Cut Clutter From Your Life

January is a great time to organize. Whether it’s only one drawer or one room, once you unclutter you’ll have a great sense of accomplishment and hopefully want to tackle one more drawer or one more room.

My philosophy is if you haven’t used it or worn it in the last year, chances are it’s time to get rid of it. And, if it’s still in good shape, I’m a big fan of donating the item. There are many charities that would be happy to receive your donation.

I recently went through years of bills, receipts, etc. I found a records retention guideline online and got rid of six banker boxes worth of paper. I found the Shred Shop which shreds your documents while you watch. It took about ten minutes for them to shred my documents. I would have spent hours and probably fried my home shredder if I would have done it myself. It was well worth the $32 I spent on this project!

If you have boxes in the attic or basement you haven’t opened for years, then why are you keeping them? Sometimes we keep things because of their sentimental value or “so and so” gave it to me. Make this year the time you actually go through the boxes and take an inventory. You may surprise yourself and wonder why you’ve kept things so long. I have one sentimental box. One, that’s it!

Need some help to get started? Try organizing one of these seven ideas:

1. Junk drawerOewelry box
2. Silverware drawer
3. Stack of magazines
4. Freezer
5. Linen closet

Have fun cutting the clutter from your life!

Nancy Roe
Author