I hope you have had a fabulous festive season, and had a relaxing break. I certainly had a lovely relaxing time, and made it productive as well. I relished the opportunity to do my regular Christmas/New Year declutter in my own home over the break. I do mini clear-outs often during the year, particularly when seasons change giving me the opportunity to sort through my wardrobe and give away what I no longer want or use. However, the end of year project is more thorough and that’s when I really get stuck in – no cupboard, drawer or space is sacred and this time I created 3 full rubbish bags, and numerous supermarket plastic bags of papers and books, plus another 3 or 4 bags of items I donated to Hospice. What a feeling of satisfaction, and I’m loving my reorganised spaces.

Here’s my suggestion for you to create beautiful uncluttered spaces in your home, and workplace this year:

Each day give away, throw away or let go of something – it may be one item, or a number of items in the same category. Do this initially for 30 days, and then do another 30 days!

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I love to declutter before the end of each year so that I can start the new year feeling fresh, rejuvenated and in balance. That describes my goal for me, my home, and my business.

So what does that “declutter” look like? Well, as you can imagine, I’m not grossly cluttered, however that doesn’t mean I don’t have ‘stuff’ that I no longer want or need. It’s actually something I really enjoy doing at the end of a year – going through my cupboards, wardrobe, and work papers and doing a cull. I give as much as I can to charities and take delight in the expanded spaces I create.

Here are some of the items on my list to do over the holidays:

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I know it’s only mid November however, with Christmas only 6 weeks away, it might just be the time to start thinking about the inevitable gift buying. I have some terrifically organised clients who buy gifts throughout the year so they are well prepared when it comes to Christmas. Of course if you do this, it’s important to remember that you have all these presents tucked away, and don’t make the mistake of going out and buying a whole lot more.

One client has a comprehensive list that she adds to as she buys items through the year, so she knows exactly who she has bought for and what she’s bought for them. This system makes it so much easier when it comes time to get everything out for wrapping.

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It may seem odd to write about how to organise your receipts, however I find working with clients in their offices, particularly in their home office, that all sorts of receipts seem to accumulate and migrate throughout the office seemingly with a mind of their own. Clutter attracts clutter…

Here’s what I recommend to get your receipts organised once and for all, so that you also know where to put them in the future; this is the system I use:

– Firstly, you want to decide which receipts you need to keep, for example you probably don’t need to keep your supermarket receipts, or indeed any that are not claimable on your business. However, I do detach the discount voucher part of the supermarket receipt and put it in my wallet ready for the next time I have to fill up my car. [Read more…]

Now wouldn’t that be great. I think we all have problem drawers or cupboards; yes I admit even I have a difficult linen cupboard which I have to access by standing on a chair. However, it is possible to have really organised drawers and cupboards with some very simple steps:

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