I strive for a clutter free house. Hasn't happened yet, but I keep trying. For me, the problem isn't NOT knowing how to declutter or organize....it is having the space to do so. We have so many non functional areas of our house (which is 100 years old), that keeping up with the stuff that the average family has is tough.
Biggest offender...paper clutter. Between the mail, kids papers, coupons, etc...it is never ending. I tend to have piles of stuff, and I know what is in each pile (more or less) but it is a pain in the you know where. I purge these piles frequently, but they come back!
Bossy Boy is home sick today, so I decided to start some spring cleaning (it is almost 60 here!!). In my piles of stuff, I have found:
- About $15 worth of expired Extra Care bucks from CVS
- Other Catalina coupons from the grocery store (75 cents off your next order, 1.50 off another, etc)
- Tons of other expired coupons
- The rebate form I needed in January
- Enough pencils to last me a life time (the kids tend to bring these home as "gifts" from school, and at this point, I am ready to freecycle at least half).
And in my car....in addition to petrified french fries and lollipop sticks....the OTHER rebate form I need (also expired) You get the picture.
I am still working on the right system to not have this happen. I have a coupon binder that hasn't quite taken off yet (my coupons are sorted, just not in a great organizer yet). I have folders for incoming papers, but they tend to get buried. I have tried bins and baskets and such. No place to put them. I am down to that pile that I am not sure what to do with....trying to do the "one touch" method...where you pick it up, decide what to do, and do it. No more pile!
I love FlyLady, and if you aren't familiar with her....go check her out. You can't organize clutter! But I am still space challenged even when the clutter is gone. I love things to be clean and organized. I love knowing where it all should go.
Of all the stuff I found...the Extra care bucks bothered me the most. GRRRR.
Anyway, take 5 minutes today to clear some clutter....you never know what you will find! And take the time to do it NOW....you will be happy you did (my do it NOW thing of the moment was bringing the grocery totes back out to the car).
Oh I can so relate, girl. Over the years we've had coupons expire, gift certificates expire (that was before the new law) and once I even almost gave away my ring to Goodwill! I had put it in my purse to "protect" it, forgot where I put it and then eventually I decided to give that purse to the thrift store.
ReplyDeleteBoy, was I happy when I checked the pockets before getting rid of it!
I can SO identify with this. I can do a great job of cleaning out closets every 6 months, but paper is my Achilles heel. I even went to a seminar at a local bookstore on how to deal with paper clutter. Now I just need to implement the plan...
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