Clutter-Free Holiday Gift Ideas

Used by permission from Cara

http://www.healthhomeandhappiness.com/25-clutter-fee-holiday-gift-ideas-sustainable-green-and-sure-to-be-appreciated.html

The Ten Minute Tidy

Copyright Deborah Taylor-Hough - All rights reserved -  Used by permission
http://simplemom.com/ - Author of  'A Simple Choice' http://hometown.aol.com/dsimple/

Housework and I haven't always been friends. It's been a struggle throughout the past twenty-six years of my married life to learn the habit of keeping a neat and orderly home. Some days I'm more successful at it than others, but I'm learning and growing in this area constantly.

I've often found that reading assorted books by housework "experts" are more depressing than they are inspiring for those of us who are a bit domestically challenged. Yes, these experts know what they're doing. But so often I don't feel like they have even a glimpse of how difficult basic housekeeping can be for someone who just doesn't seem to have it in their genes to do it naturally.

One of the most helpful and simplest things my children and I do to maintain our home is something we've dubbed the "Ten Minute Tidy.”

What it involves is this: Everyone runs around the house picking up clutter and putting it away as fast as they can for ten minutes.  Whenever I notice that the main living areas of the house are getting that lived-in look, I call for a Ten Minute Tidy. Everyone drops whatever they're doing and flies into "pick-up-the-stuff" mode. I actually set a kitchen timer for ten minutes and when it goes off, we're done.
 
Usually I tidy the kitchen and main bathroom myself while the kids tidy the living room, family room, and if there's still time left, their bedrooms. It's amazing how quickly the house can go from looking messy to looking neat when everyone works fast, works together, and works smart.
 
The purpose of the Ten Minute Tidy isn't to actually deep clean the house, but to tidy up the rooms so our home looks neat and livable again. The cleaning and regular maintenance is done during a scheduled "Upkeep" time each day. I always focus the Ten Minute Tidy on the areas that make a first impression when people enter my home. In our case, that's the entry/hallway, living room, kitchen/family area, and main bath.

I’ve found it’s a great way to train my kids – and myself – to keep up on the housework without making it into a horrible chore that everyone dreads.

Decluttering and Homemaking

by Deborah Taylor-Hough ~ Used with permission

Author of “Simple by Choice,” http://hometown.aol.com/dsimple/ 

While clearing out my bookshelves this week, I've not only found books I'm ready to part with, I've also found books I'd forgotten about.  So in the midst of the decluttering, I'm also doing a lot of reading.  :-)

            Last night I was reading the book, "What's a Smart Woman Like You Doing at Home?" by Linda Burton, and found the following quote that really inspired me to think about the importance of making my house a home (I think this applies whether you work at home or out of the home):

            "It became clear to me that the job of homemaking was much more than an empty progression of menial tasks.  More than anything, I learned that the substance of homemaking is the creation of a place that makes people feel good -- to, in effect, set a stage that allows     positive feelings to happen.  It takes great artistry to create a home where people will want to talk to each other; where they will want to linger over dinner; where they will want to snuggle up with a quilt and a book on rainy day instead of escaping to the shopping mall.  It takes skill and sensitivity to design ways to buoy, comfort, and strengthen the people we love."

I think I've gotten so wrapped up in my decluttering mode this week that I'd lost sight of "why" I'm actively seeking to make my house a home.  It's for the people I love – so they have a safe haven away from the weariness of the outside world, a place of refreshment and joy.

            I'll probably keep on doing the same things in my goal toward a clutter-free house, but I think each little step will be infused with love for my family rather than just frustration over too much stuff.  I've discovered over the years that a simple change of focus like that can make the difference between a chore ... and an act of love.

Conquering Kid Clutter

by Debbie Williams - Debbie@organizedtimes.com - Copyright 2006 - Used by permission

Lack of storage space is the #1 complaint I hear from parents, especially in their kids' rooms. But organizing a child's room is just like de-cluttering any other room in the house: you have four choices: hang it, put it in a drawer, store it on the floor, or shelve it.  Use those same options when organizing your children's rooms.

 

Here are a few of my favorite tips for storage solutions:

 

Create More Floor Space

-  A bed with drawers provides extra storage space and eliminates the need for a bulky dresser or chest
-  Invest in loft beds for the kids with space for a desk
-  Place a bulky chest of drawers in the closet to save wall space

 

General Organizing Solutions

-  Footlockers or old-fashioned steamer trunks hide extra bedding. Be sure to make safe for small children by installing locking safety hinges
-  Under the bed storage bins hold craft items
-  A plastic garbage can topped with a table round makes a bedside or chair side table, and doubles as hidden storage
-  Over the door shelving makes a nice place to store books, children's videos, and audiotapes.
-  Hang a vinyl pouch organizer on the bedroom door or closet door for desk supplies
-  Shoe bags hang on a closet door and contain all those Beanie Babies, Barbies, and action figures

