What do we keep and what do we get rid of? It seems as though everything that we look at has a purpose and we paid so much for it that we have a hard time parting with it.
Seems to me, that is what got us into this mess! These hints will help to make the process go a lot faster and make your spring cleaning effort a lot less stressful.
Short and Sweet Start with the job that is going to take the least amount of time in your mind.
Why? Because to start out with; you will need instant gratification.
We all have a problem sticking with chores that we hate to do and if you look at the whole picture, we become defeated before we begin.
But, if it is a short job, we can see right away that we have accomplished something and be proud of it; it will give us the boost that we need to go on to another job.
Big and Beautiful Now tackle a job we all hate-the closet.
Don't panic, this is easy.
Start taking everything out of the closet and organize it in this way: pile one- winter clothes; pile two-summer clothes; pile three-clothes you may wear in both seasons.
Go through the summer clothes pile and take out everything that you can't wear because it is too small or doesn't look good on you anymore.
Do the same thing with the other two piles.
Take all of the clothes that you have taken out and throw them in a bag for a rummage sale or to donate.
Now, go through the summer pile and pick out all of the clothes that you have not worn during the last season and decide if you really are going to wear these clothes again or if you are keeping them for the wrong reason.
If it is the wrong reason; ie.
Paid too much, sentimental reasons, you liked the way it 'used' to look on you-get rid of it.
Do the same thing with the other two piles and then add it to your donate pile.
You have now purged your closet of everything that has taken up excess space.
The plus side to this is you will have more room and for every two things that you have purged you now owe yourself the right to replace one item.
See, I knew you would like this idea! The only things that you are going to hang in your closet are the items that you will wear for the season that we are in at the present.
Everything else will go into plastic storage containers and get stored on the shelf above, in a storage area such as an attic or storage closet.
If plastic containers are too expensive and you want to save money, simply put them in cardboard boxes and decorate the fronts with contact paper.
When you open your closet it will be very organized and look fresh and clean.
I add an adhesive label to mine with some of the things that are inside to save time when I am looking for a special piece too.
Now put these things back into your closet and you will notice that you have tons of space you didn't have before and will feel very good about the hard work you did.
Put your storage boxes on the shelf or in its new home and throw those bags in the car for donating or put them in the garage or basement for the garage sale.
Floors are part of the closet; Don't forget to throw those out of date shoes out and the ones that you haven't worn since you were in high school.
Utility Closets and More If you don't have one, is there a closet that you can add shelves on one side to use as additional storage? You would be surprised how handy this can be.
It works great to put boxes on the shelves that are labeled-sheets, tablecloths, placemats, pictures, sewing, vases or a multitude of other things.
You can usually put four rows of shelves in a single size closet.
I use cardboard boxes with contact paper on; this looks good and I can change the size of the box as needed.
I do have shoe boxes also for some of those small things that I want to store but don't want them taking up drawer space.
Just remember to always label what is in the box so that you can have a 'quick view' when you open the door.
Your on your own now, but I am sure that by now you have ideas all your own and are ready to go solo.
Enjoy your new-open- feeling in your home, without the clutter!
Seems to me, that is what got us into this mess! These hints will help to make the process go a lot faster and make your spring cleaning effort a lot less stressful.
Short and Sweet Start with the job that is going to take the least amount of time in your mind.
Why? Because to start out with; you will need instant gratification.
We all have a problem sticking with chores that we hate to do and if you look at the whole picture, we become defeated before we begin.
But, if it is a short job, we can see right away that we have accomplished something and be proud of it; it will give us the boost that we need to go on to another job.
Big and Beautiful Now tackle a job we all hate-the closet.
Don't panic, this is easy.
Start taking everything out of the closet and organize it in this way: pile one- winter clothes; pile two-summer clothes; pile three-clothes you may wear in both seasons.
Go through the summer clothes pile and take out everything that you can't wear because it is too small or doesn't look good on you anymore.
Do the same thing with the other two piles.
Take all of the clothes that you have taken out and throw them in a bag for a rummage sale or to donate.
Now, go through the summer pile and pick out all of the clothes that you have not worn during the last season and decide if you really are going to wear these clothes again or if you are keeping them for the wrong reason.
If it is the wrong reason; ie.
Paid too much, sentimental reasons, you liked the way it 'used' to look on you-get rid of it.
Do the same thing with the other two piles and then add it to your donate pile.
You have now purged your closet of everything that has taken up excess space.
The plus side to this is you will have more room and for every two things that you have purged you now owe yourself the right to replace one item.
See, I knew you would like this idea! The only things that you are going to hang in your closet are the items that you will wear for the season that we are in at the present.
Everything else will go into plastic storage containers and get stored on the shelf above, in a storage area such as an attic or storage closet.
If plastic containers are too expensive and you want to save money, simply put them in cardboard boxes and decorate the fronts with contact paper.
When you open your closet it will be very organized and look fresh and clean.
I add an adhesive label to mine with some of the things that are inside to save time when I am looking for a special piece too.
Now put these things back into your closet and you will notice that you have tons of space you didn't have before and will feel very good about the hard work you did.
Put your storage boxes on the shelf or in its new home and throw those bags in the car for donating or put them in the garage or basement for the garage sale.
Floors are part of the closet; Don't forget to throw those out of date shoes out and the ones that you haven't worn since you were in high school.
Utility Closets and More If you don't have one, is there a closet that you can add shelves on one side to use as additional storage? You would be surprised how handy this can be.
It works great to put boxes on the shelves that are labeled-sheets, tablecloths, placemats, pictures, sewing, vases or a multitude of other things.
You can usually put four rows of shelves in a single size closet.
I use cardboard boxes with contact paper on; this looks good and I can change the size of the box as needed.
I do have shoe boxes also for some of those small things that I want to store but don't want them taking up drawer space.
Just remember to always label what is in the box so that you can have a 'quick view' when you open the door.
Your on your own now, but I am sure that by now you have ideas all your own and are ready to go solo.
Enjoy your new-open- feeling in your home, without the clutter!
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