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…