How do you get rid of clutter? ?

Question

I have 20 years worth of stuff (mostly books and clothes.) Where do I start?

Answer 1

The first thing to do is your laundry. Then Don't put that away yet, because obviously, you use it and you don't want it to get mixed in with stuff you want to get rid of. Make your bed. Put everything that is in your closet or in dressers on your bed.
Start in your closet. Anything you are not going to use this Fall/Winter, or if you haven't used it last year... toss it. No emotional crap goes with old clothes. Keep getting rid of stuff you haven't used and is covered in dust.
Get rid of old paperbacks. Keep only the nice hardcover books that you ENJOYED reading or will read again.
General rule: Anything that has a healthy layer of dust should be tossed.
Good Luck!

Answer 2

Get together some boxes and bags and start with one major thing, the clothes or the books....and start making piles...and desicions.

Decide weather you are keeping a garment or book for sentimental reasons or if you really use it, or would like to use it. I

f you notice you are keeping too much, think about it like this...could someone else benifit from this? When would I REALLY use/read/wear this? Why havn't I used/worn/read this in the past year? (let alone 20 years)

Make a donation pile and start donating. If you have a hard time parting with something, maybe think of who you may be donating to, what trauma they may have day to day. That kind of thinking may help you get rid of big chunks of stuff and clear your area.

I just got rid of 3 years worth of clothes. It was easy for me to get rid of them, they are my fat clothes-but honestly, some of the clothes had memories, some were very comfortable, nicely made, or maybe I paid a lot of money for them...but I had to put all that aside and think; it doesn't fit me, I dont look good in it, it would fit a larger woman better and look good on her too.

Good luck! Happy cleaning!

Answer 3

Sounds like an empty box is a good place! You should also keep in mind that your junk could be another man's wealth so don't forget to schedule a Goodwill truck pickup or just have fun one weekend and make a few bucks and have a garage sale! Perhaps you would like to invite a friend or two to help round up, box and move all your give-aways to another part of the house/apt until the day you decide on how you want it removed.

Answer 4

what i like to do is...

Pick one room to start with. (It will probably take you days or weeks to do this depending on how much stuff you have.)
Clear everything out of the room. Everything means everything, except for things you know you absolutely need in the room (bed, dresser, etc...). Go as far as even taking clothes out of dressers and closets. Then, start putting things back, but as you do, think about if it actually needs to be in that room. If it doesn't need to be in that room, does it even need to be saved? Do this with your clothes too. You will be surprised how much junk you never knew you had! Then either donate, throw away, or have a garage sale, with the stuff you no longer want.

By the way, while everything is out of the room, now is a great time to clean the carpet, wash the walls, or even paint.

This method works for me. I hate clutter.

Answer 5

Do one room at a time, one section at a time! You'll have to make yourself stay on task in just that section. Schedule a drop-dead date for the Salvation Army to come and pick everything up. I would suggest giving yourself approximately 2 weeks to go through everything. If you have that much stuff you may actually have to schedule 2 or 3 different pick-ups.

The most important thing though is to work in sections so that you can feel a better sense of accomplishment. If you skip around a lot you'll probably become overwhelmed and never finish. Trust me I know...I'm a recovering packrat!!

Answer 6

I had the same problem...cleaning and clutter alike really. here is a fantastic website that has it all organized for you. All you do id what they tell you to do everyday. This lady has it all broken down into very approachable jobs each day so you don't start out one day and pull everything out and work all day and then lose your steam and create more of a mess than you had before. It gets overwhelming when you do that.
www.flylady.net
Barring this site, you could sign up for that Clean Sweep show on TLC. :)

Answer 7

Don't let it overwhelm you. Start in the closets. Get rid of three garbage bags full a week. They don't all have to go in the garbage, but that is what you use for your measure. Once the closets are cleared out, move into the bedrooms, then the kitchen, and then the family/living room. Don't move stuff from one room that you are working on into another...just keep filling those bags...3 a week.

Answer 8

There is some really good advice in these answers. I also want to suggest the website http://flylady.com . Some of it is excessive, but you might like the advice about taking it a little at a time, etc. it took you a long time to accumulate that stuff, and you're not going to get it all organized in one weekend!

Answer 9

When in doubt, throw it out! I have a friend whose husband just passed away. Though she loved him dearly, he was a real pack rat. It took two years to clean up after him. Another friend moved. Packing their belongings was one thing, but oh that cellar!!! I vowed that I would keep less clutter in my life. I would never want to put those I love through the stress of having to clean up my mess.

Answer 10

I use neatness to disolve clutter. It costs energy instead of money, and it works well.

As for books, the library would love them.

As for clothing, the goodwill and veterans stores would love it.