Declutter your home, business and life
How many clothes do we really need? Do you really wear everything in your wardrobe? I’m directing these questions to you guys too; it’s not just us ladies who have bulging closets. I’ve even seen couples’ wardrobes where the guy’s clothes outnumber the gal’s – incredible but true!
So, here are a few questions for you to think about, that will give you a pretty good indication if you’re suffering from wardrobe overload:
Christmas can be such a magical time of year, and for me it’s also a time when I more keenly miss those loved ones who are not with me, my parents who have passed away, and members of my family who live overseas. I don’t have a lot of memorabilia, but there are some special items I treasure, and at Christmas my Mum’s Santa comes out to sit pride of place on my dining table. Whenever I look at him I remember Mum’s childlike joy at Christmas – she loved it and shared that joy with everyone around her.
Memorabilia can probably fit neatly into two categories: items which we want to keep but don’t need to see every day, and beautiful or interesting things which we could put on display, if we could figure out where.
I was asked by a couple of clients over the last few weeks whether my last newsletter ‘declaring a war on paper’ was pointed at them. And of course it wasn’t, I believe almost everyone has a problem with paper these days. We get far too much of it.
Last month I talked about ‘macro sorting’ and then the ‘fine tuning’. This time I want you to think about the type of paper you may be holding onto, or just not getting around to throwing away. Here’s a list of the typical paper categories I find in many homes:
I would love to declare a war on paper! That may sound exaggerated but I truly believe we are being inundated with paper, and although we do not need to hold onto the majority of it, most of the time we seem to do just that. I think that’s partly a factor of not taking the time to decide in the moment whether a piece of paper is really necessary or not. And partly the fact that paper acts as a magnet, if you already have a pile or two of paper clutter then it just becomes easy to add to it.
Stacks and stacks of paper around the house do become overwhelming though, and will make any area of your home look and feel cluttered. Here’s a fairly simple plan for cutting through the worst of it: [Read more…]
Before I begin any decluttering project, whether it be a home office, kitchen or bedroom, I first stand back and assess the room. Let’s say you want to start with your bedroom, here are my suggestions on how to put together your plan to achieve your vision of how you want the room to look and function.
Stand back in the doorway of the room and get a good overall picture of it. Notice if there is clutter over every surface and the floor, or do you just have a few little problem areas. Here’s what to make a note of: