Are your closets stuffed full of clothes you haven't worn in years? Does your basement resemble a junkyard? Can your car barely fit in the garage due to an excess of kid's toys, yard tools and stuff you thought you just might need someday?
With the festive season just around the corner, now is the time to get in high gear and get organized.
Plan regular blocks of time each week to get at organizing, sorting and clearing out clutter.
Clean out those closets starting with the clothes you haven't worn in ages (or the clothes that just don't fit anymore). If it isn't something that makes you feel great when you wear it, ditch it.
Ask yourself "Why am I keeping this?" If the answer isn't "Because I love it and it looks great on me!" Throw it in the heap. The recycling heap that is. (I am a firm believer in recycling and minimizing what you put out at the curb that ends up in the landfill).
You may even want to make an afternoon of fun out of it and invite your friends over with their closet cast-offs for coffee and a clothes swap. Whatever is leftover or unclaimed goes to the outbound recycling heap.
Once you have freed up some space in your closet you may want to organize your clothing according to style, season, colour, business, leisure etc., and give each item a little breathing space.
Make a point of getting rid of at least one clothing item for every new item you buy. Out with the old, in with the new.
Ask your children to go through their toys to look for games and toys they no longer play with that they may consider donating to Christmas Cheer. Install a large toy box with a hinged lid in your child's closet or playroom, and encourage your children to keep all their toys in the same place in the box.
Getting kids involved helps them understand that there are others that are not as fortunate as themselves, and it will give them a sense of contributing something that could bring joy to another child's life, while helping you rid your home of excessive toys. Bring the kids along and let them hand over the goods to the folks at the Christmas Cheer depot.
Clean up the basement and garage clutter and organize what you need to keep, so you can find it when you need it. Place like items together. Consider building or purchasing a shelving unit, large plastic tote boxes, and a pegboard for hanging tools and items you use regularly. Getting items up off the floor and stacked or organized on the wall will go a long way to creating space and making the area more visually appealing.
There is more selection today than ever before in storage containers, organizing systems, and shelving units etc. Consider what you are storing before you buy. Heavy items, awkward items, paints & chemicals etc., will dictate how robust your storage system needs to be, and whether open shelving or closed is your best option. Buy what appeals to you and is the most practical for your storage application.
Now you can even purchase colour coordinated storage containers. These colour-coordinated containers are great for seasonal items like Christmas decorations, etc. The red & green containers I use for my Christmas decorations instantly visually identifies the contents, stacks easily, and they are a darn sight nicer looking than cardboard boxes.
There are plenty of worthy organizations that will thankfully accept second hand clothing and household items. Many organizations, like Recycling Matters, will even come to your house and pick it up. Now how easy is that?
When you get rid of excess and clutter you make space for good things to come into your life.
And remember, if you've been real good, cleaned up the clutter and recycled, Santa will likely be bringing you something to fill up the space again.
