Wednesday, March 30, 2011

6 Easy Steps to Declutter your Living Room








Do you seem to constantly loose your car keys? Are you tripping over mounds of books, orphaned shoes, and scattered toys? Does this sound like your walkway? If so don’t worry you have come to the right place. 

Here I will take you step by step to declutter your living room.
  1. First get a plan together. Jot down on some paper the problem areas of your living room you want free of clutter. For example: Toys laying around, mounds of magazines/books, shelves overstuffed with items going every which way, plates and wrappers, etc. These are locations that must be taken care of accordingly.
  2. Start by taking the items out that are on the list. Decide and stick too what the room is intended for. Is it used for entertaining or recreational purposes? Try to keep that room with a sole purpose by the design and décor. This will greatly help you declutter your living room.
  3. Keep it simple by only saving the stuff you use on a regular basis. Everything else give as a donation or throw away. As for magazines save for a couple of months and then recycle them. If you like an article, copy it or put it into a folder. That way it is safe, put away, and organized. As for any bookshelves you must make some serious decisions. What do you use, have to donate, or sell 
  4. Find a home for EVERYTHING. This is very important to continually do on a daily basis. Keep all toys if possible in the children’s bedrooms. Collect the magazines and place them neatly in a basket or maybe one of those attractive bins.You can place the shoes on a rack by the door, in a closet, or under the bed. Try not to over decorate with too many trinkets. Remember you are trying to declutter your living room. Also makes sure to swop out holiday decorations accordingly.
  5. Furniture that has compartments for storage are always useful to have. You can find them for reasonable prices if you look around. A good example would be an ottoman with a hollow inside. This is  great for quick cleanups for unexpected guests.
  6. By just taking a few extra minutes each day to straighten up will avoid having to clean a huge mess down the road.
Learn more about how to declutter your living room from Mimi Tanner, who is one of the leading experts in this field. 

Monday, March 28, 2011

7 Surefire Ways to Declutter your Bathroom


Does your bathroom seem to gather more then it should? Do you have an over abundance of containers around your tub? Do you dread going under the sink because it is a mystery to find what you are looking for? This happens to the best of us, but do you try and change it? Not for just a few days or weeks, I mean stay on top of things.

Here are 7 surefire ways to declutter your bathroom:
  1. First head to the location of your medications and first Go threw each and every single one and toss any that are expired or empty. Condense if you can, this will save on space and time when you need to declutter your bathroom in the future.
  2. Toss all somewhat used containers of shampoo/conditioner that are “going to be used” as backups. Most people have this incase they run out of the “regular” brands. This is pointless, buy larger bottles then, it will save you money in the long run. Ok if you don’t want to toss these then use them as cleaning agents in the bathroom. Yes this does work it is soap you know. 
  3.  Clean toothbrushes, toothpaste tube, and floss container, etc. Place in proper locations wherever that may be on your sink, in a drawer, a basket, vanity, etc.
  4. Get rid of any hair related products that you don’t intend to be using in the near future. Especially doubles and triples of things you find on sale which tend to help declutter your bathroom. Buying in bulk is good to save money, I understand that. Find a place for it that does not clutter the bathroom or get in the way of things.
  5. A good idea is to have a basket or plastic container to hold your hair dryer, straightener, brushes/combs, products, hair ties, etc. You can put this under the sink where it is safe and out of the way, but yet accessible enough to keep the bathroom from getting cluttered.
  6. Find a shower caddy for either around the showerhead or on the wall in front of the shower. You can buy them at Bed, Bath, & Beyond, Wal-Mart, Target, and Kohl’s. This will be used to store all your shampoo, conditioner, soap, lotion, razors, poofs, etc. This gets rid of all the bottles and accessories around your tub so it makes it possible to declutter your bathroom.
  7.  Go threw all your makeup and toss anything damaged, faded, or 10+ months old.
Most important is to straighten up after each use this will help declutter your bathroom .
Just a few extra minutes out of your day wont kill you. It will be a pain in the beginning but it becomes like second nature as time goes on .Learn more about how to declutter your bathroom from Mimi Tanner, who is one of the leading experts in this field. 

