I think alot of you will be thinking about doing a bit of a clean out or declutter at this time of year. The influx of Christmas gifts and shopping at the sales are incentives to get rid of some old things we no longer need or want. If you are very short on space, remember the 'One In, One Out' rule. I just love donating things I no longer need, and I especially love the extra space in the cupboard/ drawer/ bookcase after finishing the clean out!
With kids toys, a good idea is to look at how many of each particular type of toy they own. How many barbie dolls does she have? How many similar trucks are there? If there are numerous similar items, losing a few wouldn't hurt. In my organising jobs, I included the children while decluttering their toys. Most kids I know would be happy to donate some toys to needy kids. Give them some power- say "Pick 5 special teddy's to keep and we'll give the rest to charity. A new child will love and appreciate your donations". This helps the child to feel good about the decluttering instead of feeling like something is being taken away from them.
Another great idea that my MIL Rhonda reminded me of recently, is to divide toys into 4 groups and only have 1 group out to be played with at one time. The other 3 groups are packed away and rotated depending on the season. Such a good idea as when the new season and the new toy box comes out, its like Christmas all over again for the children!
When decluttering clothing, a few tips to keep in mind are-
1. Go through the clothing one by one, from one side of the cupboard to the other. Divide clothes into piles- Wear, Store, Donate, Try On (and then decide).
2. Try to make a fairly quick decision about each item, otherwise the weekend declutter can turn into weeks of having piles of clothing everywhere which leads to not wanting to declutter again! (In my case, anyways :))
3. Get a second opinion- invite a trusted friend over to help you decide on the "Try On and Decide" pile of clothes. Ask for their honest opinion- does this style/ colour suit me? Try not to be offended with a No answer- your friend is helping to make some much needed space in your cupboard!
4. Pack the "Store" pile into a large clear plastic box and label it. I have one called "Old Clothes I Dont Wear but want to Keep" Lol :-) This box is stored way up high in the cupboard with the label facing out so I can see it if I need to.
5. Only tackle 1 cupboard or chest of drawers at a time, or one type of clothing, per weekend. Otherwise the job can get too overwhelming, the room gets too messy and the job never gets finished!
6. When you are finished with the piles, make sure you take the "Donate" pile to charity, or you may decide to try to sell the items on ebay. I like to put the "Donate" bags into the car straight away, so the next time I drive by a charity shop I can just hop out and be done with it!
I hope these couple of tips can help you with your decluttering this weekend. Please feel free ask me in the comments if you have any queries about your clean out!
I think those are really good tips. One thing I do, is to go through my clothing on a regular basis...and I donate anything that I haven't worn in the last six months. REcently I moved to the central coast of California...right on the ocean. The weather is fairly even most of the time...so I'm lucky not to have to pack things away...but still, I do have to declutter from time to time :) :)
ReplyDeleteLove and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather :)
I also turn all the coat hangers the "wrong" way in my closet. Once it is worn put it back the "right" way. That way in 6 months it is very easy to see what you actually wear and what just takes up space :)
ReplyDeleteHello Heather! How lovely it sounds where you have moved. Love and hugs right back at you :)
ReplyDeleteXx
Hi Katherine,
What a great idea!! Thanks for sharing that tip. Xo
SJ & I did a big clean out prior to Xmas, so everything was decluttered and organised coming into the new year. It was rejuvenating! :)
ReplyDelete~S.