelling, math or what ever. (No TV so we could concentrate.) Do you de-cluttering in the morning right after daily chores.

Make it a game! How much can you get done in a TV commercial? Have kids pick up after when they are done, every 45 min. or so, stop and change actives then it's not so over whelming. If they play in the play room it's just too over whelming for them and me to cope with. I have been there often with what you say about home work! This is one solution for home work and art craft supplies: I had to get a shelf / dresser for the crafts papers books and supplies for the grandkids to use, the younger ones use the bottom drawers. I get the top ones.

Do one room a month. I worked on one room a month in those days that worked for me, no I can go through the house in about six weeks, it does get easier!

Get a buddy! I used the buddy system and we set up card files to gether and had great fun working at it together. We worked at it together with accountability, phone calls, and going out for a soda to plan for the next week mostly the rooms or areas we would work on in the coming week. Now I do it on the pc in my outlook the reminders nag me! I have a new de-cluttering buddy now and I called her the other day.

Giving Box: We talked about stuff going on here and that I heard a speaker talk about having a giving box. I have done this before, one a week that's fifty two boxes a year of stuff gone! I got some more boxes at the store when I was over town last week. These are to fill up and give away. I'm about to start on the toys. Also the storage area needs my attention. Plus hubby is on vacation again in a few weeks, and we will be getting out the holiday stuff too put up the tree and the rest of the decorations. All plans are subject to change for me most of the time. There are many forms of cyber nagging groups these days.

Focus on main living areas first pick the smallest room. I've had to learn to just take life as it comes and focus on the main living areas, first; plus one zone or room at a time. I work with the grandkids in a room when they were here we seem to get more done that way. Unless it's paper work, hubby does it now. Touch one thing in there and a whole pile comes tumbling down. Paper tiger! Does your office look like that?

Get family to help. Last spring going to the farm is a great example. I was going to do some of the craft stuff but ended up painting fence. Guys idea for de-cluttering: Hubby and brother have decided to have a bonfire for old warn out furniture at the farm in the spring it was sold sale. I have a box to go to the thrift shop, kids will haul it off for me. So maybe you can ask the kids to haul off a few things for your. Dear son put a love seat at the office in the collage last year where he worked. His girlfriend took another one. I just said I had a _____________ to find a home for and asked about three people, the it went bye - bye, I put a dead line on it too like by next Fri. it's going going gone! I've called the salivation army or other favorite charity for pickup too.

I don't do yard sales for only $25.oo I made it's just not worth my time! I don't keep that stuff around. If you have stuff that you think you might need some day it goes in the give away pile. That is a major problem for most people, they think they will use it but don't.

On hoarding if you can figure out why you hang on to things this might help. I had trouble understanding I've moved on to a new things like crafts and letting go of those were hard; but once I got to the point where I could let go it helped. I found new things came in that were much more fun and better. I had to make room for the supplies for the new hobby.

This time of year it's so easy to be over-whelmed because of the extra stuff with the holidays I have heard it recommended put off craft projects on hold until after the holidays. Of course I’m still knitting . . . others recommend doing a couple batches of cookies each week Sept. – Dec. for the holidays all that ever did for us was make us fat! So I crossed it off my to do list.

Pray: Last but not least pray for divine intervention, inspiration and help from God! Pray for order to be restored in your home and to learn what works for you and your family and to be free from the prison clutter that can imprison us.