How to Declutter your Kitchen in just 5 Easy Steps



Do you find yourself trying to find certain utensils in your kitchen while cooking? You know it was just there, but it isn’t anymore.  You start to blame family members for taking it and not putting it back? Do you open up drawers and have a hard time trying to close them because they are full of clutter? If this all sounds familiar to you then you have come to the right place. 

I will explain 5 easy steps to declutter your kitchen in no time flat:
  1.  Start by making sure the dishes have been washed and put away. Try to have the counters washed and cleared of clutter before you move to the next step.
  2.   Locate some spare boxes along with some garbage bags. You will be using these for garbage and donations.
  3.  Beginning at one end of the kitchen go through the drawers and cabinets, shelves,  and countertopss. As you go through each and every piece, ask yourself,  “When do I use this?”   Remember, a "maybe" does not count here.  It is a "do use? or "don't use?  Anything you do use will be kept.  It  will be cleaned up and put back  into the drawer or cabinet.   Anything you don't use will be put into a pile to be donated.  Or perhaps, tossed.  It's as simple as that.  Remember if you have not used a particular kitchen tool or gadget, and have done without it for any length of time, you will not miss it.  Stay strong and do not bring emotion into your cleaning.  Unused items are clutter.  
  4. Next comes the almighty refrigerator.  Place a trash bag next to the refrigerator as you begin.  Go through the WHOLE refrigerator. "Don't remember when you had it last?"  GARBAGE!  Last week's dinner container?  GARGAGE!  Chinest take-out?  GARBAGE!  The fridge door is known to have salad dressings, sauces, and dips with expired dates.  Not only is this messy, it can make you ill.  Guess what?  GARBAGE!
  5. Above all, pace yourself.  You are not running a marathon.  Take your time so don't get discouraged.  If you rush it will only make things worse.  Remember, generally clutter occurred over a course of time.  It took time to accumulate clutter, it will take time to clear the clutter.  Decluttering your kitchen does not happen like magic.  

But following the quick steps Ive outlined can be next to magic.  Learn more about how to declutter your kitchen from Mimi Tanner, who is one of the leading experts in this field.  

Friday, March 25, 2011

5 Simple Ways to Declutter your Bedroom



Regardless of what role your bedroom plays within your home, it must represent a place of ease and tranquility. A hideaway from all outside interactions and disturbances in a stress-free manner. Does this sound like a room you would like to escape to each night?

If it does, then let me help you declutter your bedroom in 5 simple steps. Stay with me and go at your own pace.
  1. Tackle one space in the bedroom at a time.
  2. Separate the things in the your room. It is a good idea to have another part of the house as an organizing area.  Perhaps a connecting room, or even the hallway area works well.  Place your things in the following classifications: Usable, Junk/Recycle, and Donate
  3. Junk are any wrappers, boxes, papers, etc.  If you have recycling in your area, this makes it much easier. This is a simple and basic process, but be careful and not throw away anything important like bills, statements, or items you may want to keep for future use, such as holiday cards, invitations, announcements, etc.  I may have done this once or twice, helping to clean someone else's room.  This is why I highly recommend cleaning your own bedroom.  These are your personal and private items and you would not want to risk losing anything important. 
  4. Consider items that can be donated to an organization that can help someone else make good use of items you no longer use.  Items such as softly worn clothing, bedsheets or blankets that have been replaced with newer color or design, are welcomed by organizations such as Goodwill, Salvation Army, and Am-vets. Plus you can use this as a tax write-off.  Just just ask for a receipt.
  5. Finally you are ready to start bringing back the items and clothing you intend to keep.  Bring the items back into the room.  Wash or dry-clean clothing if needed.  Fold or hang garments and put them in their proper places neatly.  Be sure all garments are put into a dresser drawer or closet.  
    Now was it really all that hard to declutter your bedroom? It was probably more tedious than anything. You can now relax and enjoy your bedroom like it was intended to be - decluttered and stress free. Learn more about how to declutter your bedroom from Mimi Tanner, who is one of the leading experts in this field.