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Posts from the ‘decluttering’ Category

Feb 20

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Digitize Your Music, Photos, and Movies

Declutter and preserve your media by turning your photos, CDs, and DVDs into digital files.

Music:

- Import all of your CD’s to your computer. Just insert the disc and let iTunes import the tracks.

- Start buying all your music through iTunes or other digital source.

Photos:

- Scan all of your pre-digital photos to your computer. I did this with my 3-in1 printer. I had well over 500 pictures to scan and got through it in a few days. There are also photo service centers that can do this for you if you don’t want to take on this project.

- Scan as many photos that will fit in each pass. You can separate and edit the images later with a free photo editor such as Picasa or Paint.net.

- Organize into folders by year example: 2009, 2010, 2011

Movies/DVD’s:

Digitizing your movies couldn’t be simpler with this free program called HandBrake.

BACK UP!

Back up your collection to an external source. I recommend an external hard drive like this. Online back up services are becoming more popular too! I  recently signed up for Carbonite and am very pleased with the service so far.

Jan 11

Cleaning Schedules

Do you have a cleaning schedule?

Scheduling your housekeeping needs can help keep your home in order by reminding you and your housemates of daily tasks.

The image above shows my cleaning schedule.  Of course I do other things like dishes, wiping surfaces, and taking out the trash whenever necessary and don’t need to be reminded of them.

Everyone’s list will look different depending on your household needs. You can download a template of the schedule below and edit it to fit your needs. Be sure to post it somewhere you can view it easily every day! I put mine on the inside of my kitchen cabinet like this:

» Download Cleaning Template

Some items you may want on your list are:

  • Laundry
  • Sweeping/Mopping Kitchen
  • Bathrooms
  • Vacuuming
  • Trash Collection
  • Washing Linens
  • Dusting
  • Meal Planning
  • Lawn Care
  • Bill Pay
  • Clean Desk
  • Project Item – I have project item listed in my schedule twice a week. This is for tasks such as decluttering, cleaning garage, making a repair, or any other projects or chores that will inevitably come up.

May 3

The Best Tip for a Clutter-Free Life

Own Less.

Okay, easier said than done but owning less is truly the ultimate answer to living a clutter-free life.

The need for storage containers, baskets, and organizing items will just add to your clutter. Getting rid of items that you don’t need eliminates the need to organize them. De-cluttering can be a time consuming and frustrating process. Here are a few tips to help you get started:

  1. Start with one room
  2. Make a pile of everything you do not use, need, or want. This will be the hardest part. Be honest. Have you used this item in the past year? Would you take this item with you if you were moving to your dream house?
  3. Go through the room again. A second pass will often lead to another pile of items to get rid of.
  4. Throw away the trash and put the usable items you have gathered in your car and take them to the Goodwill or other donation location. Most Goodwill’s make house calls for furniture or other large items that are  hard to transport. Contact your local Goodwill to find out whether or  not pick-up service is available in your community.
  5. Stop bringing items in your home to help prevent clutter.
  6. De-clutter regularly

Organization containers can help contain visual clutter but before placing an item in the containers consider if you really need it and how often you will use the item.

Mar 20

Deep Clean: Bathroom

Step 1: Clear out the stuff. Empty all drawers, cabinets and shelves and place the items outside the room. Take down shower curtain and wash or purchase new one.

Step 2: Start at the top. Use your vacuum or a damp towel on a broomstick to dust ceiling. Don’t forget the light fixture and exhaust fan. Next, wash any window(s). If you have blinds or window treatments wash those too or replace. After that, grab a rag and bucket of water with your choice of diluted cleaner and start scrubbing the walls. Dust towel bars. (This may also be a great time to paint since your walls are clean!)

Step 3: Scrub shower area, tub, and faucet. Make them sparkle!

Step 4: Clean toilet.

Step 5: Clean sink, mirror, and counters. Wash inside drawers and outside of vanity too!

Step 6: Flooring. Mop thoroughly with your choice of cleaner.   

