Spring Forward (Part 1): Ten Clearing Tips

When it comes to reducing the clutter from our homes (and heads), every day of the year is “spring cleaning.” Adopting a “rule of one”: one thing, one pile, one area, one thought, one minute – every day – makes clearing so much easier. And fun!

With springtime in the air, literally, I thought I’d honor the season of new beginnings with these useful clearing tips I found in an issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine (which is going direct to the recycling pile as soon as I’m done extracting the best ones):

1. Tame linen closet chaos by storing bulk items such as extra soaps, bath salts, and cotton balls in clear cylinders. It’s an attractive, inexpensive solution, and you’ll be able to see when something needs replenishing. Use this trick all around the house–for sponges in the kitchen and detergent in the laundry room, for example.
2. Designate your nightstand as a clutter-free zone that’s a pleasure to wake up to. Limit yourself to a reasonable number of books. set out a tray to  hold change and jewelry. Park a basket below for blankets or magazines.
3. Keep a donation hamper in your closet. Every two weeks select an item of clothing you haven’t worn in the past six months and throw it in. When the hamper is full, take it to Goodwill.” –Peter Walsh, organizing expert and author of Enough Already!
4. Quit taking brochures, menus and flyers just because somebody hands you one. Don’t let that extra paper cross your home’s threshold–toss it right into your recycling bin.
5. “Create an indoor mailbox in a central location. Set a time to go through the box once a week. Open everything, pay bills, file important correspondence, and recycle junk mail.” –Nancy Nash, host of Clean House on the Style Network.
6. “Keep a small notebook with you at all ties and use it as a constant brain dump. Go through your scribblings each evening and put thoughts in their appropriate places, such as your calendar and to-do list.” –Michal Gregus, Los Angeles-bsed professional organizer.
7. “The next time you sit down to watch TV, pull out a drawer, any drawer. During commercials, sort the contents into four piles: keep, toss, donate or sell, and items to relocate [or use the four-pile method outlined in my book Your Spacious Self: “Stay,” “Go,” “Throw,” “Don’t Know“]. Then put back only the keepers [“Stay”], using expandable organizers to keep it tidy.” –Donna Smallin, author of The One-Minute Organizer A to Z Storage Solutions.
8. Practice organizational layaway. Keep a box for things you’re thinking about getting rid of but aren’t sure you can part with [your “Don’t Know” pile]. When the box is full, write the date on it and store it. After one year, if you haven’t needed or missed anything in the box, it’s time to toss or donate. [“If you can’t remember, it’s not longer a member.” –Your Spacious Self, page 99]
9. Tackle the jumble of cords behind your desk or TV. Take a few minutes to figure out which cord is which, then label them so you know what you’re unplugging. [Dotz Cord identifiers, $10; cordotz.com]
10. “Convert your compact discs into digital music files either yourself or using a service such as ripdigital.com or riptopia.com. (They give you materials to send in your CDs, convert them to digital and burn them on DVDs for you.) Then, donate or sell the returned CDs.” –Sabrina Soto, host of HGTV’s Real Estate Intervention.

–Excerpted from Better Homes and Gardens, January 2010, pages 34-41

Next… Spring Forward (Part 2) – Get Organized