Christmas Clutter

Here it comes! More stuff! If cupboards, closets, and drawers are already crammed full, now what? My solution is to try to weed out and restore order by donating anything we aren't using any more. I try to do this before or right after Christmas.

The charities are calling our home. What a great way to share, help others, and, at the same time, improve our own quality of life in our over-stuffed home. It is a win-win situation. Those are getting harder to find.

Does this make sense to you?

Merry Christmas!

To add to your favorites:

To clean or to neaten, that is the question!?

The holiday crunch is on. Now may not be the best time to clear clutter. With all the holiday decorations out, it may not even be the best time to clean, or, at least, the holiday clutter can make cleaning difficult.

Here's a thought. Consider spending a few minutes to neaten, rather than clean, each room. Rooms that have been neatened have advantages:

1. Rooms look cleaner.
2. Rooms are easier to clean if they've been neatened.

What is neatened?

I look at it as going through each room, maybe a 10-minute clockwise pass-through, and reducing or eliminating the extraneous stuff which would include: paper/magazine clutter, things in one room that belong somewhere else, things that need to be put away, and non-holiday decor that can take a break until after the holidays.

What have I forgotten?

Can I walk my talk?

Promoting an upcoming book is a full-time job, running a business is a full-time job, taking care of the home and family is a full-time job, and getting ready for the holidays is a full-time job. Argh! Maybe I should have called this post "time management." Here is my three-step approach:
1. Prioritize and do the most important stuff first.
2. Stay productive even if I think the block of time I have is too small (5-10 minutes, sometimes).
3. Turn piles into files as fast as I can to stay organized.

What do you think? What do you do when you have 48 hours of stuff to get done in a 24 hour day?

Clutter Clearing Choices

Since 1998, I have been speaking and writing about clutter control and home organizing. My first book Clutter Clearing Choices: Clear Clutter, Organize Your Home, & Reclaim Your Life will be published by O books in January, 2010.

I would like to connect and problem-solve with other women interested in these topics. I believe that clearing clutter and improving home organizing can help us free up time and energy for our personal priorities.

If you have any clutter clearing questions, please post them, and I will try to offer a variety of suggestions to help that you can pick and choose from. If you see a question posted that you can help with, please respond to that too.

We can do this! Thank you!