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| Your Trash Can Be Someone Else's Treasure - Practical De-Cluttering Tips |
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This post is a follow up to Practical Tips for Keeping a Clean House and the latest MyChurch Team post Summertime Sharing. Now that your house is clean :) It is time to start getting rid of your unnecessary clutter.
Here you will find practical tips on how to de-clutter your house. The funny thing is that while I am typing this, my house desperately needs me to put this blog into action! So maybe I will motivate myself and others at the same time :)
Where Do I Begin?
Clutter seems to be such an overwhelming task. So I find it is best to start with a small area or closet. Do one area at a time until your house is completely de-cluttered. Do not try to take on too much, or you know you will never finish.
The first step is to have three bags or boxes ready with the following labels: Trash, Give Away, and Put Away.
Take everything out of the closet/space.
Clean the inside of the space.
Go through the clutter by trying to evenly distribute each bag. Always asking the question, "Is there ANYONE who could use this more than I can?" If the answer is yes, kiss it goodbye! You may find that you will have to "re-buy" a few things later down the road. But I am here to testify that I have had no regrets. The first time I did this I called someone to come and pick up my clutter. My lawn literally had 1/3 of my stuff all over the place! My neighbors must have thought we were getting evicted for sure!
What's Next?
The trash is easy; throw it away. As for the "Put Away" items, some will go neatly back into the space. And others will go into storage boxes to be put somewhere else. Decide what you are going to do with the "Give Away" bag. Can I suggest posting some of the items on your churches MyChurch home page? Just click on your churches page and click "Sharing." This will allow you to have your trash be someone else's treasure :)
What About Storage Items?
Get some office storage boxes. They sell them in sets of three or more. I use the white cardboard boxes that you can label. You can use the same file box you used for Cleaning Your House. Just label the index cards by the box number. I also like to write the location of the box on the card, if your boxes are not going to be put in the same place. I try to sort the boxes and their contents based on what is actually in the box. So all of my boxes labeled #12 are Christmas items. For example, 12 A - D are all Christmas boxes. Write the contents of each box on the corresponding card. This way when you are looking for that fondue pot you haven't used in 10 years, you can just go through the cards to find out where it is located. Put all of the boxes in numerical order in your storage space. This is especially helpful when you are looking for something someone wants to borrow. I used to always have to say "it is in my attic, and it would take me a year to find it." Now I say, "Okay, it is in box #17 B. I open the box and there it is (most of the time anyway :)
A few years ago the Lord put on my heart that I was hoarding a lot of material possessions that others may need. So I went through everything and gave lots away. I was hoarding baby cloths, when I had no idea if there was even going to be another baby! I got rid of the cloths and I must say that the Lord has provided my family with cloths like never before. I am convinced it is because I was willing to let go of my things. I got rid of some things I didn't even need anymore. Somebody else got blessed with something they needed. And as a result the blessing boomeranged right back at me! Is that God or what?
Please feel free to post any ideas you may have about de-cluttering. I welcome your ideas and responses.
If you found this blog to be helpful, the "Thank You" button can be pushed by clicking on the little star to the left :) Thank You!
Oh, and this is NOT my desk!!
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Norm |
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June 10, 2007 at 9:13pm |
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You missed the step on how to make the desk go from a greyish metallic color to a nice wood stained one. :) I think I've seen too many commercials for the people who only are taking this pills but somehow end up with sculpted stomachs. |
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Sue, Funny...I could've used this blog yesterday! I decluttered my utility room and am making my way through the house. I am having a garage sale on the 23rd. I have had a couple in the past. Got any really good tips for garage saling? My son is going to a Fine Arts competition in Aug. and this is our "fundraiser"!
Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
FYI, I did the "box" thing - throw away, donate, garage sale, file, etc....but I used extra laundry baskets that I had.
I am on a cleaning kick since I started reading your cleaning blogs!
Thanks!
"Cleanliness is next to Godliness" is not in the Bible...but we all know who the author of confusion is!!!!! (and messiness and disorganization certainly confuses me) |
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| We are so ready to do some summertime de-cluttering and sharing. Love the 3 boxes suggestion. We'll be starting next weekend, promise (to myself)! :) |
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Sue |
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June 10, 2007 at 11:45pm |
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| Norm, It took me long enough to find a messy and a clean desk that looked like it was in a house. Plus the time it took to type this blog. I don't think I could have added messing up and cleaning up a desk, just so you would be able to look at the same desk :) |
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Rosie |
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June 11, 2007 at 3:14am |
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| I'm going this week to straighten out my parents house since Mom has been unable to do it herself (with my help) i have to do it all. There will be alot going out the door..........Please pray she doesn't catch what i throw............lol |
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| Sue, that's funny, Norm's observation was the first thing I saw too! lol ~mike |
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bajamm |
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June 11, 2007 at 4:52am |
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Sue,
Great blog! Finding your local group on Freecycle.org is another way to give things away if no one in your church wants your stuff.
Brenda |
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Deb |
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June 11, 2007 at 11:28am |
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| Good advice! |
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I want to know how those elephants got into your blog...Shhhh, you see them, don;t let them help with the housework.
You don;t see them, their right below the submit button. I'm really kinda concerned that they'l notice me touching the button and will stampede into your clean desk! Maybe a star will distract them :) |
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Sue |
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June 28, 2007 at 10:14pm |
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| I have inspired myself here and have been de-cluttering. How is everyone else doing? |
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| I totally agree with you and find this blog very helpful. I too give away lots of stuff. It is a very rewarding feeling. Before I even knew about this site I was and still am a member of several Freecycle groups in my area. A few weeks ago I went through tons of boxes that I have not unpacked yet from moving. I didn't even remember what was in them. So I went through everything. It took me a long time but in the end I sort 8 seperate boxes of items to give away to others. I had a box of clothes, shoes, belts & purses, toys, magazines, men's clothing, ties, etc.... Then I posted them on the site and blessed a lot of people. I have also been blessed in return. I also posted a few wanted ads and got many wonderful items that I really needed free of charge! But the other day when I joined this site I was so pleasantly surprised to see that they have a similar thing on here under Sharing. I plan on posting lots of items there. I had a question though... When you do post on the Sharing does it only get sent to church members or to everyone in your area just incase someone in the area may need an item that I posted? |
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| WOW! My whole house looks like that 1st photo! LOL! Thanks for the advice. |
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| Thanks for the advice, Sue! The box labeling system is brilliant. I need to go back and do that. |
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KEN |
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May 29, 2008 at 9:12am |
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Hi Sue!
This is Wonderful! i was just talking very seriously with my Wife about de-cluttering our home. i noticed You were on-line on MyChurch and knew We wanted to leave You a "Hi, God Bless You and Yours, Thank You for Your Ministry" comment. Well, then i noticed this 'De-Cluttering' article You wrote. What a Confirmation from Christ Jesus! You are sooooooooo On-Time. Thank You! i read Your article out LOUD!!! to my Wife and myself. Thank You Sue.
{Bro-ken} Brother Ken & Angel ORR. |
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