BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Living Simply What is your best declutter tip?

I know many of you have your own tips for eliminating clutter in your homes, cars, offices and storage areas. Please share something you've tried that really works for you. <img src="/images/graemlins/rolling.gif" alt="" />

Ha,ha! Walking around the house in the morning and putting papers in their place including: newspapers, ads, bills, correspondence, table napkins, stray kleenex ... also books and magazines.

At work we use a lot of fixtures and if I have not used one in a year I pitch it.

Also at work I try to store things in trays or clear containers because for some reason if it is in a closed cardboard box it gets set aside and sometimes lost in the shuffle. If I have to use a box I write on the box what is in it and when I packed it.

As soon as the paper is read off it goes in the trash. Clean out refrigerator every week empty trash cans when half full. Have baskets for every child to store their toys and make them use them. Give magazines away to friends before they pile up, sort thru out of date catalogs and pitch. I could go on and on.
Darlene

Yeah, I am pretty good about magazines - I read them on the treadmill and then donate them to the gym when I'm done. My big problem is if they have a cover story I love, like a picture of the Battlestar Galactica crew, or Pirates of the Caribbean or something. I am such a sucker for the sci fi and fantasy stuff. I guess if I am keeping those I should put them under plastic and call them a collection! (and then sell them on Ebay whenever I decide to unload my large colection of Trek stuff..)

Susan, I can just see you creeping around in the morning, picking stuff up and finding homes for them, coffee cup in one hand! heeheehee <img src="/images/graemlins/rolling.gif" alt="" />

Kris, I know what you mean by see-thru containers. Out of sight, out of mind for me too. I love to containerize everything and am constantly experimenting with containers, baskets, bins, buckets, totes...sometimes I think the containers themselves become clutter!

What kind of fixtures at work are you refering to?

Jill,

Mostly display fixtures. I manage a card and gift store so with the seasons come different setups. Sometimes fixtures are reused only once a year and sometimes they will change the setup and use new different fixtures. If you do not stay up on it, it can really eat away at the space you have in the backroom and when the holidays come around you really do not have much room to spare back there.

Large skip and a will of iron....

honestly..."just get rid of it!"

I repeat that over and over and over and over and over

Meg