Monday, December 21, 2009

Cleaning Up the Clutter after the Holidays

Christmas is right around the corner and your about to get slammed with a lot more stuff. Once the unwrapping dust has settled, you need to decide what you are keeping and what you are getting rid of. If you do not like or can not use a gift, DO NOT give it a home in your closet, drawer or garage. Put it right into your garage sale box or into your car to take to consignment. Websites like Garage Sales Tracker have a directory of all your closest consignment stores with directions. Check them out at http://www.garagesalestracker.com/

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Purging before the holidays

Tis the season for gifts and more gifts. While we love all the fun of giving and receiving, you may be worried that your home is cluttered enough with stuff that you don’t use. In anticipation of the new goodies, why not clear the clutter?

Spend 15 minutes a day going through one small area at a time. Pick a drawer, a cupboard or the corner of a room to do in one time period. As you are going through, keep reminding yourself that clearing clutter is also opening up space for new and useful things. Once you receive all your fabulous new gifts, you will have a nice neat place to store them.

This is a great activity to do with your kids as well. Teach them a lesson in organization by showing good clutter management habits. Set aside some time with them before the holidays to go through their belongings and get rid of what is broken, no longer used or still in the box because it was never used at all…. Not only will they learn clutter management, but they can also join in the holiday spirit by donating these no longer needed items to a worthy charity.

Don’t let the happiness of receiving be overshadowed by the stress of adding to a cluttered space. Just a small amount of time per day can transform your space into a functional and stress free environment. Happy holidays!



Meagan Farrell, professional organizer, is the owner of Clear the Clutter organizing services. She can be reached at (360) 631-7268 or at clear_theclutter@yahoo.com. Check out her blog at http://cleartheclutterprofessionalorganizing.blogspot.com/