Before you dive head first into that clutter packed space let’s go over some purging rules to keep in mind.
Rules
One year rule
If you haven’t worn it/used it/looked at it in a year, get it out of your house.
Broken beyond repair
It’s broken, it’s busted, it’s a goner. Get it gone.
Not even yours
This is the worst type of clutter – you don’t even own it! Give it back to the person who does.
Guilt
Life gets busy, and you shouldn’t put more pressure on yourself by feeling responsible for things. They are just things, and don’t get you any closer to your goals.
‘Just in case’
Think about your items you keep for this reason. Have any of those events come up when you actually needed them? Maybe, but it doesn’t matter right now.
Publications
Magazines and newspapers are old; the information contained in them is likely outdated. All of this information is easily found on the web. This goes for books also.
Done
There are items we are just done with, but haven’t gotten around to getting rid of them. Now is that time. Done.
Simply the best
Only put back into your closets and cupboards the best of what you own or things that you simply cannot part with.
Keeping these rules in mind will help you really make the most of your purge. Are you ready to start getting organized by letting go?
Your plan of attack – 3 simple steps
Step 1 – Sort through the room and put purged items into appropriate boxes
Step 2 – Organize the items you are keeping
Step 3 – Dispose of Purged things
Before you start your purge, you need to set the stage so to speak. Get boxes together, you will need lots of them. Label four boxes with the following:
-
- Garbage
- Recycle
- Sell/Donate
- Deal With
Step 1: Sorting
To support your goal of a clutter-free space, you are only going to keep what supports you. Everything else goes. Use your handy ‘Deal With’ box. You want to keep up your purge momentum going and later on you can spend more time contemplating those other items.
Traps & Pitfalls: Cleaning
Sometimes it’s easier to just clean instead of making those tough decisions because it’s familiar and simple to do. Do not spend all of your time doing this.
Step 2: Organizing
Traps & Pitfalls: Perfection
Sometimes ‘good enough’ is just good enough. Don’t steal time from the purging to make your place perfect, there will be time for that later. Keep up your momentum.
A Right Place for Everything
Take time to think about how you use the space you’ve just cleared and place items back accordingly.
Keep like with like
There isn’t much more to say here. Group similar items together; it’s simple and it just works.
Step 3: Finishing Up
Getting purged items out of the house
Since you worked so hard to get here, make sure you get rid of the clutter you worked so hard to dispose of.
Congratulations!
You are clutter free! What a great accomplishment! Now you can relax.
[...] Purging Rules [...]
I am in the process of decluttering. It has been ongoing since 2008 [kitchen renovation] but my most active and continuous noticeable progress has been since Jan 2011.
I was nodding at those tips. Some I already use, some I will add to my routine. The emotional stuff trips me up. So I put that in the Emotional pile and return later when mindset changes and I’m in business mood.
By the way, was there anything written in between those paragraphs? It reads like there should be. If so, it needs to be in a better colour as I cannot see it on the white screen.
Thank you for tips. Very easy to read. I have bookmarked this page for reference.
regards,
Shar
What about early childhood toys and equipment? We are grandparents and provide daycare for our grandchildren. We have four under 2 1/2 years old. It is very likely that there are more kids to come. We continually add stuff for them but do not get rid of since we may need it for the “next one”. Many of these are large items. We use this stuf, but are frustrated and overwhelmed with the volume!! Help
Hi there Ronald. It’s not easy keeping all the toy-stuff that is easily collected for those little ones. I understand not wanting to get rid of things that could be used again. But you might have to make some hard decisions.
First take a look at the things that you are holding on to. Are any of them damaged or in less than good condition? Get rid of those first.
Go through the toys that are left. If you can get some stacking bins, this will help quite a bit. Package up the smaller items that fit into those bins or boxes (make sure you label the boxes). Decide what is a reasonable amount to keep. Chances are when more babies come, you won’t be able to stop purchasing new things for them anyway. Plus if you find that you do get rid of too much, you can always get more through garage sales.
The bigger items that you are holding on to are the hardest. Think about how much use the little ones really got out of them and make decisions whether to keep or not, perhaps you can find the same toy, but in a collapsible form.
Try choosing a location that you will store these older toys, and what ever doesn’t fit has to go. I know it’s not easy to make these decisions, but just keep in mind that you can’t keep EVERYTHING….
Thank you. Every time I get to decluttering something major happens and that will put an end to decluttering. I have been looking for help like this for some time now and am happy to have found it. Thank you again. I am going to take your 31 day challenge and if it takes me 62 days, I am still a winner.
My sort piles have sort piles. I have dumped, donated, sold, and repurposed; yet still agonize over both the encyclopedia my parents bought me in 1st grade and the cherished post-World War I set from which my grandmother learned to read. I am 56 years old and have buried most of my relatives. The living scavengers (who never helped anyway when folk were alive) stopped speaking to me when they realized no money was left for them to plunder . . . just DEAD PEOPLES papers, books, and issues. After expending two and one half decades of my life as dutiful caregiver to Mom/Dad/Uncles/Aunts/Cousins with AIDS, I am left with my parent’s home and am mentally, physically, and fiscally inundated. Found your web site today (10 Oct 11). I WANT TO LIVE. There may actually be light at the end of this long cavernous tunnel called my existence. I THINK I AM GOING TO MAKE IT! THANK YOU, JESUS!!!
