Clutter list - things we have in overabundance

Tacking clutter starts with purging.  These are common household items that many people have in overabundance.

Kitchen

·    Glassware

·    Cookbooks

·    Kitchen appliances

·    Pots/pans

·    Mixing bowls

·    Tupperware

·    Water pitchers

·    Vases

·    Expired food/canned goods

·    Take out menus

·    Plastic grocery bags

·    Serving platters, bowls, etc.

·    Fridge magnets

·    Sport water bottles

Dinning Room

·    Crystal

·    Liquor bottles

·    Table linen

·    Servery items

Paper

·    Magazines

·    Newspapers

·    Books

·    Photos

·    Greeting cards

Bathroom

·    Medication – expired

·    Make-up

·    Hair accessories

·    Beauty appliances

·    Beauty products

·    Bottles of shampoo/conditioner

·    Kids bath toys

·    Mini hotel shampoo bottles

Garage / Shed

·    Tools

·    Hardware

·    Rolls of tape

·    Coolers

·    Sporting/recreational equipment

·    Recycling – aluminum cans/glass bottles/paper

·    Automotive fluids

·    Automobiles

·    Scrap lumber

·    Brooms

·    Rakes

·    Shovels

·    Garden tools

·    Plant containers

·    Empty cardboard boxes

·    Camping supplies

·    Leftover home renovation materials

·    Old paint cans

·    Bicycles (outgrown or unused)

Storage

·           Suitcases/luggage

·           Seasonal décor

·           Travel memorabilia

·           Wedding décor supplies

·           Posterity collections

·           Old framed photos

·           Fitness equipment

·           Broken appliances

·           Sport bags

·           Old (broken?) furniture

·           Old TVs

·           Collections

·           Sports memorabilia

·           Unused wedding gifts

Kids

·         Outgrown clothing

·         Baby supplies/accessories/gear

·         Baby furniture

·         Old school books/papers/projects/artwork

·         Board games

·         Puzzles

·         Kids toys

·         Stuffed animals

Utility / Hobby / Misc

·           Cleaning supplies

·           Sewing supplies

·           Craft supplies

·           Scrapbooking supplies

·           Pillows

·           towels

·           Bed linen

·           Artwork

·           Mirrors

·           Tote bags

·           Shipping supplies

·           Wrapping paper

·           Baskets

·           Blankets

·           Decks of cards

·           Coins

Office

·         Photography supplies/equipment

·         Computer equipment / printers / fax machines

·         Old music/mp3 players

·         Items on bulletin board

·         Home office supplies

·         Pens/pencils

·         Old batteries

·         Product manuals

·         Files/old bills/tax receipts older than 7yrs

·         Phone books

·         Coupons

·         Old address books

·         Unmatched electronic cables

·         Outdated catalogs

·         Extension cords

·         Note pads / books

·         Elastic bands

·         Training material from convention/meeting

·         Old business cards

Bedroom

·         Clothing

·         Hats

·         Clothes hangers

·         Shoes

·         Winter gear

·         Jewelry & accessories

·         Purses

·         Coats

·         Socks

·         Fitness or sports clothing/accessories

·         Neck ties

·         Ladies scarves

·         Belts

Living Room

·         CDs

·         DVDs

·         Old remote controls

·         Decorative items

·         Candles

·         Figurines

·         Audio visual components

·         Video game systems & accessories

·         Video games

·         Candle holders

·         Houseplants

Blog post by Heather Fulcher

Professional Organizer for Hire

Vancouver, BC, Canada

heatherfulcher@gmail.com

604-618-4829

*list adapted from: Becoming Minimalist - 100 Physical things that can be reduced in your home by Joshua Becker

Top excuses for holding onto clutter

Top excuses for holding onto clutter

1. “I might need it someday”

-     The ‘just incase’ syndrome is the cause of clutter for many people.

-     Consider this: would you know where to find this item when someday comes?  Would you remember to reach for this item when someday comes?

-     Weigh the cost of the prime real estate it takes to store vs. cost to replace it

-     Instead of owning it, can you rent one if you ever needed it again (tools, steam cleaner)

-     Bottom line - If ‘someday’ hasn’t come yet, it probably won’t.

2. I need this item for the information it contains

-     Do you need ALL of it?  Is it possible to copy or remove the small amount of information you require from it, and dispose of it?

-     Can you scan or digitally input the information you need, then dispose of it?

-     Bottom line – The information probably doesn’t need to be stored in this physical form

3. It brings back good times - I need this item in order to remember the good times or lost loves

-     Take a photo of it, then discard it

-     Bottom line – it’s not healthy to live in the past

4. Guilt – I don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings

-     I’m sure your loved one wouldn’t want you to feel burdened by the gifts they give you.  If appropriate, ask if they want the item returned to them. 

