According to The National Association of Professional Organizers, we spend
one year of our lives looking for lost items.
Begin decluttering each room by sorting everything into the following piles:
- Keep
- Donate
- Sell
- Recycle
- Trash
Purge the items in the donate, sell, recycle, and trash piles so they are
no longer taking up space in your home. Having more space in your home
will make it easier to organize the items you decided to keep, and they’ll
be easy to find when you need them.
According to the National Soap and Detergent Association, getting rid of
clutter would eliminate 40% of housework in the average home.
What can be donated? Goodwill, Salvation Army, Purple Heart Pickup, and
Habitat for Humanity are just a few options to consider when donating
your household goods and clothing items. Not all items may be accepted,
so be sure to inquire from your local charity a list of what is and is
not accepted, so you can plan accordingly.
Tip: If kids clothes are stained and can not be resold or donated, cut
them up and repurpose them as rags instead of throwing them in the trash.
Where should I sell? Craigslist, Ebay, and local thrift stores are excellent
places to consider selling your items. Give yourself a deadline to sell
everything by and then whatever has not sold by that date, you donate.
The type of items that can be recycled can also vary depending on the resources
in your county or state. Visit
http://search.earth911.com/ to search recycling locations and options near you.
The more items you can donate, sell or recycle, the less clutter you will
have in your home and the less waste you will be contributing to the landfills.
Researchers at the Princeton University Neuroscience Institute conducted
a study that found that physical clutter negatively affects your ability
to focus and process information. Utilize this green cleaning declutter
strategy and enjoy your happy, healthy (and clean) home!
