CLUTTER COMBAT RULES IN-AND-OUT RULE. Establish an in-and-out rule. Every time a new item comes into the house, show an old item the door. PUT IT UP NOT DOWN. Make your family motto “Put it up, not down.” Start the routine of returning everything you get back to where it belongs. (Ten minutes a day looking for misplaced items wastes sixty hours a year.) SAVE PHOTOS NOT OBJECTS. It’s memories you want to hold onto—not clutter. For example, take a picture of your son in his Cub Scout uniform with all of his gear. Keep the photo; give away the uniform and scout supplies. DESIGNATE A KEY PLACE. Have a specific basket, bowl, cup hook, or key hanger for family members’ keys. SET DESTROY DATES. Limit the time you keep newspapers and magazines you intend to read. Assign yourself a “to read” basket and empty it once a week. When a new catalog arrives, toss out the old one. ELIMINATE AND CONCENTRATE. Eliminate what you don’t want, need, or use. Concentrate on what you use, need, and care about. For every underused item in your house, ask these Clutter Control questions: ► When is the last time it was used? Worn? Played with? ► Does it deserve space in our home? If it wasn’t here, what would be here instead? ► Are there memories attached to it? ► What will I do with it? Fix it, sell it, store it, toss it, or donate it? -Family Manager
Posted on: Mon, 22 Sep 2014 17:12:56 +0000
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