Cleaning a cluttered apartment?

Question

Please give me some great tips for sorting through and cleaning a very cluttered and messy apartment. Please give specific advice. Serious replies only. This is a move-out, so it has to be a very thorough cleaning, but needs to be done within a week or so.

Answer 1

1. Choose one area to focus on at a time, so that you feel like you are really accomplishing something. Set up a bright light in that area to keep you focused there, so you don't get distracted and wander away.

2. As you handle items, quickly evaluate how you would "grade" each item per its importance in your life: A, B, C, D, F. This will help you as you sort into diffeent containers....see below #3

3. Set up the following (and LABEL containers clearly):
a.) a trash bag
b.) a donation box for each of the 1 to 3 charities you plan to donate to (keep the number low, so you don't do a lot of running around to different places; also check to see if any charities in your neighborhood pick up; try Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Salvation Army, Good Will, local church who might be running a tag sale, or thrift shop)
c.) a "Keepers" box for your most important materials (grade A and B)
d.) a "Keepers" box for your less important materials (grade C)
e.) an "I don't know" box with things you are struggling with whether to keep or not; try to keep this minimal, but if you are struggling too much, this is your "second chance" box

4. Do you have any friends you can trust to follow your direction and help you? If so, bring them on board! Having help at a time like this can really increase your energy and motivation. If you don't have a friend, consider hiring a college student to help out at $10 per hour. Post on local college bulletin boards for returning students or post an ad on craigslist.org under "etc" parttime jobs....It has gotten me quick responses, and the college kids have been great! Be very specific in your ad about the qualities you are looking for and ask for resume/references.
By the way, you can also use craigslist to offer items for sale, but that could take longer.

5. Offer items for free on freecyle.org to get rid of them faster, especially unusual ones that charities won't take.

6. Keep congratulating yourself for all the hard work you are doing...and Good Luck!

Answer 2

Call the salvation army or other charity and set a pick up date now as you can't get them later. It also sets a deadline. I recommend the Salvation Army or Goodwill because they take everything and they are fast. Go to Wal-mart at 7:15-7:30 AM and take your cart up and down the aisles and pick up boxes. Later they put the boxes into a compactor and you can't get them. This way you are getting your boxes free. Buy the tape to put the boxes together while you are there. You can buy at Ryder or U-Haul cheap paper to wrap things in. Newspaper can be crumpled up and put at the bottom of a box for cushioning, but do not wrap things in it as it makes them dirty and the ink is corrosive. Label the boxes when you are home, using the small boxes for books. Label financial records, important papers, "open first box" with thing you need right away when you move like scissors and things to open the boxes, string, etc. Label a box for tools, label boxes by the room you want the items to go. Also put out trash boxes and boxes marked donate. Now is the time to get rid of old clothes you have not worn for a year. For example, anything that is going into the kitchen should be labeled kitchen along with the contents like dishes, glasses, etc. Another box can be bedding, linen closet, bathroom, under sink, etc. Put the boxes into the proper rooms and only handle each item once. If you can't figure out a category, make it its own category to save time.

Answer 3

Make three piles...one for the trash bin, one for donations, and then create your keep pile. When you are through...go back over your keep pile and reevaluate it. Take pictures of those things you'd like to remember, but are no longer of any use to you. This will narrow it down considerably.