While #decluttering is important, you may need to keep a wide variety of stuff in certain areas of the home. If you or someone in your family cooks on a regular basis, the kitchen is one area that may house hundreds of items; keep them organized so they can’t become #clutter. Reader’s Digest suggests investing in easy-stacking food containers, extra shelves and catch-all industrial bins to make the most of the space in your kitchen and pantry. Stack items to take advantage of vertical space above the refrigerator, the story adds, and “zone” its interior to organize foodstuffs and avoid spoilage.
Tag: decluttering tips
Declutter to Increase Storage Space
The curse of having too much stuff is common among Americans. And if you don’t keep that stuff organized, it becomes #clutter — and clutter can cloud the mind. That’s why the first step in any plan to get yourself, your storage space and your home organized should be to #declutter. Go room by room, the Spruce says, “and if rooms are large or complicated, you should start by breaking them up into zones. Work quickly and decide which items to toss and which to keep.” As you eliminate junk and free up space, donate any castoffs that may still be useful to someone else to ClothingDonations.org.
Keep Paperwork Long After You File
The Organizing Blog urges you to do a little bit of #decluttering every day, except when it comes to financial documents. The IRS asks that you keep tax returns and supporting documentation for three years after you file, meaning you should still have all of your 2015 paperwork on file today. If there was a year in which you weren’t required to file, document the circumstances and keep the proof indefinitely. Other “forever” paperwork includes loan documents and payoff confirmations; divorce, child support and alimony papers; and birth certificates, Social Security cards and military discharge papers.
It’s Finally Spring (Cleaning) Time
Spring begins — officially, at least — tomorrow, March 20. And the news couldn’t be more welcome for people in many parts of the country after enduring what turned out to be an unexpectedly severe and snowy winter.
As the temperatures warm and the days lengthen, however, you might discover that a few things on your late-winter to-do list have gone undone. After another cold, snowy day, you may have decided the couch was too comfy to leave and binged Netflix instead of starting a new project.
Now’s the time to shake off those winter doldrums and snap into action. There is no time like right now — the very start of spring — to begin a spring-cleaning plan. Wait, and you might miss a perfect summer day.
The weather is just getting good enough for you to begin a thorough, whole-house deep-cleaning. Start with the windows; recipes for a cleaning solution vary (dish soap or vinegar and water are two good options), but authorities including Clean Mama agree that using a squeegee and lots of rags is the best plan of attack.
Once the windows are clean, the spring sunlight will reveal just what else might need a deep-cleaning. Pick a mild day and fling open those windows, then go room by room and dust from the top down, clearing cobwebs, moving to flat surfaces such as shelves and tables, and finally, vacuuming.
Once you’ve dusted and vacuumed, wash all of the linens that have been busy catching winter dirt, including throw rugs, bed linens and blankets. Vacuum and/or shampoo any upholstered furniture that has gotten dingy and dirty during the darkest nights.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the sheer amount of stuff that has piled up in the last six months, set aside some time to #declutter as you clean, the Sylvane blog says. “Clutter has psychological influences. It signals to your brain that work isn’t done.”
Put that decluttered extra stuff in boxes and bags and contact ClothingDonations.org for a donation pickup. It only takes a few minutes to arrange, and takes most of the hassles out of decluttering. Plus, the donation is tax-deductible.
Finally, wash and wipe all of the hard surfaces inside your home: backsplashes, counters, cabinets and appliances in the kitchen and bathrooms, wood and tile floors, and utility shelves. Feeling ambitious? Powerwash the garage floor and deck.
Starting is the hard part, but the beginning of spring provides a fantastic reminder that a deep-clean may be in order. Once you begin, you’ll be able to shake off the winter doldrums and enjoy a fresh, decluttered space all season long.
Marie Kon-Don’t #4: Don’t (Necessarily) Get Rid of Books
While the KonMari Method recommends eliminating anything that doesn’t “spark joy” in one’s life, it doesn’t necessarily advocate getting rid of all one’s books, IndieWire says. Marie Kondo limits herself to 30, but tells would-be declutterers to discover what they value in their lives — and if it’s lots of books, so be it. “If the image of having only a few books makes you angry, that should tell you how passionate you are about books,” she says. “That, in itself, is a very important benefit of this process.” On the other hand, “if you’re retaining so many that you’re not reading, you might have to let go of some.”