It is incredibly frustrating to cope with clutter on a day to day basis. It slows you down, it fouls your mood and it is sapping you of energy that would be better used on creating the life of your dreams. To declutter life is to de-stress your life. If you are ready to make the commitment to finally declutter, these tips will get you on your way:

1. Plan to Organize I know it seems a bit redundant to plan your organization. But, if you just throw yourself into a full blown decluttering session without a plan you will soon be exhausted and demoralized. Take the time up front to write down your goals for what you want to accomplish.
2. Start on Something Small It’s ok to work on the smallest unit possible, especially when you first get started. Start with one drawer. Leave the second drawer until tomorrow, or later this afternoon. The idea is to not let yourself get overwhelmed. This way, if you have to stop suddenly, or you anticipate interruptions, you don’t have to leave the room messier than when you started.
3. Use a Stopwatch Knowing that you have a set limit of time to do your work makes the job less intimidating. Use the stopwatch function on a digital watch or a kitchen timer and set it up to ring when your time is up. Remember to factor in time to put things away. Racing against the clock will almost make decluttering fun.
4. Don’t be Afraid to Ask for Help Unless you live alone, you shouldn’t be the only one decluttering. You probably didn’t create all this clutter by yourself, so there is no sense in clearing it by yourself (unless you enjoy seeing it pile up as soon as you’re done.) Have a talk with the family, your roommate or partner and make sure everyone is on the same page. You will be a lot more successful getting them on board if you can give them clear direction as to what you want them to do.
5. Let Others Know About Your Project The more people you tell, the less likely you are to fall back into clutter. It will cement your commitment to tell your friends, your family, and any one else in your life what you are doing. Letting others know your goal, will push you that much harder to complete it, and sometimes a little motivation is the only thing that separates us from what we want.

Keeping these five strategies in mind as you start to declutter life, home and office will ensure that you accomplish your goal of a clear, clean and decluttered space where you can feel at peace. Don’t wait another day, start your declutter life project today!

Decluttering for Geeks, by Evan Goer is Part 1 of a 4-part series). Part 1 deals with decluttering computer components; here’s an excerpt:

Typical decluttering books devote at least a chapter or two about why decluttering is a good thing. To save space, I’m going to assume that you’re already at least partly convinced. Here’s the thumbnail argument:

• decluttering will save you time (you can find your stuff quickly)
• decluttering will save you money (you can live in a smaller house, or avoid using external storage)
• decluttering will save your sanity (you won’t be distracted by constant reminders of abandoned projects and rooms that need cleaning)

And here’s the thumbnail of the thumbnail argument. There but for the grace of God go we all.

Okay, so, computers. Most self-respecting geeks go through a phase of building their own computers. It’s fun to build exactly what you want, fun to compare and contrast different components with your fellow system builders, fun to put together a $500 box that outperforms the $2000 machine of the non-geek. You have powers beyond the ken of mortal men!

But like mathematics and women’s gymnastics, system building is a youngster’s game. Although the truly hardcore might stick with this hobby for decades, the typical geek burns out around their 30th birthday. All of a sudden, debugging overheating problems and scouring the internet for updated drivers becomes… less fun. You’ve reached the magical age where time begins to > money. Maybe it’s because you’re making more money, or maybe it’s because you feel the icy hand of death approaching. Either way, you sell out. You buy a Name Brand Computer, possibly a shiny silver one with a fruity logo. At first you feel guilty, dirty even. Then you get over it.

The end result is closets full of old, decaying systems, plus scads of individual components: Pentium II motherboards, PCI sound cards, and cables. Lots and lots of cables…

Read the rest of Part 1 here.

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Related Posts:

1. Get Rid of Cord Clutter with a Recharging Station
2. Organizing Computer Cables
3. No Shelves Solution for Linens
4. Organizing with ZipLock Baggies
5. Organize Household Chores Online

Our home in VA had a full basement with wall to wall book shelves. Not pictured is a storage area with even more shelves, much deeper. I miss my shelves.

I purged a ton of stuff when we moved to TN because we were moving into a smaller home without a basement. All the “stuff” we don’t use often was stored in the barn. I need to purge more; thankfully, I don’t have to do it all at once. My plan is to spend one day a week purging.

Baby Clothes

Why is it so hard to give away baby clothes? Because I love to look at them and remember those wonderful, precious baby days. Then it came to me–why not remember with photos instead of boxes of clutter?

So here are some of the baby clothes I gave away. Works for me.

Books…hmmm not as easy. Taking photos won’t work. Any suggestions on how to purge a few hundred books (that I am sure I may need someday)?

Remember decluttering is like eating an elephant, one bite at a time. Stay tuned (or subscribe) for my next bite.

