Decluttering – 10 Tools for Success!

Some of us dream of one organizational tool that will be the answer to our clutter problems.  My experience has been that you won’t find that in one tool but more likely in a combination of several great solutions.

1. Calendar/planner – whether electronic or paper it is a necessity.  Use it to keep track of your schedule and your family’s schedule.  Colour code according to family members.  It is important that you look at it at least twice a day .  . once before bed to plan for the next day and once first thing in the morning to see what is going on that day.
2. Notebook and Pen/Notes App on phone – Don’t rely on your memory.  Write everything down.  Keep a to-do list, grocery and errand list at your fingertips.
3. Baskets – Can be used for laundry, but also to hold things that are going to other rooms/floors of the house.  Have one at the bottom of each set of stairs to hold the things that are on their way to somewhere else.  They also come in handy to keep things organized in the trunk of your car.
4. Home for Receipts – everything needs a home.  Receipts need to be easy to find when you want to return something.
5. Timer – Use it for clean up, time allotted to each family member for bathroom time in the morning, time allotted for checking emails . . . gives you a boundary!
6. Garbage can and donation box – as you come across things in your daily schedule that you don’t use anymore – put them in garbage can or donation box.  When either of them are full – trash goes to the garage and donation box goes to the car for the thrift store drop off.
7. Label maker – label everything . . . everyone knows where everything goes in your house.
8. Bill paying system – sit down and figure out a system for paying bills.  How do you know if they are paid or not?  Be consistent!
9. Filing cabinet – should be set up for hanging file folders and each file folder should be labelled with plastic tabs.
10. Commitment – be committed to using these tools and to not fall back into your old ways.

Number 10 is probably the most significant item on the list.  Perseverance is key when it comes to being successful in keeping our goals.  Don’t be hard on yourself.  Do what you can today and do a little more again tomorrow.  Baby Steps will get us to our goals as long as we keep taking them!