Just be sure to keep the box safe from enthusiastic helpers who might throw it away.

Good luck! Don’t feel too overwhelmed, and think of the “before” and “after”

First, they say where they are right now. Then, they say where they’d like to be. Seeing the difference between how things are and how they’d like them to be is helpful, it gives you a sense of how big of a change is in the offing. And it also provides for differences in style and needs.

Keep up the good and balanced work, Jennifer. Good luck!

Ruth

And its raining like crazy so that successfully traps us in the house!

Grandparent ETA is 5 hours away…and then 9 little girls will descend upon us for a sleep over in 10 hours….and my vacuum just broke!

I CAN DO IT!

Thanks again for your positive repsonses and support.

Happy Birthday to my baby, 10 years ago today she waited until after the Eagles game to be born, much to the glee of Daddy.

Hope you all have an unclutterer day!

Jennifer

1. Pack up everything that’s laying around into boxes and hide them somewhere during the visit. (obviously make sure the essentials are still out) The trick to this is have your home looking the way you want it too at the end of the decluttering project. Nicely decorated, nicely scented, clean and clutter free. Instant gratification. Now keep it that way.

2. Get the family to sign a pact. If the boxes haven’t been cleanout in six months then they will be tossed out without opening them. Everyone signs and dates it. After the in-laws have gone it goes up on the fridge. Be prepared to follow through.

3. The next step is about creating a habit more than anything. After dinner each night gather a random laundry basket of stuff out of various boxes. That it comes from various boxes is important. Also wander through the house and pick up anything that is out of place / not put away and put it into the basket.

After dinner each night spend 10mins going through the stuff, discussing as a family what happens with it and assigning who has to deal with it. An example:

Football club stuff that has to be filed – Dad
Bank account statements that need to be filed – Mum
Toys, homework etc – by the kids who own them
Papers that need shredding – one of the kids
DVD’s / CD’s etc that need burning to itunes – one of the older kids
Clothes – into the laundry basket.
Charity store items – get one of the kids to take it into dad / mum’s car to be dropped in on the way to work/school.

Everyone then goes and does their assigned jobs and comes back for desert or a favourite tv show etc. Dad doesn’t want to do the filing that night – nobody gets desert / tv.

The trick is to teach your kids / yourself to deal with it quickly then and there. And if there isn’t a home for it it goes.

Hope this helps.

you cannot organize a house full of random rubbish! and if you do it fast you can catch yourself agreeing to throw out all the stuff you hang on to for no reason.

good luck!

I second the bit about getting high traffic/guest areas cleaned enough to get through the party.

Then I suggest getting bins in the basement to start the process – give away, keep, sell, trash, recycle etc. Then do *1* shelf. Don’t just move the stuff off the shelf – determine that one place’s purpose and then clean and sort it. All weekend long, you’ll look at that one shelf and think “Soon, my whole house is going to look like that”. It will be great otivation to keep going when the guests have all left. Just like losing a pound keeps motivation high on a diet, so does tackling one small surface or shelf.

I decluttered 2 years ago and it is not a ‘one time and your done’ thing, it’s an ongoing process. When you’re sick and tired of being sick and tired, you’ll find the courage to do this. And find a good thrift store in the area – 2 years later, i still drop a box off every couple of weeks. I’m always on the lookout for things I missed, things I re-considered etc. Purging and de-cluttering is ongoing.

Hav a fun party and take heart – this can be the beginning of a whole new life for your family if you’re committed to the process.

It worked for me when I decluttered. And it’s always my first step to cleaning — it makes more sense to lump all your shoes in your closet floor rather than have pairs in every room of the house. The fancy organization system (and the purge) can wait. In fact the purge will be aided if you’ve already centralized.

Get a bunch of boxes/laundry baskets. Assign each person a room. Go in your assigned room and take out anything that doesnt belong and put in basket don’t put anything away at this point. If you have enough boxes, you can label an empty one with the room name. Now everyone takes their stuff out of sort basket and puts in the correct room basket. Now each person takes the room basket and puts all the stuff away in that assigned room. Just worry about the rooms they will see, you can always put away stuff later but at least its in a box. Then you can do a quick powerclean on the areas they will see and you should have a pretty orderly house in a couple of hours.

And remember, they are there to visit you, and not hopefully conduct a house inspection.

Good luck

san

First, what does your family as a whole think of organizing? Are you willing to get the house organized and keep it that way, if they’re not onboard? Are you and your family prepared to change, so the house doesn’t get disorganized again? If not, you’ll be facing the same problem in the future.

Second, get an idea of what should go where. For example, should toys be in common spaces or in kids’ rooms? Do you and your husband have/need an office-style space in the house? Landing strips are really useful: a place for things to be dumped when they come in the house; from there they’re dealt with and put away.

Third, is there a mismatch between objects and space for them? For example, does everyone in the family have enough closet/dresser space for their clothes? If not, then y’all have either not enough dressers or too many clothes. To stay organized, things need places – or they can’t go into their places, right? – which will never happen if there’s a mismatch.

Now that you have a family team and an idea of what you want when you’re done, it’s time to get started. There are many different ways to get organized. The question is, which one will work best for you?

I like the method Gina and Rue recommended: sort stuff into “keep in this room,” “move to another room,” and “get rid of.” Move the stuff to the other room, get of the stuff to get rid of, and move on to the next room.

Whatever you choose, keep moving. Get that great music on, or a book on tape, or a friend to keep you company. Don’t get stuck thinking about “the one perfect” way to get organized. I’m really inefficient when I organize – moving one or two things at a time rather than waiting find everything that needs to be moved – but I get it done fast because I keep working at it.

This is a series of articles in the Washington Post, about one couple getting their attic organized. Lots of good tips and hints.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....51508.html

Have a great party now, and have a great organization later. And definitely take pictures!