Grace… It sounds like you’ve had your hands full most of your life. Remember as you go through and agonize over whether you should keep things like your encyclopedias and the books your grandmother learned to read with, it is not your responsibility to look after them. If they are truly gems to you, and something you enjoy looking through, then keep them a while longer. If you are holding on to them just because they are old and you feel like you should…then think of them another way. Is there a place that you could donate these items so that others can enjoy them? Where I live there are several museums and Heritage facilities that might be able to use them. Wouldn’t it be great to donate these things in your name, or your grandmother’s name? It sounds like you have done so much for your family, so don’t let the things that they left behind weigh you down….it’s your turn.
I know it’s tough. Even after going through my 31 day declutter last year I look around my house and wonder “did I even declutter???!!” Time for me to do it again I think!
Hey there Diane: So how is your declutter going? I totally understand how things just come up and interrupt the plans you have….happens to all of us. I’m so glad that you can take the schedule I’ve put together and start and stop as you need to. After all life goes on…although sometimes I wish time would stop for a bit so that I could just get a bit ahead….
Decluttering is horrible, it has drained me I don’t feel free and where are the new man (I’m a bloke)/career/money/friends/success – such rubbish, if you get rid of it all you will have a new life. More like you end up like a Calcutta begger with nothing. And the irony, we are all going to die, so we will leave clutter behind. I’m over the mantras of Americans who go get rid of it all and the new life will begin. Ummm, I did, like where is it??????????
Like some of my fellow users, I just found this sight Nov 22, 2011, & like some I have lost family, who were also clutterers, or as we used to be called pack rats, lol. With some stuff of my sisters, uncle, and father who are all gone, and some sguff of my brother & & mom who I take care of, plus my own stuff, it adds up. I do entend to declitter my hoise and the garage, to free myself.from the stress & to organize my life. I know from personal experiance, we can often hold onto items we have.no practal use for, except that they bring us back yo a happier time, or to when our loved ones were alive, or to our childhood. Modern technology can save us a lot of trouble, we can use a scaner, digital camera, or even a smart phone to do both functions, to preserve a copy of that favorite toy, desk we have no room for, etc. One lesson I have learned that stopped my clutter growing, is eve n something free comes at a cost, as it take up space, & eventually can take up time.
Hi there, I am in the process of de-cluttering our house for the first time in the 3years my partner and i have been together. I am 1 week overdue of giving birth to our first child together and have a beautiful 12 year old step daughter belonging to my partner. Luckily we are due to move house in 2 months and this has helped spark the push to get organised. I also watched something on television the other day and couldn’t help but notice the lady’s house had everything in a place and labelled with a print out label. i already know this is going to help me a lot. What i would like to know is how can i encourage my 12 year old to organise and de-clutter to match the rest of the house? Any tips or advise would be greatly appreciated as the new baby will be born into our new organised lifestyle and a lot easier to train.
I’m sorry you feel this way about decluttering your life. Really the steps to make changes in your life come from you, and if you are not ready to let the items that you have around you go, then you are not ready to declutter. Cleaning out the excess from your life will not change your career, money, friends, or success, that has to come from you and what you do with your life. Cleaning out and being free from clutter is more for you to let go of things that are holding you back, or filling your mind with on-going things you have to deal with.
Remember it’s not the stuff in your life that makes your life, it’s what you do that makes your life. Good luck to you and perhaps 2012 will be a better start for you.
Karen
Thank you for your comment. Many people have to deal with things left behind by family…I’m struggling with it myself. It’s a huge undertaking sometimes, and guilt can play a big part of it.
Sometimes it’s difficult to teach children to be more organized. I think giving the child the tools to have a more organized space and letting them take the credit for it is very important. Sometimes it takes a bit of work, but a child who has created their own ‘organization’ from their own ideas (perhaps some subtle hints from you) are more likely to succeed.
Showing them some ideas on how to get organized will be helpful, (magazine pictures, or storage solution pictures could help) and they won’t have to invent it or try to figure it out on their own. If they experience how easy being organized can make their life, it might encourage them some more. Please let me know how you do with these suggestions.
Well tomorrow is Sept 1st and will begin my 31 day decluttering process to get home the way it should be. I’ve tried over the last 3 years after my mothers death to get my house in order but haven’t been successful. So I’m giving another try this time doing for myself and not for anyone else. Its my home and it is supposed to be my place of peace and right now it is far from it.
I’ve been working on clearing out stuff. Last time around, I decided to take pictures of the emotional stuff and I’ll make a small photobook of these items. You never see them in the boxes or piles but in a book, you can see the images and that will bring back the memories. At least that’s my theory.
What a great idea Jen!
i like everything except the books, its not the sames as old magazines that you can find in the internet and read in your computer
Thanks 4 info ! I’m. An extreme purger myself & am always looking for new ideas. One fork one spoon one bowl type of thinking !!
OK you are quite a bit further along with your purging than I am! What do you do if you have visitors?
Karen
I never have visitors who stay for meals and if I did id tell them to bring along their own dishes or supplies.
I’m not even sure how to respond! That definitely is on the edge of decluttering your space though!
Its not meant to be mean or harsh – its my way to be disciplined. It took me a long time to get a plan to stay clutter-free. My friends understand. Most of them wish they could be as minimal as I. – they say it would take too much effort. Its takes dedication and desire and knowing you’ll have more time for other fun activities like working out- going places etc.