Rather than be intimidated by my to-do’s (so intimidated I can’t write them all down!), I’ll focus on being happy that I cleared the surface of my kitchen table and now have room to fit my car in the garage. *grin!*

One tactic that has helped me is to maintain a give-away pile in a corner of my home where regular visitors can’t see it, but where it will quickly start to bother me enough that I’ll take everything to a thrift shop frequently. This area used to be on the far side of my bed, where you can’t see it upon walking into my bedroom, but I had to walk by it every day upon waking up and going to sleep. After I’d downsized one of the bookcases out of my livingroom, I moved the pile there: even more obnoxious to look at, so the pile is always very small and continually being taken away.

I can’t emphasize enough that it’s an ongoing strategy. For me, uncluttering is never finished. New clothes, consumer goods, books, mail, and other things are always entering my home, so old things are always on the way out.

However, for people who do have a larger challenge, like Miriam’s, I’m rather fond of suggesting a “grand gesture” to get the ball rolling. Charging right in to one area that drives you crazy and ruthlessly purging it can be very satisfying. Again, it can be as simple as getting rid of all of those plastic containers and lids in your kitchen that don’t match up and that you never use anyway, or attacking your closet by pulling out a bunch of old clothes and taking them (immediately) to a charity shop. Ahhh. Relief. And motivation!

Email me!

When a box is full, donate or recycle on the way to the grocery store, and bring your container back with the groceries in it.

Digitizing is rainy day work, or you can get an older child to do it in exchange for a treat of some sort, or extra money.

Buy one storage box at a time, and determine a place for it in advance. If you don’t have allergies, underbed boxes with wheels are superb! Use a Sharpie and write down a list of every single thing in the box, then make a separate paper or digital list.

Just getting storage out of sight lifts the spirits!

For Kat, you just have to look at ways to break those smaller projects down. Loren made a great suggestion that *works* (I use it myself): just go to the closet or dresser and pick out three things to donate/trash. Three things that don’t fit right, aren’t in fashion anymore, don’t make you feel *great* when you wear them, haven’t been worn in a year or more, have bad associations for you. Take them out. Don’t dwell on the decisions; you *know* what things those are. Do the same thing tomorrow, and the day after that.

When you don’t have any “low-hanging fruit” left, *that’s* the time to find the time to do a total clear-out and reorganize, and it won’t be as big of a project since you’ve pre-purged. And you can tackle that clear-out one shelf or drawer at a time.

This works everywhere, too, not just closets: junk drawers, kitchen cabinets, toy boxes, bookshelves, office supplies, garage shelves — everywhere. Just start in one place.

Good luck!

When feeling overwhelmed, like some of the posters and the OP, remember: it took a long time to get all this stuff into your home. Clearing it out is a marathon, not a sprint. Every time you let go of a sack or box of stuff that’s in your way, you’re taking a giant step forward in your training.

Someone’s suggestion of a support thread on this topic is excellent!

Good luck to us all,

Ruth

I know this sounds draconian but you need to do something drastic right now. Express to your partner that this is a necessary step to preserve you mental and physical health. If his is unwilling to do this – he may also be clutter.

Each week I clean out another drawer/spot in the kitchen, so after a couple of months, I’ve gone through everything and then I start the rotation again only this time, it is much easier. I make it a point to throw out or freecyle one thing a week from the basement. I do get overwhelmed sometimes with the clutter, but once I start, and I can see a difference in one area, I always feel better..

For Kat and her overwhelming closet, is there anyway you can tackle smaller parts of this project? Bring out one box of things or address one shelf at a time.
Or for clothing just pull out 3 things that you don’t like/don’t wear and throw it away or put it in a donation bag somewhere else, like the garage or the trunk of your car (if you can remember to make weekly trips to the local Salvation Army to donate them). You’ll be surprised how quickly just three things a day (or even every other day) build up.

I don’t know if I’m allowed to plug other websites here, but Flylady.com has some amazing tips for helping busy women get their homes in order.