To blow through your #decluttering fast, says Be More With Less blogger Courtney Carver, try doing #organizing “bursts” in which you get rid of 100 things in 60 minutes. Set up a box for #trash and one for #donations and set the timer; you’re going to go quickly from space to space and eliminate items from each. Have a list of areas in hand and a number in mind, she says: Count off 10 items from the bathroom, 20 items from the kitchen, 10 items from the car and so on. Before you know it, you’ll have made a big dent in all that useless #stuff — and likely will have assembled a substantial #charitable #donation for #pickup.
Tag: donate
Declutter Like a Lion This March
Do you want to #declutter fearlessly — like a lion — this March? Pretend you’re moving, says KCET blogger Linda Ly. One makes tough decisions about what’s worth #packing during a move — and often comes up with big piles of bags and boxes to #donate. “When it comes to deciding what to keep and what to get rid of, ask yourself: If you were making a major move this week, would you spend time or money to move that item?” If you really want to get ruthless, she adds, pretend you’re moving not just across town, but to another city or state. Would you pay good money to ship that dinged-up pan, dusty old #tchotchke or ill-fitting pair of pants across the country?
Tackle Decluttering Tasks With Gusto
Whether or not March comes in like a lion, this is a great time of year to tackle #decluttering tasks with gusto. If you want to #declutter with intensity, you should dedicate an hour or two at a time to the task as often as possible, says Simple Lionheart Life. But even if your decluttering style is more about consistency (10 minutes per day?) than intensity, you’ll have to be ruthless about those #keep, #trash, #donate decisions to be effective. “The more you get rid of during each decluttering session, the quicker you’ll clear the #clutter now rather than having to go back and do more decluttering later,” the site says.
Marie Kondo’s Bombshell Announcement
It had nothing to do with a Chinese spy balloon or misplaced classified documents. The real bombshell of the last few weeks? That Marie #Kondo — the unrivaled evangelist of the power of #tidying up — has stopped trying to keep up with the #mess.
According to The Washington Post, Kondo’s capacity for #organizing and #cleaning diminished upon the birth of her third child. “My home is messy, but the way I am spending my time is the right way for me at this time at this stage of my life,” she said in a recent webinar.
She went on to admit that a perfectly organized home is not a realistic goal for most people. “I was a professional #tidier, so I did my best to keep my home tidy at all times,” she said. “I have kind of given up on that. Now, I realize what is important to me is enjoying spending time with my children at home.”
Instead of offering new strategies to obsessively #sort out your sock drawer, Kondo’s latest book explores the Japanese concept of #kurashi, or “way of life.” It’s a much broader strategy that focuses on bringing calmness and happiness to everyday existence.
She encourages readers to create a rhythm and routine based on what brings them joy, even if a few closets and countertops remain #cluttered. For Kondo, that routine includes fresh air, quality time with her kids and scrapbooking.
While actual #tidying takes a backseat, the book asks people to figure out which aspects of their lives need the most attention. Whatever needs a sort of macro-level #decluttering and #organizing is what you should concentrate on right now, in other words.
And there’s nothing wrong with that. Life happens, and you can’t spend every waking moment organizing your clothes closet by purpose and color. Take time to focus on whatever it is that brings you joy, be it career, a favorite hobby, or family and friends.
But when you feel the need to #declutter and #organize, remember that you can #donate any lightly used items to ClothingDonations.org. Get them out of the way of your personal kurashi by arranging a free #donation #pickup. Your donation will share joy with veterans nationwide.
So do as Marie Kondo says, and don’t obsess about #decluttering. Instead, make it a natural part of your routine.
Phil Says: Embrace Minimalism This Winter
Welp, looks déjà vu all over again: You humans — at least in Western Pennsylvania — have six more weeks of #winter to cope with. Take advantage of that #indoor time to #chuck some of that #stuff you don’t need like I would wood! I’m a minimalist — I often dig multiple chambers and only furnish and use one or two, but it keeps me and the forest above healthy. Try to limit the visible items in each room to the things you use there every day, and #store anything else out of sight. In the process, you can eliminate and #donate the things you don’t need or want to ClothingDonations.org. Many thanks to the Organizing Blog for letting me guest this week. Now it’s back to bed for another month or so — Punxsutawney Phil, signing off!