I'd like to welcome Anna Hicks who has written an article especially for DIYbyDesign.
Clutter seems to just build up in most people’s homes, especially busy people with children, and the holidays make everything far more hectic than usual. One day your house is neat and clean – the next, you’re wondering how things got so messy and why everything looks out of place. You’re not alone. While managing clutter at home requires regular effort, it really isn’t that hard, and once you know how to clear the clutter this winter, the process will be much faster and simpler.
Grab a Box
When you start to notice clutter piling up and things totally out of place,
the first you should do is find an empty cardboard or plastic storage box.
Start in one room and grab everything that is out of place and put it in the
box. Once you’ve got everything, put it back where it belongs, even if it isn’t
in the same room. Take it one item at a time. If it’s something you don’t really need, put it in the trash or in a separate box for a garage sale or donation. You should always have a garage sale or donation box in your garage, attic or basement, or even as a clever gift for Christmas!
Additionally, you can use the earnings you get to buy newer, nicer things to your home, like some decorations from FlagsOnaStick.com. Repeat the process with the box in each room of your home until everything is where it belongs. You’ll need to do this about once per week – try to stick to a schedule.
Don’t Be Afraid to Multitask
Multi-tasking can generally make it hard to get a task done for many people, especially busy parents with kids running around cooped up from the snow, but when it comes to clearing the clutter in your home, you may have no choice. Chances are the only time you have to clean is when the rest of your family is at home, and if you have kids, they’ll likely be taking up at least a bit of your attention.
That’s okay when it comes to clearing clutter, though. Pick up out of place items in the family room while you’re watching television with your kids or straighten up the kitchen while you’re making them lunch. It might be the only way to maintain a clutter-free home.
Storage
If you’re like many people, you might just have too much stuff for your home. Get rid of what you don’t need; Christmastime is a great time to do this. Have your kids help you with preparing a care package of all their old clothes and clutter to give to someone who can really use it. Someone always can.
Even if you get rid of what you don’t need, you’ll probably have items that you really want to keep but just don’t fit in your home. Self storage units are a great way to keep important items safe without having them become clutter in your home. Self storage units come in many different sizes, are very affordable and might just be the answer to your clutter problem.
This holiday season, don't wait until the ball drops to decide to clean your house - get your family involved or just grab a box and start making your house the cleanest it has been in a long time.
Thanks Anna for these awesome tips.
-Judy
