We're down to the last few weeks before Christmas, and now its time to focus on the little details. For my family, clutter is something that seems to sneak up on us every week, and no matter how I try to keep it tamed down, it keeps coming back.
Here are some tips for decluttering your house before the guests arrive:
- Papers from school seem to be one of the greatest sources of clutter. The more kids you have, the more the paper clutter grows. Set up a bin or folder by the door, along with a calendar. When taking papers out of your kids backpacks, immediately put any important dates on the calendar, then recycle those papers. Anything requiring you to fill out a paper should be placed in the folder so you can find it when you have time to fill it out. For younger kids, homework can also be kept in the folder to make sure nothing gets lost.
- Another source of clutter is kids' artwork. Oh, don't get me wrong - they're all beautiful expressions of creativity, but you know we can't keep every drawing, macaroni art and and watercolor painting. To cut down on the clutter, start by picking out your favorites to keep and display. Select a box to keep in a closet where all kept artwork can go after new artwork replaces it. What about the ones that don't make the cut? They don't have to be gone forever - take a digital photo of each masterpiece before you toss it so you'll have a memory of it for years to come.
- Put everything in its place. So much clutter is simply stuff that needs to go back to its home. It's easy to leave something sitting out when you're in a hurry. Take the time to return everything to its proper home. If it doesn't have a drawer or box or container, find a spot for it or get rid of it.
- Don't be afraid to label it! Labels can help you find things quickly, and make sure everything gets returned back to the right place. This makes it easy for any member of the family to find what they need quickly and - more importantly - get it back to where it belongs! A personal labelmaker is worth the investment to help with this task.
Giveaway!
To enter, leave a comment below sharing what kind of clutter is the hardest for you to manage in your house! (mandatory entry)
For additional entries:
2. Leave a comment here with your best tip - other than the ones mentioned above! - for decluttering your house. (one entry - separate comment)
3. Follow me on Twitter @mommystory and tweet this contest leaving me a link here in the comments. (one entry)
4. Write a blog post about your own tips for decluttering your house and link back to this post. (1 entry - leave a comment here with your link)
Giveaway will close on Sunday, December 12 at 11:59pm ET. One winner will be selected by random drawing to win the labelmaker. Winner has three days after being contacted by e-mail to respond or another winner will be chosen in his or her place.
Good luck!
Full disclosure: This Dymo labelmaker is provided fully by myself. I was not approached by the company and received no compensation at all for this giveaway. Model #LT-100T.
50 comments:
The worst clutter in our house is paper! Bills, articles for work, log sheets, just paperwork. It's everywhere!
cheatingpiggies at hotmail dot com
The worst clutter for us is the kids toys, school memories and projects that we want to save and our craft/art supplies.
Thanks so much for this wonderful giveaway.
rickpeggysmith(at)aol(dot)com
I guess my best tip is to keep ontop of your clutter and don't let it get out of hand. We weed through what is a keeper and not, to help control the amount of clutter we have.
Thanks again
rickpeggysmith(at)aol(dot)com
The hardest thing to keep decluttered is my kitchen table!!!
My utility room is full of clutter and needs organizing.
rhoneygtn at yahoo dot com
For me it is paper clutter. You know, coupons, ads, school papers, applications, statements, you name it.
I make crafts so I have lots of beads and small items that are all tangled together. I need them organized and easy to access
I do needlework (cross-stitch), and keeping my bobbins of floss neatly organized is a constant challenge.
bbentry [at] aol [dot] com
My best tip is to put things back where they belong right away. If I just throw something somewhere with the intent of properly storing it, I end up with a pile of stuff I "intend" to put away properly some day.
bbentry [at] aol [dot] com
The worst clutter in my house is all the junk on the kitchen counter such as kids papers, junk mail and anything else that happens to land there. calvad@aol.com
My Aunt's saying There's a place for everything and everything in its place. I still have clutter, but I'm working on it everyday. I try to look at each room and decide what needs to be organized. Would love to win. Please enter me, thank you
keeping all my scrapbooking stuff organized...
Definately my daughters toys!
Thanks for the chance.
mogrill@comcast.net
My problem is not enough time to take care of all types of clutter most of the time, so it seems like whatever I focus on taking care of, something else falls behind instead.
bruwkucteec ^at^ dunflimblag ^dot^ mailexpire ^dot^ com
My worst clutter is the garage. So much seems to end up out there. This prize will help me get things sorted out.
Thanks for the contest.
My tip is to do a before bed sweep every night. Just 10 minutes on a regular basis will help you keep on top of things.
