Tag: lion

Are You a Decluttering Lion or Lamb?

Posted on by Jordank

With its rapid temperature fluctuations and blustery winds, it’s often said that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. This begs the #spring-cleaning question: When it comes to #decluttering, which one are you?

#Decluttering lions roar into a room and make snap decisions. They’re prepared to sort things into #keep, #trash and #donate piles fast, and have labeled bins, boxes and bags at the ready. They’re fed up with #clutter and perhaps preparing for a deadline or an imminent life change.

“Aggressive decluttering isn’t gentle editing; it’s decisive, time-boxed and real about what your home can hold,” says The Scarlet Society. “You’ll move fast, make smart calls and stop saving for a ‘someday’ that never comes.”

Aggressive #declutterers often follow if/then rules: The 20/20 rule, for instance, says that if you can replace an item in less than 20 minutes for less than $20, then get rid of it. If you can replace a rarely used memorabilia item with its memory (a photo), it’s time to say goodbye.

You might take as little as 48 hours as a decluttering lion, spending a few hours on each specific area of the home and paring things down to the essential, often-used #stuff. Then, you can bundle the rejects for #sale or #donation and contact ClothingDonations.org for a #free #donation #pickup.

If you’re more of a lamb when it comes to #decluttering, you will aim for slow and steady progress instead of a frantic purge. You might target one drawer instead of a whole room, taking just 30 minutes to #sort things out. The next day, you can move on to #organize another spot.

Gentle #declutterers often get overwhelmed by the task. To prevent decision fatigue, Simple Clean Living suggests keeping a “Not Sure” box close to catch things that may have true practical or sentimental value. “You can revisit it days, weeks or months from now, when your nervous system is more settled.”

You can let go of #clutter without the rush if you do it in manageable moments. The key is to make it a regular, ongoing practice to ensure progress. With time and regular effort, lambs can create calmer #spaces for themselves.

Lion or lamb, ClothingDonations.org is here to accept your #donations of lightly used clothing, media and household items. Let us take care of the things that no longer serve your lifestyle or fit your space!

Use March to Declutter Like a Lion

Posted on by Jordank

March: It comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, or so they say. Whether or not there’s any truth to the old saying weather-wise in your part of the country, you can take a cue from it as you begin #decluttering for the spring season ahead.

Instead of approaching decluttering slowly this season, roar through your house to make the first crucial dent in what needs to be done. Every little bit you can accomplish can help make your home more organized and comfortable, so attack the trouble spots as fast as you can.

Pick a room and “start by tossing the obvious trash,” More Than Organized says. “Look for packaging and the broken bits first. Get them out of the way. Expired coupons, empty used envelopes, bottles and dried-up glue can also go.”

As you get rid of the trash, you’ll reduce the overall volume of stuff and likely uncover lots of other items that are out of place, unnecessary or unwanted. And just as quickly as you trashed the unusable stuff, you can reshelve or remove these things.

Other things you can declutter quickly include duplicate items, decorative items you don’t love enough to display, clothing that doesn’t fit, inactive files and paperwork, and basically any practical item you haven’t used in a year, Home Storage Solutions says.

Deciding what to keep and what to trash or donate isn’t easy, we know. Given enough time, you can probably find some sentimental attachment or dream up some future plan for every little thing that’s cluttering up your space.

That’s why you have attack task fiercely, like a lion. “Be as ruthless as possible with your decluttering decisions,” says the Simple Lionheart Life blog. “The more you get rid of during each decluttering session, the quicker you’ll clear the clutter.”

If you find any still-useful items such as clothing, toys, books and household items that you no longer need or want, bag them up and contact ClothingDonations.org for a free donation pickup. This will get that extra junk out of your sight fast.

Decluttering isn’t really “done” until the clutter has left your home completely. Once it has, you’ll breathe a sigh of relief — and March can go out like a lamb.