From Sarah Aguirre,
Your Guide to Housekeeping.
FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now!

Have you ever tried to get rid of the clutter in your home? Haphazardly we walk through our homes searching for stuff we don’t need. Oddly enough each item seems to call out to us with its greater purpose in the scheme of our lives. You’ve heard the phrase that clutter takes on a life of its own, well now it is time for drastic measures that give clutter a life far away from yours.

The Categories

Find 4 boxes and label them with the 4 categories.

Trash

Give Away/Sell

Storage

Put away

Trash- This should include any item that you do not need or want, but that is not donatable or sellable. Damaged and broken items should be included in the trash if they are not worth someone buying it and repairing it.

Give Away/Sell- Be generous. Think about the uses someone else might get out of the items vs. the use it gets in your home buried in cabinets or closets. Consider the financial benefits of selling your stuff at a garage sale.

Storage- Put items in here that you cannot part with but do not need on a regular basis. Make an inventory of the items as you box them. Group similar items together. Remember one good way to clean out closets is to store out of season clothing. Get tips on proper storage of clothing.

Put Away- This should be your smallest category. These are items that need to be out on a regular basis. Monitor yourself by determining if you have a place for each item. If the items in this box will not fit into your home without cluttering an area up, try to reassess if you really need them. If you do need these “essentials”, try to come up with a storage solution that fits into your home.