Organize your day with tips from Emilie Barnes!
101 Ways to Clean Out the Clutter
Don’t Delay Small Tasks
Do small chores as needed so they occupy the least amount of time possible. Put a shirt back on the hanger, repair the sag on the gate, replace that burned-out lightbulb, and put new batteries in your smoke alarm.
If you start taking care of the immediate tasks rather than save them for later, you’ll notice an amazing difference in your clutter problem.
The small stuff adds up to big projects later – don’t let them snowball.
As you go about your day today, pay attention to which tasks can be done immediately. The dishwasher can be loaded, the cereal box can be put in the cupboard, the dining table can be cleared so that it’s clean for dinner, and your paid bills can be filed. Things are looking better already!
Be My Guest
Be a guest in your own home for a day. If you walk into your living room, what stands out? What looks messy? Inviting? Fun? This fresh inventory of your living room and each room in your house will awaken you to ways to clean out and cheer up your home.
I’d encourage you to have fun with this.
Do one room at a time and take a few notes about this “first impression” makeover. Then get ready to make a difference in that room.
What’s working? What’s pleasing? What draws your eye? Look for items that just don’t fit.
Most importantly decide the focal point for your room. What do you want people to see when they enter the room?
The focal point is the anchor – the center of gravity. Find that and you’re well on your way! Not a bad idea for every area of your life!
Little Tasks Take Little Time
Few of us have several hours to clean out our closets. The key is to use the 10 minute segments you do have to accomplish a small task or make a dent in a larger one.
For example:
Clean one shelf in your closet
Make an appointment with the dentist
Put in a load of wash
Make your shopping list
Answer a few emails.
You’ll declutter if you learn to do small tasks in small blocks of time.
Just Give It a Try
Is your accumulation of stuff burdensome? I can relate. Most women can. What many people don’t realize is how incredibly freeing it is to get rid of clutter. They hesitate because they just see the work involved, the logistics, the possible changes, and the future commitment to keeping a home clean.
They can’t envision the openness, the beauty, and the peace this change will offer them and their families.
Keep your eye on the prize – the sanctuary you will create when you remove the obstacles of clutter! If you’re new to this or hesitant to begin, don’t look at your house as a whole. Start with one room.
If you incorporate just a few of the suggestions in this book or ones you’ve gathered from magazines, you will see transformation. The results of your one room makeover will give you the energy and the desire to keep life simple and lovely.
Happy Ninth Day of Christmas! “There is nothing insignificant in the life which we live within our own doors. There is nothing which is without influence in the building up of character. Let no one think that the history of any day in the life of a home, is not recorded imperishably on the sensitive lives of the children.” -J.R. MIller
Wire wrapping is one of the oldest techniques for making jewelry or rosaries by hand. Frequently, in this approach, a wire is bent into a loop or other decorative shape and then the wire is wrapped around itself to finish the wire component making that loop or decorative shape permanent. Not only is it quite beautiful but it makes the rosaries sturdy and durable.
Available here.
Blank Journals for the New Year!
Thank you for sharing this! This is a struggle for me, but this article is inspiring in the right ways. I want to keep my home a pleasant and enjoyable place for my family.
I have begun to declutter my home once again! Ian is building me a sewing room, and I want to be able to use it, so all of the projects that I started but am not going to finish are going to someone who will actually do them and enjoy them.
I started to de clutter, but I got a bad case of early contractions. 🙁 unfortunately, things I wanted to do will have to wait for the baby to come next month.