Organizing/De-cluttering -- needing advice

I'm in the process of decluttering as well. If it's gross, toss it. If you will never use it, toss it. I have a pile for things that have no place. I just throw stuff onto it if I can't part with it, then go through it a few weeks later and find I'm able to part with stuff I couldn't a month ago. The most important thing is to start getting rid of things. You'll have anxiety while you do it, but feel so much better after it's gone.

One room at a time. Baby steps, just like your weight-loss journey! Find one small thing you can do today to point you in the right direction of your ultimate goal. Then, eliminate all excuses preventing you from doing that one small thing. Then do it. Do it for a month. Then find the next small thing. You are living, documented proof that a person can change her life. You did it for losing weight and becoming healthy. Now do it for de-clutter.

oh i feel your pain, i feel very similar...especially as i try to tackle my disaster of a house for my daughters first slumber party tomorrow...along with all the other things of daily life. I readily admit i dont mind if my hosue looks lived in, id rather spend my days off doing anything but cleaning and organizing, but there is also a very calming feeling to walking into a neatly organized clean home...so that is what i am working towards...i have little problem throwing things away..my husband however is a hoarder...it usually takes a freak out form me and i just start throwing things away. i dont feel bad about it. I used to save all of those extra buttons that came with clothes, and the threads, and when something chipped off of a toy i saved it to fix...but you know what, when i neeed that button i could never find it, those toys? they never got fixed...so i am trying to get to a point where i start throwing more things away.
for your clothes, what about a consignment shop? it isnt just donating them with nothing out of it, but it also gets it out of your house and helps someone get a deal. Or what about donating it, not jsut to a shelter or charity but locally here we have a dress for success program to helped woman with interviews, business professional clothes, interview skills, completing applications etc. would you feel better about donating to a cause like that where they would be used for their real purpose?
i like the container store website, because it gives me inspiration...it may not force me to make progress, but it does let me get ideas which in turn sometimes inspires me...good luck!

For the clothes - There's a chain by me in Chicago called Clothes Mentors - they actually do buy nicer clothes, jeans, jackets all that and resell. I have bought replacement suits and stuff there for huge discounts and good shape. You should see if there's something like that around you.

And for tackling the whole place, just pick one area for the week even, and do little bits slowly. Do a toss, give away, or sell... and look online to see where you can sell things if it's worth the time for you.

You can do this! (BTW ... I have lots to still do! I am doing it it very small chunks) my goal is each month to get rid of stuff either toss or give away or sell and doing it. Just take your time it will happen!! :happy:

Here are the rules I stick to for decluttering:

1) For all items, if I haven't used it in 2+ it can be tossed/donated/sold
2) For seasonal items, store in a box, clearly labeled, and create a spreadsheet that lists in detail what is in the box, so you don't have to go digging in boxes
3) For nice clothes that are too big, save if you are planning to have kids, otherwise a) donate or b) sell (ebay and nice thrift shops are the place to go for nice items)

If you do this at least once a year (I tried to do it twice a year), you'll stay relatively clutter free.

I pm'd you but bump for more ideas.

http://flylady.net

Definitely Flylady. She has organizing down to a fine art. And she tells you step by step what to do.

I've gotten a ton of great organizing ideas from Pinterest! As well as great ideas for how to use the clothes I have to get the look I want, new workout routines, great recipes...I could go on and on!

GREAT QUESTION!! I REALLY need to do the same!! I have stuff in my hall closet/shed/garage which I need to go through. I serioulsy don't even want to look in the boxes and just toss them! Lol, cause if I haven't missed it I must not need it right?? LOL! I surely can use some help in this area too!

I keep a fixed number of hangers and shoe boxes in my closet. If I want to bring something new in, then something has to go. It makes one of those nice tidy closets where it's easy to see everything. if you already have too much jammed in there, you can still implement this system.

1. Take handfuls of clothes out of your closet and put them on your bed until you have the right volume of clothes left hanging in the closet. The hangers should be loose enough that you can slide them around a bit to look at the clothes and nothing is being scrunched or wrinkled. One rule of thumb is one inch per hanger (12 hangers per foot of rod space), but I find my closet is perfectly comfortable with 16 hangers per foot. Don't worry if some of the clothes you are removing are clothes you want to keep. The first step is just to figure out the right volume of hangers.

2. Next, play a trading game with yourself between the bed and the closet. If there is something you like on the bed, then trade it with something that you like less in the closet. Keep swapping until you can't see any more trades.

3. Next, look at the hangers in the closet and make sure they are the nicest, newest hangers. If not, swap out hangers from the bed into the closet.

4. Finally, sort the clothes on the bed into trash/recycle versus eBay/donate.

The reason this strategy works is that it is based on having the appropriate amount of stuff in your life. You are picking your favorite things, rather than having to decide over and over again on each item if it should be kept. It feels inclusionary (I get to keep this) rather than exclusionary (should I throw this away?).

You can do the same thing with plastic shoe boxes. You can also do this with bags, belts, scarves, etc. by fixing the number of items allowed per hook. Also works in drawers too. Take stuff out until the right volume is left, then play the swap game. Also works with CDs, videos, bookshelves, etc.

Bump for later !

Bump for later! Thanks