-     It’s OK to re-gift the item to someone else, donate, or even take it back to the store and get something else you can use.

-     Consider the types of gifts you give to others – is it STUFF that could be a burden or clutter their home? Consider giving consumables or experience gifts that do not clutter someone else’s space.

-     Bottom line – Your duty is to receive it and thank the giver – not to keep the gift forever.

5. It was expensive

-     Consider selling it to get some of that money back.

-     Regardless if it is expensive or not, if it’s stored in the bottom of a box in the attic, it isn’t performing a function or adding value in your life.

-     Bottom line - Lesson learned.  Think carefully about your purchases in the future

6. It could be valuable

-     Research the value yourself or take it to be appraised. Then make the decision on whether to keep it, sell it, or discard it.

-     Bottom line - Its not worth anything sitting in a box in the attic

7. Collectables – it is part of my collection of _____________.

-     Collections are one of the top producers of clutter.  Most people don’t have enough space to properly store or display their collections. 

-     “Someday I will have a house large enough to display my collection”.  Upsizing your house to fit your stuff is expensive.  Is the stuff really that important?

-     It’s OK to love trains, but you don’t necessarily need a full train set in your home.

-     Bottom line – if the collection is a burden, it’s not a worthwhile hobby

8. I’m keeping it for posterity.  I’m keeping it to give to my kids when they are older.

-     How would you feel if your parent gave you boxes and boxes of stuff from your childhood?  If presented to you when you turned 18, it might be a lovely trip down memory lane for a few hours.  Then what?

-     Consider that keeping too many items from ‘the past’ contributes to trap of living in the past. 

-     Consider how you would feel if your parent had been collecting stamps (spoons, swords, action figures, rare coins, oil lamps, figurines, coffee mugs, cat themed ornaments, candle holders, etc) with the goal of giving it to you when they die?  Would you value and enjoy their collection or would you be burdened by it?  Would you know how to sell it for full value? Would you feel guilty selling it, even if that was your parent’s intention?

-     Bottom line - We do not need to be curators or purveyors of stuff for future generations.

9. Obligation – it belonged to my great grandmother

-     How many ‘things’ (if any) do I really need to honour this person’s memory?

-     Ask other family members if they want the item, let them know that if nobody else wants it, you intent to sell or donate it

-     Bottom line – your home is not a storage locker

10. I want the items to go to a good home

-     Finding the exact perfect beneficiary of your treasures can be paralyzing. (ie. waiting until your grand-daughter is old enough to wear your old high school graduation dress)

-     Bottom line – donating usable items to a charity or thrift store close to your home is a win-win solution.  It gets the items out of your house quickly, and the items will be used by someone who needs them.

11. I don’t know where to start or I can’t get motivated.

§    ‘ Delayed Discounting phenomena’ – if it takes a long time to reach a goal, you value the goal less than if you could reach it quickly – making it harder to get started.

§    Start with an objective and visualize the goal

§    Bottom line - make projects smaller and rewards immediate

Do you need help combatting clutter in your home or business?  As a professional organizer, I can help.

Heather Fulcher

Professional Organizer for Hire

Vancouver, BC, Canada

heatherfulcher@gmail.com

604-618-4829

Simple steps to de-cluttering your home

Simple steps to de-cluttering your home

1. OBJECTIVE - Clarify your objective

-     Getting ready to move

-     Converting the storage space for a new purpose (ie. guest room, baby room, office)

-     More peaceful space; reduce the stress – “Mess = stress”

-     Downsizing

-     Improve efficiency in your space

-     Start fresh in a new space (post-renovation, new home or office)

-     Want to live life differently, improved quality of life

-     Freedom from feeling burdened by your stuff

-     Find my things when I need them

2. PURGE - Remove items from their context then critically review each item asking yourself:

-     Do I love it?

-     Do I use it?

-     Does it fit?

-     Do I have space to keep it?

-     Is it broken?

-     Did I even know I had it?

-     Do I have an immediate use for it?

-     Am I keeping it out of guilt or obligation? Is it a gift from someone that I’ve never even used?

-     Do I have duplicates of this item?

-     Is it important to me?

-     Has it expired? (ie. food, medication, safety equipment)

-     Is it valuable?

-     Is it a treasure?

-     Does this item have a real function that cannot be performed any other way? 

-     Would I buy this item at this moment if I didn’t already own it?

-     Do you know what it is?

