Thursday, February 9, 2017 / by Jenel Yeamans
Awesome Ways to Declutter
It always amazes me how much stuff a person can accumulate in a week…a month…a year! How much stuff does a person really need? There are three philosophies that I live by:
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Everything should have a place.
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It’s ok to let it go.
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I’d rather have a dollar in my pocket than store, clean, or trip over extra stuff.
Here are some super helpful ideas to get you organized, decluttered, relieve some of the pressure of all the stuff that is piling up around you!
1. Consider investing in a neat® product. The large desktop unit is a receipt, document, and business card scanner that comes with software that automatically reads the item you scan and not only keeps a digital copy of it but transfers it into fields in a database. This is ideal for receipts because it logs the date, amount, store, tax, etc. It then tallies the sales tax so that you can use it for your taxes and your purchases can be categorized so you can track home improvement expenses or where you’re spending your money. Digital copies of receipts are accepted by the IRS and if you end up needing to return something, you can reprint the receipt! This allows you to get rid of the piles of receipts that you have been hanging onto.
2. Set up a donation/sale tote or box. This is the most overlooked and yet simplest idea out there. Find or purchase a good sized tote or box, line it with a large garbage bag. Set it somewhere convenient like right outside the door in the garage. When you come across things you don’t need or want, clothes that don’t fit, toys that aren’t played with, vhs tapes that you don’t have a vcr for; just walk to the garage, open the door, and toss it in your donation tote. When it’s full, remove and tie up the bag and either deliver to a charity or donation center OR call one that offers pickups such as ARC of Washington or The Phoebe House. Once you are on their list of donators, they will check in with you periodically to see if you have anything to donate. All you have to do is leave the bag out and it will be picked up at a designated time. Of course, you can also have a garage sale or put things on consignment.
3. Set up an exchange process with your kids for clothes and toys. Kids grow fast and so do their interests. Most of the time you can’t even keep track of what they have and don’t have anymore. Consider this; when you take your kiddos school shopping, make them go through their closet and get rid of anything they don’t like, don’t wear, or doesn’t fit anymore before allowing them to have their new clothes. I used to have my kids physically try all of their stuff on and put on a fashion show with their old stuff to make it more fun for them. They desperately wanted their new stuff though so it didn’t take too much persuasion. Try doing the same after birthdays and Christmas, have them weed through their toys and clothes and add to that donation tote.