I have to dump my closet every year. Just dump the whole thing out! Then I sort everything into piles, like tops bottems feet and undies ect. Then I subcatagorize: type of shoe, pant ect. Then if I cant remember when I last wore it I put it in another pile. I pack away the off season clothes, shoe and accessories. Then I look at that discard pile and determine why I dont wear those items; itemes that need repair (is it worth fixing), Items that dont fit ect, and determine what to do with them. Then I load what is leftover back into the closet. I use this system for cleaning every closet/ cupboard in my home. I also hang those over the door shoe pockets on every closet- in the linen closet those pockets hold soaps, make-up stuff, ect... in the kids closet well it holds all of those little things (you can hang it on the outside part of the door) little girls hold doll clothes and accessories boy can have their figurines yu-gi-oh cards.... I save the zipper bags that linens come in, they make great storage for sweaters and off season clothes.. Hope this helps.
i am moving soon and i don't want to take half my stuff with me. i have to much junk! i have been dumping everyting i own into the middle of the room and making two piles. the keep pile and the not keep pile! its hard but i am forcing myself to throw things out that i havent used in a while!
I cleared off the couch, does that count? I got rid of the psyco girlfriend, and emptied the dresser out! I guess that is a start. I am also house training a puppy and that takes up much more time then expected!
sometimes the couch is a good start! (mine is hidden from view in a moving maddness) I popped onto www.organizedhome.com and found ideas on those boards. check out any Don Anslett decluttering book (don't bother buying, not enough info and he will insult most people in the course of a reading) Also rid yourself of junk on your nearest www.freecycle.org mailing list. I'm on Denver and South Denver lists and a colorado barter group. all from yahoo groups, and a cinch to start yer own! I'm moving from the sticks to a 'burb of sorts to eliminate a heinous commute. THe DAV, Arc, Goodwill, Habitat and the like don't come out here more than 2x a year (30 miles from Aurora, I know if all the streets were paved they'd be out here) so the freecyclers have been great.
DruminMama the couch was a huge undertaking but the rest of the house is done except the bedroom now! it has been an adventure! thats for sure but the bedroom is also the worse room
If you don't like doing these occasional deep cleanings, check out http://flylady.net I use that system and it's awesome. My house slowly but steadily is getting cleaner as time goes on and eventually there won't be any deep cleaning for me to do. There isn't a lot of deep cleaning as it is, but still a little bit! I donate tons of stuff, that really helps. Trying to sell stuff is a pain in the ass.