-     If I didn’t have this item, what would I do? 

-     Can I live without it?

3. SORT into categories

-            Keep

-            Maybe

-            Donate

-            Sell

-            Gift to someone I know

-            Return item to the person who lent it to me or to the store where I bought it

-            Garbage – garbage/recycling/paper/etc

-            Action items – create a task list

o          To be fixed

o          To be painted, repurposed

o          Order a new part

4. ACTION all of the above
1. Keep

-     Sort into like categories (all table linens together, all electronics items together).

-     revisit your decisions once you see all ‘like’ items together. Perhaps you have unnecessary multiples of items.

-    Containerize and label (where appropriate)

-    Move immediately to it’s final resting place

2. Maybe – Once all of your keep items have been moved into place, revisit your decisions in the ‘maybe’ pile.

                                               i.     Do you have space to keep these items after-all?

                                             ii.     Put maybe items into a box, mark the date and put it away.  Whatever stays in the box after 6months or 1 year probably won’t be missed

3. Donate - Drop off donate items
4. Sell - Post sale items online
5. Gift/Return

-                Schedule time with friends/family to give/return items to them

-                Return the item to the store for refund

6. Garbage

-                Remove garbage/recycling (onsite disposal / dump)

-                take items for proper disposal (metal, batteries, recycling)

7. Action – take the actions on the task list (ie. order replacement part, fix the broken items, paint the old dresser, etc)

Written by Heather Fulcher - Professional Organizer for Hire - Vancouver, Canada - 604-618-4829 heatherfulcher@gmail.com

Causes and cures for clutter

Causes and cures for clutter

Cause #1 – We don’t purge frequently enough.

Cure: De-clutter as you go.  Have bins or boxes designated for purging and donations handy.  Get in the habit of looking critically at your belongings on a regular basis and discarding anything that no longer makes the cut.

Cause #2 – We keep many duplicate items, when one or a few will suffice.

Cure: Keep the best of your things.  Do you really need three garlic presses?  Do you have a few favourite pairs of shoes that are worn before the others.  Consider your duplicates as extras, classify them as clutter, and donate them.

Cause #3 – We don’t assign ‘homes’ for things.

Cure: Assign home for items, placing them in the most convenient location according to how frequently they need to be accessed.  Daily use items need to be assigned the most valuable real estate in the home.  Infrequent use and seasonal items should be assigned more inaccessible and out of the way storage spots (attic, overhead bins in storage room or garage).

Cause #4 – We save things for ‘someday’ when we think we might need or use it.

Cure: Realize that if someday hasn’t already come, then it may never come. Ask yourself: “Could I get another of these fairly easily and inexpensively if I needed it again someday?” If the answer is yes, let the item go.

Cause #5 – We re-buy items because we can’t find or didn’t know we already had one. This causes a build up of duplicate items, and wasted time, money and space.

Cure: Return items and all their attachments and accessories to their assigned ‘home’ after each use.  Ensure all members of your household know where things are stored, and make them accountable for returning the items they use.

Cause #6 – We confuse needs with wants.

Cure: Shop and Drop – Every time you approach a cash register with a selection of item to purchase, take a moment to review and revisit the selected items, and ask yourself: “Are these NEED items or WANT items. 

Cause #7 – We devote too much of our money to buying un-necessary things, and we place a higher value on stuff than it deserves.

Cure: Most people select their homes conscious of whether it will have adequate to hold their things.  Consider the cost per square foot of your home.  Also consider that you could live in a lot less space if you reduced and de-cluttered. Aside from the cost to purchase unnecessary items, the cost for the space to keep the items is consuming more of our income that the stuff is actually worth.

Cause #8 – CREDIT CARDS. Impulse buying is made easy on credit.

Cure: If you are carrying a debt balance on your credit card, then consider that everything you buy on credit could cost you about TWICE the retail cost once you factor in the credit card interest.  Ask yourself – would you buy this item if the price tag was DOUBLE?  Probably not.

Cause #9 – Poor garbage management.

Cure: Ensure garbage cans and recycling bins are placed conveniently in your home.  Get in the habit of placing garbage in the bins not on the counter, floor, desk etc.   Empty the bins regularly.

Cause #10 – Poor paper management.

Cure: Opt for digital bills and automatic payments, this will cut your incoming paper significantly.  Create a filing system that is easy for the whole family to follow.  Action the task immediately then file or dispose of the paper.

By Heather Fulcher

Professional Organizer for Hire

Vancouver, BC, Canada

heatherfulcher@gmail.com

604-618-4829

Content adapted from organizingmadefun.com - Becky Barnfather

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