Twitter follow you: slehan
http://twitter.com/slehan/status/12420047137931266
My worst clutter is paper and little things that my kids make or draw that I would like to keep. They end up in piles everywhere.
the kids stuff they leave it where it drops
My worst clutter is in my sewing and craft room. It's a darned mess that could be helped a lot with storage boxes and extensive labeling for all the bits and pieces that I use in collages and other things.
dchrisg3[at]gmail[dot]com
One decluttering tip I try to use is to go through the clothes closet once a year and just start tossing, either into bags for donation or trash bags. If it's too worn, toss it. You only need one or two "grubby clothes" pieces for dirty outdoor work.
dchrisg3[at]gmail[dot]com
my worst clutter is my computer desk, so I put my most used items in the drawer and the rest in my other desk - regnod(at)yahoo(d0t)com
All of my paperwork seems to be some of the worst clutter...it just never ends!
My craft room/scrapbooking clutter is a huge issue for me. The problem is that when everything is organized and put away, I don't want to use it because I don't want to spend the time cleaning it up again! And when it's a mess, well, it's a mess!
The best clutter tip I have is if you haven't used it in a year, get rid of it. This is especially useful when it comes to clothes!
Clothes. They are taking over our house!
tdlsfm(at)gmail(dot)com
I have a stack of Rubbermaid pull out drawers in the linen closet that I store shampoo samples, toothpaste/brushes, samples, first aid. When we need something it seems that all the drawers get opened before we find what we want, and then the drawers never get shut.
zameta3 at gmail dot com
Mail clutter, Bills, coupons, and junk :)
For us it's paper - magazines, newpapers and mail. trinitygsd at yahoo dot com
The closets are always the hardest filled to the brim unfortunately
skyxsky27(at)gmail.com
my tip would be for laundry, give each person, adult and child their own basket and have them fill it with dirty clothes and items much like a hamper works and when it's laundry time it's all ready to take to wash and when it comes out of the dryer put their things back in the respected baskets so that can go right to their room to be put away
skyxsky27(at)gmail.com
Our home office looks like a tornado went through it :)
thanks for the giveaway
aunteegem@yahoo.com
The worst clutter in my house is....... my HUSBAND!!! His idea of a shopping list is leaving empty cans and boxes on the counter so he knows he needs more. He has 23 YEARS worth of unopened mail that he won't let me get rid of because he MIGHT need it someday. He has a model of a car in his night table that has no wheels. He says that when we find the wheels, he'll give it back to our son to play with. Uh - this happened when our son was 3. He's now a junior in college!~
Email address is in blogger profile
I don't suppose getting a divorce is a good tip for decluttering my house? Well, then the best tip I have is to have a box for things you don't use but don't want to get rid of. Put it in the attic. 6 months later, go up and get it, DON"T LOOK IN IT, and donate it somewhere. If you haven't used it in 6 months, then you really don't need it. And if you don't look, you won't be able to convince yourself that you WILL need it someday.
Email address is in blogger profile
I follow you on twitter and tweeted http://twitter.com/bsw529/status/14018121618685952
Email address is in blogger profile
Pretty much our entire house is a clutter catastrophe!!!
Bills are the hardest things for me to organize.
onlinesweeps84@yahoo.com
a simple way to declutter is to not keep things you dont use around, if you havent used it/wore it in a year, get rid of it.
Onlinesweeps84@yahoo.com
follow you on twitter, posted http://amommystoryreviews.blogspot.com/2010/12/12-weeks-until-christmas-week-3.html
Onlinesweeps@yahoo.com
Paperwork is the hardest to manage!
nesta 67 {at} live dot com
The worst clutter i have is all the video games that i bought through the years
jim.coyne2@verizon.net
My best tip to declutter is to sell the stuff that you don't use
jim.coyne2@verizon.net
I follow you via twitter
@JCoyne1031
jim.coyne2@verizon.net
Wost clutter for me are clothes and papers (both important and not).
erroneous02(at)yahoo(dot)com
Best advice would be to tackle clutter in baby steps...write down one thing to work on day by day/every other day so it's not so intimidating.
erroneous02(at)yahoo(dot)com
The worst clutter in my house is toys books and magizines.I have gotten bins to organize better. This label maker would really help with that. wilcarvic
[at]gmail[dot[com]]
To help cut down on clutter in the dressers I go through all the dressers and closets every season and in the middle of the season and get rid of anything that does not fit or is messed up and not fit to wear. wilcarvic
[at]gmail[dot[com]]
Mine would be paper and clothing clutter! They always seem to reappear!
Kid toy clutter and paper clutter.
Clean a little every day so it's not overwhelming.
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