THE 2019 CLUTTER PURGE

Start off the year by paring down the items in your house with these helpful hints.

Stick to your containers. Don’t buy more containers to fit what you have; instead, cut down the items so they fit your container. For example, if you have an overflowing bin of your kids’ stuffed animals, declutter until the all the stuffed animals fit into the single bin, rather than buying a second bin. This also works with clothes and shoes—limit yourself to one shoe rack or one drawer of t-shirts.

It’s a victory when items leave the house. If you have three kids and a side business, chances are you don’t have much time to declutter. Even if you can only work in ten-minute increments, don’t get discouraged. Moving any item out of your house to donate or give to a friend is a victory.

Pick one project. Feeling overwhelmed by clutter, but don’t have time for a full purge? Pick one project, whether it’s the closet that dumps soccer balls on you whenever you open the door or the drawer you can’t shove one more piece of paper into. By tackling that problem area, you’ll feel better about your whole house.