Sally Munroe - Decluttering Secrets

Weare all guilty of it. We can't help ourselves. We buy things or people give usthings, and they wind up all over our homes. We're consumers, and as consumerswe have the idea ingrained into our brains that successful people accumulategoods. So we go out and we shop and we bring things back to our homes.Inevitably, there is a mass of goods in every room of our house that we aredoing nothing with.

Insome cases, we can't even remember where all the stuff even came from! Thisarticle will take you through every room of your home and discuss what itreally means to declutter once and for all. If you choose to embrace the ideaof decluttering, you may find yourself with extra money for a vacation if youhave a garage sale or sell items on the internet. A definite benefit is thatyour life will be happier and healthier from only holding onto necessary itemsor decorative pieces that make you feel good.

Weare starting from the ground floor up. This will help you tackle the areas ofyour home that are more public first.

Garageor Basement Area

Thisis the most obvious space to clear out for old junk. Let's face it; this iswhere junk goes to die like all the old yard tools that never get used? It'stime to evaluate everything that you own and make an honest assessment of whatits purpose is in your life. If you are not using something, you need to donateit or sell it. This area of the home is also where a lot of big ticket sportingequipment sits around gathering dust. Be honest. How long have you had thattreadmill? How often do you really use it? What about your childrens formerschool gear? If you are a parent, you may even have boxes of old school recordsfor your kids. If you must keep them, simply scan them into electronic copiesand shred the paper files.

LivingRoom

Areyou accumulating baskets of magazines anywhere in your house? This is alwayswhere they seem to end up! Get rid of them. How about old newspapers andcatalogs? Other items that seem to end up here might include old remotecontrols and electronic gadgets that no one uses anymore. Don't even get mestarted on the mounds of DVDs and CDs that no one even watches or listens toanymore.

Kitchen

Youneed a basket or file for daily mail, keys, change, coupons, and wallets. A lotof people have a small bulletin board in their kitchen to keep the familyorganized. This way, the table and countertops can stay clean and empty. Youshould clean out your pantry and donate food items that your family is notgoing to use before they expire. How many sets of dishes do you really need?Are you really using all of the kitchen gadgets you have accumulated throughthe years? I guarantee you that you aren't! Get rid of them!

Children'sRooms

Gettingyour children involved in cleaning out their rooms is a great way to exposethem to giving to those who are less fortunate. Can they make selectionsthemselves from their closet to identify items to give to a needy child?Encourage them to select games, books, puzzles, and even clothing that hasn'tbeen used in the last six months. This will also instill the idea in your childthat accumulating things does not equal happiness. That is a very valuablelesson to learn in the early stages of life!

LinenClosets

Keeponly what is in good condition. There is no need to accumulate old dish ragsand raggedy towels. It feels better to have quality items, and linens arethings that can be purchased on sale so often that there is no excuse to holdonto rags.

MasterBedroom

Bothspouses need a dresser or a nightstand for their personal items to be stowed.Ideally, the two of you will have separate areas of the bathroom and closets toorganize your things in accordance with your personal preferences. For theladies, how many pairs of shoes do you really need? If you are rotating them,and they are all in good condition, fine. But get rid of everything that isbeginning to show signs of wear. It is better to just have a few quality itemsyou can rotate, rather than collecting cheap items because you are afraid tothrow anything away. Go through your cosmetics that you have stored under yourbathroom sink too. Throw away everything that is old or that you are not using.You don't need it!

HomeOffice

Withcloud based storage options so cheap now, there really isn't a need any more tohang onto and store too many original documents. Most everything you need tofile can be scanned in to your computer and loaded into the web storage programof your choice. If you think of what executive offices typically look like, youshould have an image of very clean; mostly empty space on the desk. There is areal connection between a clean space and a clear mind. Executives do notaccumulate unnecessary papers or other items. They have a place for everything,and you should strive to emulate that system. It works for a reason!

Ifyou can commit to throwing away the old idea of consumerism away, you will beon your way to a happier, more peaceful life. If you are a beginner, aim toclean house every spring, and start fresh. Dedicate yourself to living asimpler lifestyle, and spend your money on savings and on experiences that willenhance your family's personal growth. Polls repeatedly show that people are happierwhen they spend money on experiences, rather than on materials items. What'smore, choosing to declutter can help a needy family with items they wouldn't beable to afford for themselves.