Holidays make me want to declutter… I’m still cleaning, and organizing all of the Christmas gifts, and well we are really, truly,  out of room around our house. Time to bust out the contractor bags and get rid of the clutter (again).

Today I decided to start working on my closet. I wanted to work on the boys room, but that task was just too big for the time that I had, so my closet it is. I set a goal in mind of getting rid of at least 50 things in the closet, and bedroom dresser too.

I filled the bag, and kept my total as I went. I cleaned out 53 items. Before you start to worry that I no longer have a scrap of clothing to my name, most of the items that were cleaned out were just clutter… My closet is the largest one, and it doesn’t just hold clothes, there are shelves filled with books, shoes, and all of the “I don’t know where else to put it” finds it’s way into my closet… But not any more, it is so much cleaner, and well on the way to being organized, and repainted too.

I was feeling pretty good about the closet, and I had another hour to waste, so I decided to set in on the foyer buffet. The buffet is home to my craft supplies, and once again all of those odds and ends that have no where else to go. I cleaned out a ridiculous amount of clutter and nonsense out of this tiny space. I cleaned out 84 items from one tiny space. I was a little ashamed that I had that much clutter lurking in one little bitty area.

I’ve pared down my craft supplies, and now my sewing machine is easy to get to, just in case I get a moment to sew. It feels so good to have the buffet organized. Now I just need the kiddos to give me a few moments of free time to craft.

I know it seems a little crazy, but the big task of cleaning out the mess always makes me feel better. Here are a few tips that help me out with the job.

1. Have your supplies with you. I have a contractor bag or two in whichever room I am cleaning. I also keep a rag to dust, anti-bacterial wipes to clean, and a small broom and dust pan to catch the dust mess (we have hardwood floors throughout our house)
2. Set your timer… You don’t want to exhaust yourself cleaning out the clutter. I usually have an hour to myself on school days, so an hour is the time limit that I set for myself. It is amazing at all that can be cleared out in just a small amount of time.
3. Use the one touch rule. Pick up the item, decide if it is a keep or toss, and once it is in the bag, it doesn’t come back out.
4. Once you are all finished, take the bags outside for trash pick-up. Once they are out of the house for good, you probably won’t think another moment about them.
5. After you’ve taken out the trash, revisit the room that you just decluttered. Take a minute to look around at what you’ve just accomplished. Enjoy your new clean space.

I’m pretty ruthless when it comes to decluttering, but there is hope in my cleaning madness. I really want to paint the house, and when I see the clutter first, I lose the drive to paint. Cleaning out the clutter, and working with a clean space makes it a little easier to want to tackle a painting project. But then again, there is that issue of time…

I bought the biggest one I could find…

Hope this will last me more than two weeks.

I’m really sick of dishes.

I know I’ve said it before, and I know I’ll say it again, I dream of one day having all of my clutter tackled and my house in order. Oh yeah and fully painted, decorated, and the list could go on and on. I’m not there yet, but the house is an ongoing project.

I’ve been keeping up with my habit of filling a contractor bag every week or so, and this week I couldn’t take the mess in the boys room one more moment longer. With Dylan and Thade in school, that gives me just enough time to tackle the mess, but with Agnes’ short naps, I really only have about an half an hour a day.

I decided to go in contractor bags a blazing, and I was completely ruthless on day 1 with the de-cluttering. I gave myself 15 minutes (that was all I had after the morning’s chores) and I filled 2 bags. The boys didn’t even notice, and the room was much improved.

Today I gave myself a little more time (hey, those dishes can wait till later) and I was focused on organizing all of the toys. I didn’t toss as much, but everything is in a bin and it’s own place.

The shelves are still filled to the brim, but it is organized.

I would like to invest in some cool organizational bins that will fit their items, and look a little better,

but for today I’m calling it good.

Gotta go make lunch, and get to those dishes.

This morning I woke up grumpy with a sinus headache, and I couldn’t get to the coffee fast enough. I took the big kids to school, and brought the little miss back home to play a bit before her morning nap. I grabbed the much needed cup of coffee, and let her play in the living room. No sooner had I turned around, she had already dumped 4 of the large toy bins, and that’s when I decided enough was enough.

The toys, and costumes, the little plastic bits are a constant struggle for me. The kids just have way too much packed into a house that we are quickly outgrowing. This mommy is sick of the mess, I wanted our living room back, and now was the time to get it done. I decided to enlist the help of my favorite house cleaners the contractor bags, and as soon as the miss was napping, I tore into the living room.

I was ruthless, and shocked when I had filled an entire contractor bag full of toys from one single room. These are toys that they never even play with, toys that are tossed aside to get to the ones that they really want. I found more broken items, and things that they have outgrown.  Man did it feel good to take that bag out to the trash cans.

Feeling motivated, I decided to move up to the boy’s room and continue the clean out. I filled another half of a contractor bag with even more junk. Their bookshelves are still filled to the brim, and I am in need of some storage bins. I would love to visit Bed Bath & Beyond and get some cool storage, and get the boy’s room into shape.

The boy’s room isn’t organized, but it is on the way to being decluttered. James was really surprised to see the living room all cleaned too. I was really happy with the work that I got accomplished, and that’s 2 more bags out of the house.

I’m sticking with my goal of 1 contractor bag a week, and I want to have at least 2 garage sales in the next 2 months. I really want to get the house back in order.