I keep seeing the same sorts of items in people’s basements, so I decided to a create a quick list of items that I frequently see people unnecessarily hanging onto in basements (and other parts of the house).
Tagged with: basements, clutter, clutter clearing, declutter, donations, worth repeating
I wrote this post six years ago and I still think it’s sound advice. The more unloved holiday decor we keep, the harder it is to decorate your home. I urge you to build some ease into your holiday season by following this advice!
Tagged with: declutter, decluttering, decor, holidays, worth repeating
If you bought new Halloween decor this year (or even if you didn’t), I encourage you to take a good look at the Halloween decorations you didn’t put up this year. Rather than just leaving it in the bin when you put away this year’s items, perhaps you could take a few minutes and look through this year’s rejects. Is there decor you could let go of so you don’t have to sort through it next year?
I’m always amazed at how often I put off dealing with clutter in my own home. If I give it some focused attention, I’m able to declutter and organize pretty easily. But if I add a professional organizer to the mix and the process is supercharged!
Tagged with: bathrooms, declutter, decluttering, professional organizer, working with a professional organizer
Decluttr also buys smaller tech, CDs, DVDs, textbooks, children’s books, and games and consoles. Based on my (albeit limited) experience, I recommend giving them a look next time you have something you’d like to sell.
Tagged with: declutter, decluttering, disposal, selling
I’ve just been through the journey of moving my dear 91-year-old father into assisted living. It went well and he’s happy. I went through everything in his condo that he didn’t take with him. My big takeaway? Weed out your files!
Tagged with: declutter, estate organizing, paper management, paper piles
When I re-ran my No Excuses series last week, I had a comment about the difficulty of letting go of sentimental items. I thought I’d repeat a blog post from April 19, 2021 (almost exactly a year ago!) that addresses this challenge.
Tagged with: clutter, declutter, worth repeating
I led an organizing team in a basement last week and enjoyed watching the clients experience the freedom of letting go of three carloads of unneeded belongings. It made it so easy to organize what they decided to keep.
Tagged with: basements, clutter, clutter clearing, declutter, donations
During last week’s Declutter Happy Hour class, we discussed the challenge of decluttering sentimental items. They can be so hard to let go of, even when you’re motivated to downsize.
Tagged with: declutter, declutter happy hour
When social distancing started, I attacked a few organizing projects around my house because I suddenly had time to do them. But my enthusiasm for them waned pretty quickly. Now, one month in, I’m starting to address some teeny, tiny projects that will remove some irritations without much effort.
Tagged with: 15 minutes, covid-19, declutter, decluttering, quarantine
In March, I was pleased to be asked by the big St. Louis talk radio station, KMOX-AM, to do an interview on helping people let go of stuff. The Marie Kondo-fueled decluttering craze prompted the story. The reporter, Megan Lynch, a KMOX news veteran, asked really thoughtful questions and the interview was a lot of fun. I was also thrilled to be recording in a big, professional studio. I talk into a microphone in my home-office podcasting studio, but it was nothing like this!
Tagged with: declutter, media, professional organizer, professional organizer st. louis, radio
I can across this post I wrote in August 2017 and thought I’d share it because I found inspirational! It’s amazing the decluttering and organizing you can get done in short, five-minute bursts of time. I’m going to try this again tomorrow!
I’m a big believer in using a timer to motivate me to work quickly and get stuff done. I have a seriously full calendar but a relatively free morning today so I thought I’d see if I could some clutter spots and other small tasks taken care of.
Tagged with: declutter, decluttering, timer, worth repeating
Enter Rebag.com, a website that purchases designer bags and make the process easy. (They sell the bags they purchase on Trendlee.com.) You download their mobile app, take photos of the bags you want to sell through the app, and submit. Within a few days, they send you an offer which you are free to accept or decline.
Tagged with: declutter, designer bags, rebag, selling
Yesterday, I watched a client part with the holiday decor that was weighing her down. Bags of decor left her storage room to find a new home with folks who will value it. It felt so good. It led me to write down this piece of advice for you. I’m willing to bet that you’ll be very happy if you implement it.
Tagged with: declutter, decluttering, decor, holidays
I’m a big believer in using a timer to motivate me to work quickly and get stuff done. I have a seriously full calendar but a relatively free morning today so I thought I’d see if I could some clutter spots and other small tasks taken care of.
So I pulled out my phone and asked Siri to set a timer for five minutes. I did it seven times. Here’s what I managed to accomplish in just seven five-minute blocks:
Tagged with: declutter, decluttering, timer
When I’m working with a client, a few phrases make me cringe when I hear them come out of the client’s mouth. And a few make my heart sing.
Tagged with: clutter clearing, declutter, decluttering
My desk needs some serious help at the moment, probably because I’m spending too little time in my office these days. This weekend, I plan to focus on creating more visual peace in my office. I’m taking inspiration from this blog post, which I first posted on February 18, 2013. I’m so glad I signed up for Jen’s program and I wish she were still offering it!
Tagged with: clean desk, clutter clearing, declutter, decluttering, desk, home office, jennifer hofmann, worth repeating
My team and I helped a client declutter and organize her entire home last week and we were able to make a huge impact—because the client parted with so much. She was so ready to let go of the excess that was weighing her down and she made amazing decisions. As we took out bag after bag of denotable items, the rooms seemed to get lighter.