Works for Me Wednesday is a “blog carnival” (explained here). Be sure to check out lots of great tips on Works for Me Wednesday.

Related Posts:

• Organizing Computer Cables

• Tackling Bedside Clutter

• Pegboard Organization: Not Just for the Garage

• Devotional for the Disorganized

…
Only 15 Minutes?

15 minutes is all it takes to really get results. If you like, you can even use your kitchen timer to remind you—or release you, if you’re really resisting the idea.

So often we feel discouraged because a task seems overwhelming. This simple 15-minute rule lets you off the hook. You don’t have to eliminate your clutter all in one day. You can chip at it over time. Believe me, I’ve tried many ways to manage my day-to-day life, and this is the only one that works consistently.

Don’t be surprised if your 15 minutes slip away before you realize it! Then, if you like, you can reset the timer for another 15 minutes and tackle another drawer, shelf, closet, or box. It’s up to you! You never realized organizing could actually be fun, did you?

Linda offers a simple system to get your home and your life organized like never before in 5 steps:

Five Steps to Clutter Free Living!

1. Question the best possible use of a room, a closet, a drawer, your wallet…
2. Unpack all of your clutter to get a sense of what you have (and what you need to do with it)…
3. Evaluate each and every item you own…
4. Eliminate unwanted possessions without guilt or regrets…
5. Neaten up your belongings in their newly decluttered space. (The fun step!)

Take this test from Linda’s book.
Twenty Questions

Scoring: Never (1 point) Sometimes (2 points) Often (3 points)

1. Are you constantly running late?
2. Do you have trouble letting go of objects that have long outlived their use?
3. Are you using eyeliner and lipstick to write down messages because you can’t seem to find a pencil or pen in your drawers?
4. During the last six months, have you had to search for your car keys? [Once I found mine in a box of cereal]
5. Do you organize and reorganize, but always end up with the same amount of stuff?
6. Have you ever run the baby’s formula through the automatic coffee maker because the microwave is used for storage and you couldn’t find a pan?
7. Have you ever missed a doctor appointment or social engagement because you just plain “forgot” all about it?
8. Is your closet filled to the rafters with clothing and shoes? Does it contain clothes of all sizes?
9. How many times during the past year have you given unneeded items to charity?
10. Have you ever tucked in a pile of clothes because there is so much stuff on the bed you can’t tell if your child is in there or not?
11. Have you ever found an item you needed—after you’d purchased its replacement?
12. Do the kids think that everybody turns their underwear inside out on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday to get an extra day’s wear out of it?
13. Are there papers on your desk that you haven’t looked through for over a month?
14. Do your neighbors come to your house first every time there is a scavenger hunt?
15. When you start cleaning and organizing your house, do you tend to get sidetracked and start another project?
16. Do you generally know what time it is, or do you usually need to consult your watch?
17. Is your idea of clearing off the countertop sliding everything off it into the wastebasket or drawer?
18. Does your car sit outside because you need your garage for storage?
19. Are you able to shut all of your dresser drawers without clothes hanging out the sides?
20. Do you have to remove dirty pots and pans from your oven before you can use it?

20 to 35 Points

If you scored 20 to 35 points, you are indeed a royal organizer. Good for you! If you like organizing books (and you probably do) you can use this book to help you hone your best organizing instincts and make yourself the Queen of your own castle. You probably have a lot of the basics in use, so now’s the time to pay attention to the small organizing details you may previously have overlooked. Fine-tune your storage systems and banish clutter once and for all, and make sure you are spending enough time on evaluating and eliminating.

36 to 45 Points

If you scored 36 to 45 points, you fit into the largest group of clutter conquerors. Constantly trying to improve, you nevertheless feel like you are running on a treadmill as the clutter continues to grow…and grow…. You’re not part of the remedial organizing group, but you still have a ways to go to get your palace organized and clutter-free. Why don’t you start with the chapters that pertain to your biggest problems? You’ll make great strides if you really question and take stock of the areas you want to conquer—find out what’s not working before you come up with solutions. Take it in small stages and work through your clutter crisis area by area.

46 to 60 Points

If you scored 46 to 60 points, then, yes, let’s just say it—you have a clutter problem. A BIG ONE! But we’re not going to lock you in the dungeon and throw away the key (there probably wouldn’t be room for you, anyway).

Chances are you look at the clutter accumulating around you and feel defeated before you begin, and so haven’t begun. Until now. You need this book.

Select a small area to start your clutter busting so that you can step back and appreciate your efforts almost immediately. Once you begin and get a feel for conquering clutter (even in the smallest way), you’ll begin to believe in order again. Remember, it took time to collect all of that clutter, so it will take time to remove it. Read this book, eleviate and eliminate some of the stress that you deal with every day. And don’t get discouraged. Rome wasn’t organized in a day!