Simple Steps to De-Clutter Your House

Here are a few steps that I follow when getting rid of things. This is not for the faint of heart but it is well worth it in the long run!

1. Start at the top of your house and work down. 
2. Go through every inch of every room. You will be amazed at what you find!
3. Make 2 piles. Reuse and Junk
4. Reuse Items: anything that can be donated or taken to a resale shop
5. Junk: anything that needs to be recycled or taken to the dump

Now the hard part.... the decision making process! 

1. Have you used or worn it in a year? If not it's gone!!!
2. Is it broken? Gone
3. haggard, worn? Gone
4. Does it fit NOW? If not its gone! (except children's clothes your are saving for a younger sibling.)
5. Do you absolutely LOVE this item? If the answer is not a profound YES then it should go.

Now I know what your thinking? Those clothes in the back of your closet that you are saving because one day you WILL fit back into them?? I will admit that I too had that pile. I have come to terms with the fact that IF I do ever get back into them, they will probably be out of style. And that lovely red JCrew peacoat circa 1995.... yes I loved it but it has to go!

I have a keepsake box for each person in the family to put items that I want to hold onto. But be realistic chose ONLY the items that mean the most. I know this is hard but you can do it!

Your home should be a reflexion of who you are, full of functional items that you absolutely love. Anything else is just clutter and it needs to go.

What to do with your junk and reuse piles!


The Reuse pile should be divided into 2 piles.

1. Resale/ Craig's list/ Yard sale: Gently used items in great shape, almost new
2. Donate:  Items that are still usable but have some wear

Be honest with yourself, if you are not going to follow through with selling or taking to a resale shop then just donate everything. There are many charities that will come to your home for pick up and your donations are generally tax deductible.

Junk Pile

1. Recycle: check local rules for recycling items
2. Garbage: follow local rules, if the items are large you may have to take them to the dump yourself.

I try to do one room a day so I don't get burned out and I use the basement as a staging area for my reuse and donate items. Once I have gone through the whole house I call the charity and load up the car to take  items to the resale shop. Again be honest with yourself, if you know one room is what you can handle a month then go ahead and donate immediately. If you wait to do the whole house you will just have a basement full of clutter and this is NOT the goal!

Good Luck! Let me know how it goes!

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