Tagged with: clutter, clutter clearing, declutter, team organizing, worth repeating
Nearly three years ago, I moved my desk 90 degrees. The impact was immediate and amazing! I’m still loving the placement of my desk, so I thought I’d repeat the post I wrote about it in 2013.
Tagged with: clean desk, clutter clearing, declutter, decluttering, desk, furniture, home office, jennifer hofmann, worth repeating
My team and I helped a client declutter and organize her entire home last week and we were able to make a huge impact—because the client parted with so much. She was ready to let go of the excess that was weighing her down. As we took out bag after bag of denotable items, the rooms seemed to get lighter.
Tagged with: clutter, clutter clearing, declutter, team organizing
About ten months ago, I decluttered the copious keys in our house and posted a step-by-step explanation of the process. I’m happy to report that the key bin has not attracted more clutter and we’ve found having labeled keys for our friends’ and neighbors’ homes to be really useful! Here’s that post.
Tagged with: clutter, clutter clearing, declutter, decluttering, keys, worth repeating
It’s basement season for my business. I’ve been in a lot of basements recently and my teams have helped make them much more enjoyable and functional spaces. I keep seeing the same sorts of items, so I decided to a create a quick list of items that I frequently see people unnecessarily hanging onto in basements (and other parts of the house).
Tagged with: apps, basements, clutter, clutter clearing, declutter, donations
The fifth and final entry in my Declutter Your Home blog series. Each Monday since January 20, I’ve covered a different step of the decluttering process: Step #1, Create your vision, Step #2: Choose your space, Step #3: Gather your supplies and Step #4: Ask key questions .
Tagged with: declutter, decluttering, declutter your home series
This is the fourth in a blog series I’m writing on Mondays that will take you step by step through the decluttering process. Each Monday for the last few weeks, I’ve covered Step #1, Create your vision and Step #2: Choose your space and Step #3: Gather your supplies. Today we actually getting started decluttering.
Tagged with: declutter, decluttering, declutter your home series
This is the third in a blog series I’m writing on Mondays that will take you step by step through the decluttering process. Each Monday for the next few weeks, I’ll offer a new step. So far, we’ve covered Step #1, Create your vision and Step #2: Choose your space. Today’s step is the last preparatory step before actually getting started decluttering.
Tagged with: declutter, decluttering, declutter your home series
This is the second in a series of blog posts I’m writing on Mondays that will take you step by step through the decluttering process. Each Monday for the next few weeks, I’ll offer a new step. If you missed Step #1, Create your vision, be sure and check it out.
Tagged with: declutter, decluttering, declutter your home series
This is the first part in a series I’m writing that will take you step by step through the process of decluttering. Each Monday for the next few weeks, I’ll offer a new step. Today we start with the first step, creating your vision.
Tagged with: declutter, decluttering, declutter your home series, vision
I’m a big believer in having one place where the keys are placed when coming in the door. In our house, it’s been a coated-wire basket just inside the back door, where we enter from the garage. We now automatically drop our keys right in the basket.
Tagged with: clutter, clutter clearing, declutter, decluttering, keys
My husband and I have lived in our home for 22 years. (Well, four of those 22 years we lived in New York City, so I guess it’s 18 years.)
One of the big frustrations in the house for all those years was the master-bedroom closet had sliding doors. These were oversize sliding doors—in other words, each one was more than half as wide as the closet.
Tagged with: change, closets, clutter clearing, declutter, decluttering
One of the habits I’ve tried to create over the years is to put away my clothes properly at night (either in the closet/drawer or down the laundry chute), rather than piling them on the top of my dresser, as I’m inclined to do.
Tagged with: clean bureau, declutter, decluttering
Clutter overwhelms many people. Probably the most frequent thing I hear from clients who seek help decluttering is that they don’t know where to begin.
There are three things to look out for selecting when figuring out where to start deluttering:
Tagged with: clutter, declutter, decluttering
Our old house has two full baths and there’s one that’s primarily my domain. I shower there and get ready for my day. My husband rarely steps foot in it.
So I have no one to blame but myself that the bathroom closet was a nightmare. For something like ten years, items went in and seldom came out.
Tagged with: bathrooms, closets, clutter, declutter, decluttering
I’m not somebody who switches furniture around. I know there are people who consider that fun, but I’m not one of them. I typically agonize over the placement of furniture and once it’s done, that’s that.
Tagged with: clean desk, clutter clearing, declutter, decluttering, desk, furniture, home office, jennifer hofmann
I recently signed up for the fabulous Workspace and Studio Redesign program offered by Jennifer Hofmann of Inspired Home Office.
Tagged with: clean desk, clutter clearing, declutter, decluttering, desk, home office, jennifer hofmann
In yesterday’s St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the cover article for the Sunday Home & Away section was entitled, Conquering the clutter: Tips on how to tackle a big organization project.
Tagged with: basements, declutter, st. louis post-dispatch
I just spent some time as a houseguest of my friend, Shannon Wilkinson, who moved into her lovely home in Portland just six months ago.
Tagged with: clutter, clutter clearing, declutter, decluttering, order, shannon wilkinson