At the TOP of my mind this month is getting decluttered!

There I said it!  Have you begun Decluttering your place? ME TOO!

Eight Ways to Eliminate Clutter

1) Stop Spending
2) Know What You Have
3) It's Okay to Let GO
4) It's a "Stuff Mindset"
5) Make It -- Gifts
6) Less Packaging
7) Go Paperless
8) Kids Can Do It!

Let's break it down... Eight Ways to Eliminate Clutter:

1) Stop Spending – I know it’s harsh, but the number one way is not to bring it into your home in the first place. With each purchase you make, stop to think if it’s something you really need. It’s okay to treat yourself every once in a while, but when you do, make it meaningful and useful. So often we think, “I deserve this” and find ourselves purchasing $30 candles, vases, or knickknacks, which we often don’t need. How many of us have bought clothing and accessories “on sale” that we never wear? It’s best to think, “Do I really need this?” before each purchase.

2) Know What You Have – Keeping your home organized can seem like an

overwhelming task. I get it; I struggle with it too. Break the task into smaller periods of time. When your home is organized, you can quickly inventory what you have on hand. If you have a place for everything, you can look to see what you truly need. So save yourself a trip to the store to buy items that may already be hiding in your closet or drawer.

3) It’s Okay to “Let It Go” – Give yourself permission to let items go – no guilt. If you bought something you liked, but it doesn’t fit your current style – let it go. If it doesn’t fit – let it go. If you have too many – let some go. If you received gifts you don’t want or need – let them go. Giving useful items to charity is a nice way to “pay it forward” and you feel less guilty about getting rid of them. After all, you’re giving the item a new home, and it’ll continue to serve someone else.

***Annually our Home Decorators Club hosts a home décor SWAP. Each member

brings 5-8 items in good repair that they’re no longer using. We then SWAP a few items and enjoy decorating with something new. Here is a link to a past SWAP.

4) STUFF Mindset – Change your mindset to “experiences over stuff.” Make

memories, rather than give gifts.

For Holidays: It can be much more meaningful to do something together rather

than to give another toy, item of clothing, or home accessory that may not be

needed.

Annual Occasions: Try a birthday lunch, a fun drive to a new town nearby to

explore, a handmade card with an offer to do a special deed, or flowers from your

yard with a personal note of appreciation.

Congratulate an Accomplishment: Take them out to coffee or a movie, and

give them your undivided attention.

Kids Birthdays: Take them to a museum, or spend time hiking, geocaching,

playing outdoors, or enjoying a park.

A Job Well Done: Take a walk to the library and bring home some books.

Watch a movie together or make a craft or project together.

5) Make (Don’t Buy) Gifts – Create a meaningful and personal gift. It can be

much more special and fun to design something for a friend.

Spa items (salt scrub or candles)

Pasting a beautiful photo onto a blank card

Fresh flowers

Vegetable or fruit treats from your garden

Bake cookies

Homemade breakfast basket with bread, jam, and butter

A cheese and cracker basket

Tea bags with directions to steep and a nice note

6) Less Packaging Whenever Possible – Bring your own bags to all stores. I keep

two smaller ones in my purse at all times. Go for bulk items, bring them home and put them into your own containers. —And don’t save all that packaging from groceries or gifts. If you don’t plan on using the box, bag, or container within a week, put it into the recycle bin.

7) Go Paperless – Whenever possible, opt for digital when it comes to billing, books, magazines, movies and photos. Sometimes digital subscriptions and purchases are cheaper. Remember the days of records, cassettes and CDs? Now nearly everyone uses mp3s or digital streaming services to store and play music. Think of the space and clutter saved! For documents, photos, articles and ideas you want to save, simply take a picture of them, and save them on your computer by date and name description. This works great for receipts too. 

8) Kids Can Do This Too – When it comes to kids clothing, toys, and books, it’s easy

for them to get overwhelmed and not use or wear many articles they have. To help – weed out their things often, at least every six months. You can put items in a box up high in the closet until they can use them. Donate what’s not needed, host a

neighborhood SWAP, or exchange items with friends/family. You can also encourage your kids’ school to hold a SWAP. Even swapping among your own kids, cousins and friends is possible.

Living Well, Spending Less with Ruth Soukup. On her blog she shares:

SIMPLE SOLUTIONS FOR A STREAMLINED HOME LIFE

I am so inspired by Ruth Soukup. Her book Unstuffed has so many

great ideas in it (many of the above I learned from Ruth’s book). It’s

available online or in bookstores. So, if you’ve been feeling weighed

down by clutter, it might just be the message your heart needs to hear!

Ruth’s inspiring personal stories as well as practical tips can be implemented right

away. It’s a guilt-free, stress-free guide to taking our lives back from all the STUFF

weighing us down.

Love your home more!  Jonelle'