Cleaning out your home is a big job, and it's often tedious, time-consuming work. Below are some tips that will help you decide what you should keep and what should be put out by the curb.
First, go through your closets and other storage spaces in your home and throw out things that you have no desire to keep--things that are broken, have been replaced, or cannot be repurposed. This is called decluttering. Oprah's organizing guru, Peter Walsh, shares a few insightful tips on how to declutter your home and decide what to keep:
On kitchen drawers: Empty the contents of kitchen drawer(s) into a bin placed on your countertop. Over the next month, place what you use back in the drawer. By the end of the month, toss what's left in the bin--you don't need it if you don't use it.
On things you have many of: Apply the ratio rule. For every three or four books you keep, throw one out, until your items fit into the space where they belong. This tactic works well for magazines, DVDs, CDs, and books.
On clothes: Arrange your closet so that all hangers are facing the same direction. When you wear something, change the direction of the hanger when you hang it back up. After a month or so, donate the clothes that you have not worn (those with the hangers still facing the origional direction). Like the kitchen drawer method, this is designed to help you identify what you use and what you can do without. Click here for the full news clip on Peter Walsh.
Second, keep in mind that your storage needs, along with the sentimental value of your belongings, change over time. If your kids are full grown, you can most likely throw out their summer camp arts-and-crafts projects. Or, you could tell your children you are cleaning out the house, and ask that they assume responsibly for their childhood mementos. If you struggle with giving away years of a child's art or schoolwork, keep a few of the most memorable items. You could also take picture of items that you need to throw away. That way, you have the memories and the space! Regardless, invovling family members in the process is a good idea. Children could go with you to donate their unused toys, which will help them part with their belongings. Another incentive for younger family members to get rid of some of their things is to hold a garage sale in which each family member gets to keep the money from the sale of his/her objects. If you are cleaning out the home alone, and wonder if one member of your family wants to keep something--ask. Many personal items are irreplaceable.
After your initial cleaning, and keeping in mind the criteria above, go through closets once more to determine what should be thrown out, repurposed, kept, and donated. Tackle one closet at a time, so as not to be overwhelmed. Once done, every item should have earned its place in your home. In other words, storage areas should not be places you carelessly place junk you've accumulated and will soon forget about. Items you are keeping should be neatly organized or proudly displayed.
It's a good idea to clean out your home regularly (think "spring cleaning"). If you have lived in a home for many years and are planning on selling, it's best to start cleaning way before you list your home. If your home sells quickly, or you find the perfect new home soon into your search, you want to be ready to go. It's amazing how much stuff can accumulate in a home over time!
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