You save a lot of time and money by being organized. From clothes with tags still on them to Sharpie markers, unopened boxes of ziplocks to easy up tents – it’s amazing what you forget you have when they are “out of sight, out of mind”. You waste time searching your house for your items that don’t have a “home” & often waste money when you end up buying duplicates of “lost” items.
We’ve been working through our house room-by-room in an effort to ruthlessly rid our home & lives of unnecessary things. My challenge to you? Rid yourself of the trappings of 500 items. And be honest with yourself – each book from a bookshelf counted as one item for us, but clearing out our pen basket counted as only one item as well (not the bjillion I tossed or took into work for others). You’ll be surprised how quickly they add up. Even without cheating.
Get your children involved! They are often happy to join in as well. We have celebrated Boxing Day since the girls were born. At first, Rik & I would surreptitiously abscond toys in the dead of night, but now we enlist the girls’ help. The trick is in how you frame the task. When I ask them to choose what to donate, they suddenly choose to keep everything but when they’re asked to choose their favorites to keep, the outcome is revealing. This technique has made a difference for all 4 of us - choosing to keep only what we love and donating what's left over.
Clear Out the Clutter Assignment #1
Go through your living room, coat closet & hall closet (or any other closets or cupboards which reside in your living room area) and then ruthlessly clear out any and all clutter and unnecessary items you find. The 8 jackets each family member has? Sacramento winters get very cold for our needy citizens. That puzzle that no one has played with in a year and you keep because you’re hoping to find the missing 3 pieces? Toss it. Those twin sheets you have “just in case someone else needs them” even though you got rid of the twin bed? You’re right, someone does need them - go place them in your donation box. That French maid costume you wore in high school decades ago which your husband then wore to work last year to win a Halloween contest? Well, I’d suggest lighter fluid & a Bic. It worked for us...
