Organizing/De-cluttering -- needing advice

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  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
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    A couple of tips:

    If it seems too overwhelming, just do a little bit at a time. Tell yourself you'll do 15 minutes worth of work, or specific small tasks, like putting the Christmas tree away, and that's all you'll do for that day. You'll be surprised what a big impact you can make in a short amount of time. You can do anything for 15 minutes, right?

    Craigslist! I've bought clothes from Craigslist before with no trouble...it's great for people who are looking for specific sizes and styles and don't want to go to a store.
  • elisabeisme
    elisabeisme Posts: 308 Member
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    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.
  • seniorfaye
    seniorfaye Posts: 295 Member
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    I agree with Pinterest and flylady.net...I love the missions every day to do..Now just to get them done like I'm suppose to.:smile::smile:
  • deb54
    deb54 Posts: 270 Member
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    Bump for later !
  • AddieOverhaul
    AddieOverhaul Posts: 734 Member
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    I have wayyyy too much stuff. I've lived in the same city my whole life, so I've never had to do a big purge - I just take it all with me when I move. Top that off with being overly sentimental and a clothes lover and it's a recipe for an overcrowded home. My biggest issue is it feels like I am constantly having to tidy/clean my bedroom.

    I alone have three closets full of clothes, plus a rubbermaid bin of offseason clothes in the garage. Ridiculous.

    A few weeks ago, after reading some simplifying blogs, I was inspired to go around my place and pick out 50 items to get rid of. I got on a roll and ended up with more than 100 items. I donated the non clothes item to a foundation that picks up your household item donations from your front porch - so easy. The clothes that were too big for me I posted on Craigslist and ended up giving them to a single mom who couldn't afford to buy herself new clothes. they fit her perfectly and it made me feel good to help out.

    Now I just need to get a bit stricter and keep going - because there is still way too much stuff!

    I suggest doing an initital go through where you just grab anything you know you don't really need to keep and get rid of it like I did. Then, whenever you have a half hour or so, pick a drawer or a closet and go through it. Once you get rid of allt he stuff you don't use, then you can focus on better organizing what's left. Good luck!
  • cocotreasure
    cocotreasure Posts: 11 Member
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    Bump for later! Thanks

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