Step 7: Time to rebuild. Now that you have a sparkling clean bathroom it’s time to bring back your toiletries. If it does not belong in this room leave it out! This is a great time to declutter and evaluate what you really need in your bathroom. Hang clean or new shower curtain.

For more tips on cleaning bathrooms, check out Apartment Therapy’s bit called How To Get the Bathroom Spic and Span.

Mar 17

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Deep Clean: Living Room

Step 1: Start with a clean slate. First vacuum and dust all of your furniture, spot clean if necessary. Next, clear it out of the room! Remove everything if possible including furniture, books, electronics, plants, etc… The emptier the better! Next, take down window treatments and throw them in the wash (check labels and be careful about shrinkage) or hang outdoors to air out.

Step 2: Start at the top. Use your vacuum or a damp towel on a broomstick to dust ceiling and walls. If you have blinds dust those too or purchase new ones to replace. New blinds are relatively inexpensive and can make your room sparkle. Next, wash windows and sills. After that, grab a rag and bucket of water with your choice of diluted cleaner and start scrubbing the walls. (This may also be a great time to paint since your walls are clean and everything is moved out!)

Step 3: Flooring. Thoroughly vacuum any area rugs or carpet. Roll up area rugs and place outdoors to air out or in another room.

If you have hardwood, tiles, or other hard surface flooring, cleanse it thoroughly with your choice of cleaner.

For carpet: steam clean. If you do not own a steamer you can rent one at your local hardware store. Some grocery stores have them too!

Make sure your floor is completely dry before moving to step 4.

Step 4: Time to rebuild. Now that you have a sparkling clean room it’s time to rebuild. First, hang your window treatments. Now bring your furniture back in. Study your room and work out a floor plan that suits you. Look online or in books for tips on furniture placement. Leave out furniture that does not fit in well or you do not love.

Next, bring back any accessories you want in your room. If it does not belong in this room leave it out! This is a great time to declutter and evaluate what you want in the room. If necessary, make a pile of things to donate or throw out.

Step 5: Drop off your donation items. Take your items to your local Goodwill or other appropriate place.

Feb 19

Slaying the Filing Monster

At the Office: Slaying the Filing Monster

File DrawerDo you ever feel overwhelmed by your filing?  Well the other day I attacked the filing monster and defeated it. It can be a simple process to defeat file clutter and disorganization, it just takes a little time and patience.

Some of these ideas I got from reading Get Things Done by David Allen, but most of it is just common sense. A tightly controlled filing system will make you more efficient and create a stronger professional image. In addition, you will just feel better every time you open a file drawer and know exactly where everything is located.

  1. Take everything out of one drawer and evaluate what is in these files. Is anything outdated and no longer needed? Are some of these papers just copies that are being kept elsewhere? Be merciless and get rid of anything that is not needed.
  2. Replace worn out files and folders. Don’t be cheap on this step. Worn and ugly folders not only look unprofessional, they create a negative sense of the files’ contents.
  3. Get a label maker. I know this does not sound very minimalistic, but it is an awesome tool. Neatly labeled files are easy to find and create a polished look.
  4. Don’t feel trapped by files that you have to keep, but are very rarely used. Put them into file cabinets that are less frequently utilized or send them to storage. If practical, scan them and dispose of the originals. Desk file drawers are prime real estate and should only contain what is used frequently.
  5. Beware of the miscellaneous folder. It is easy to shove things into this folder since almost everything qualifies as a miscellaneous. Go through this folder and try to find proper homes for these papers. Sometimes you will have create new files to accommodate what you find in this folder, but do it. Nothing is more frustrating than digging through a phone book sized file while someone is waiting.
  6. Try not to let filing get back logged. Stacks of disorganized papers can be nightmare and make the ultimate process of filing something that becomes dread filled.
  7. Alphabetize your files. Sounds too simple? Trying to arrange by any other method has always just brought me confusion later. Trying to keep most frequently used files in the front, etc. has never worked for me.