Janet Morris Grimes - The Parents Guide to Uncluttering Your Home: How to Organize What You Need and Recycle What You Don

The Parents G uide to Uncluttering Your Home: How to Organize What You Need and Recycle What You Dont

Copyright 2011 Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc.
1405 SW 6th Avenue Ocala, Florida 34471 Phone 800-814-1132 Fax 352-622-1875

Web site: www.atlantic-pub.com E-mail: sales@atlantic-pub.com

SAN Number: 268-1250

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be sent to Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc., 1405 SW 6th Avenue, Ocala, Florida 34471.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Grimes, Janet Morris, 1967-

The parents guide to uncluttering your home : how to organize what you need and recycle what you dont / by Janet Morris Grimes.

p. cm.

ISBN-13: 978-1-60138-338-9 (alk. paper)

ISBN-10: 1-60138-338-X (alk. paper)

1. Storage in the home. 2. House cleaning. 3. Parents--Life skills guides. I. Title.

TX309.G75 2010

648.5--dc22

2010037800

LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or Web site is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organization or Web site may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet Web sites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read.

TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: All trademarks, trade names, or logos mentioned or used are the property of their respective owners and are used only to directly describe the products being provided. Every effort has been made to properly capitalize, punctuate, identify, and attribute trademarks and trade names to their respective owners, including the use of and wherever possible and practical. Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc. is not a partner, affiliate, or licensee with the holders of said trademarks.

Printed in the United States

PROJECT MANAGER: Amy Moczynski AMoczynski@atlantic-pub.com
PROOFREADER: Brett Daly brett.daly1@gmail.com

INTERIOR LAYOUT: Antoinette DAmore addesign@videotron.ca

COVER DESIGNS: Jackie MIller millerjackiej@gmail.com

Dedication

This book serves as proof that sometimes dreams chase you down until you are ready to surrender to their power. Appreciation for my husband, Thomas, for your patience, for your belief in me, and for putting up with the clutter the process of writing this book caused. To my kids, Crystal, Andrew, and Malloree, for giving me daily reasons to become an author. How could I not write about you? To my Mom and sister, Jeanna, for demonstrating perseverance and inner strength when no one but me was watching. I love you all.

Foreword

D o you own your stuff, or does it own you? Do you have a two-car garage that houses everything but your car? If you answered a resounding yes and you are a parent, then Janet Morris Grimes book The Parent's Guide to Uncluttering Your Home is for you!

Clutter is an issue that has no restrictions as to who suffers from its clutches, and if left unattended, clutter can cause stress, anxiety, and loss of time as you constantly look for something. Aside from that, you teach your children a bad habit they will take into adulthood. By getting a handle on your stuff and mandating a place for everything, you teach your children responsibility and skills they will take into adulthood and your house will get organized now.

The battle over clutter is a battle all parents must deal with, especially if they do not have proper systems in place to begin with. The main struggle with parents is getting their kids in the habit of putting their stuff in its proper place. Kids learn from their parents actions and behaviors; if parents do not put their stuff away, why should children? The Parent's Guide to Uncluttering Your Home helps parents identify what processes are missing in their households and how to establish them with the six-week commitment, as well as how to help get the entire family on board and take back their home. The key is helping families break down what the problem is including compulsive shopping, not putting stuff away the first time, and not having a designated place for the stuff establishing a plan, and then breaking the home into clutter zones and deciding how to de-clutter and then reorganize them. Important tips are broken down into bullet points in the "Oppress the Mess" sidebars, which are extremely helpful, and in the checklists that help parents act as if they are getting their home ready for sale, which was one of my favorite parts of the book.