 

Clothing

-  Purchase drawer dividers for socks, underwear, lingerie and tiny items to keep items segregated.
-  Install inexpensive closet organizers for clothing, which can double your closet space
-  Hang another clothes rod in your closet for clothing to utilize hanging storage space
-  Place a laundry basket or hanging bag on the door for each family member.
-  An under bed box is great for outgrown kids' clothes and frees precious closet space. Store or take to resale shop when box is full, then begin again (I recommend buying a plastic tub rather than inexpensive cardboard, which doesn't last very long)
-  Stash out of season clothes in boxes, label, and store in the attic or garage
-  Wicker trunks or footlockers make excellent places for out of season clothes
-  Hanging storage closet systems are colorful and create an instant chest of drawers

 

Papers

-  Two file cabinets can be used to support a desktop for a workspace
-  Filing cabinets for your kids provide a spot for all those papers that seem to take over the house:  school work, pictures, cards, awards and certificates, art projects, report cards
-  Lillian Vernon Catalog sells a corrugated chest with pull out box "drawers". The unit holds six boxes, one for each school year, and provides a safe place for all those school year treasures.  Visit their website at www.lillianvernon.com for ordering information, or to request a catalog.
-  Corral papers and keepsakes safely by storing in a plastic binder. UniKeep ClearView Binders come in a variety of colors and sizes, and fit right in your child's backpack or locker for safekeeping. Visit www.UniKeep.com for more information.

 

These are just a few ways you can contain the clutter in your kids' rooms.  You probably have several tips of your own to add to the list. I almost forgot the best tip of all: have your children sort through their toys and give to those who are less fortunate. What a great way to make room for those new toys and help another child at the same time.

 

About the Author:  Debbie Williams is an author and organizing expert who offers tools and training to help you put your life in order. Learn more practical tips like these in her book, Organized Kidz (By the Book Media, September 2005). Available directly from the publisher at www.organizedtimes.com/OKidz.html or order from Amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0972698337

 

How I Lost 50 Pounds and Gained a New Living Room!

Copyright (c) 2008 Pamela Cole Harris - Home And Garden Makeover - http://www.homeandgardenmakeover.com - Used by permission

OK...I was spilling over, outgrowing everything, the beautiful bits hidden under mounds of muddle and it was time – past time – to lose it! I thought about using dynamite to blast it away, but that was too messy and probably illegal! I thought of calling a small third world county and telling them I had more than enough if they could use some extra – but that would probably cause an international crisis. So I decided to do it the hard way – one step at a time. Yes, it was time to de-clutter my living room!  And lest you think this a small task, let me tell you that we are talking clutter with a capital "C!"

I began by sorting through my stacks of books until I came to a book on "How to De-Clutter Your Home," which had been hidden under a book on streamlining your life and another on losing 5 pounds overnight. Armed with the book's list of suggested steps,  I sat on a stack of magazines and began to read.

1. Start with three boxes – one labeled "keep," one labeled "trash," and another labeled "give away."

- Now right away we have a problem. If I could put all my stuff into these three little boxes, I wouldn't HAVE a clutter problem! So I got out my industrial-sized box of trash bags, skipped the labels and with applause from my husband ( who immediately ducked to miss the flying copy of "How to Declutter Your Home" and fled a hasty retreat), I began to stuff.

2. If possible, move everything out of the room. Move back in only the items you want to keep.

- When I called my husband to help, pointing to the next item on the list from "How to Declutter Your Home," he dissolved into gales of laughter and said, "You want to put what, WHERE?" I muttered something about "where the sun don't shine," handed him a hankie to wipe his eyes, picked up the nearest pile and began to move.

3. If you are unsure about whether or not to keep items, put them in a box for 6 months. If you still haven't opened the box after six months, take it directly to a thrift store.

- Now THIS made sense - box up all my junk and put it in my husband's space and let HIM deal with it! When my husband realized - on my third trip to the garage – that I was moving all my possessions, lock, stock, and silk flower arrangements to live amongst the tools, "valuable stuff," and "they don't make 'em like that anymore" treasure in his space, he – well, let's put it in a less explosive term – "freaked!" My copy of "How to Declutter Your Home" landed in my neighbor's yard amongst the begonias, scaring the cat and causing every dog in the neighborhood to begin a new game of "My bark is louder than your bark!"

It took two weeks, 10 trash bags, 9 boxes, two extra-large pepperoni pizzas for my husband and the dogged determination of yours truly, but I got a new, uncluttered and streamlined living room. And the 50 pounds? More than 50 pounds of "irreplaceable treasure" went to the thrift store or trash bin in the two weeks of decluttering! So I am back to my old svelte self! Now, if only I could get up enough courage to open that hall closet, I might lose another 20!