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Are you trying to organize your home but you feel as if you’re not getting anywhere?
Perhaps you are slowly getting rid of stuff but you don’t seem to be making any progress.
Slow and steady style may not be working for you but there’s hope.
If you are looking to get your house cleaner faster and maybe save money along the way, get off the hamster wheel and read on to learn about a technique that works for me.
I try to get rid of at least 5 items a day to maintain the amount of stuff I have in my house. (As a part of a recent challenge, I am shooting for seven.) So I find that this routine helps. We all accumulate stuff without even knowing it. There’s mail that doesn’t have a home, worn out shoes that need to get ditched, a shirt that never really looked so good, and other items that you have been meaning to get rid of but haven’t had a minute to do.
So I actively look to hit what I call the Declutter Jackpot.
What is that?
Well, hitting a jackpot at a casino would entail spinning lights and a payout sound of plinking coins flying out out of a slot machine. In this case, you would want to keep what you won (the money). The Declutter Jackpot is the same concept except you want to get rid of “the winnings” (ie. an abundance of clutter) because the payout is a sense of order, clarity, and an aesthetically pleasing home. When you are able to get rid of a bunch of items all at once, you have hit the Declutter Jackpot.
So where do I find this?
It’s a bin in your house, an old collection, something that stores a bunch of the like items.
It’s mentally ease to go through. It’s fairly simple to decide if something stays or goes because it either worn out, doesn’t fit, or you know you’ve been meaning to get rid of the items. I recently stumbled on one in my house.
My daughter’s shoe container was overflowing with a mishmash of boots, play sneakers, sandals, and who knows what else. My daughter recently asked me if she can have new shoes. When buying shoes or clothes, everyone in the house (not just kids) has to see what they have before buying something new.
After sorting through her pile of footwear, we found two pairs of flip flops she can actually wear this summer. If we didn’t check, we would have purchased new ones. The flip flops range anywhere from 5-10 dollars each. If I choose the lower estimate, I saved 10 dollars on 2 pairs of flip flops I would have purchased.
I also recently went through our kitchen cabinets. While sorting through a bunch or pots and pans, I found a brand new knife set. It cost 20 dollars. I wanted new knives and completely forgot that I bought them. Another example of hitting the Declutter Jackpot. So I now saved a total of thirty dollars.
You won’t always save money. That’s an added bonus but you will get rid of many items at once. Over the weekend, I came across my old CD collection. I was a little too attached to the music before. Many of these I had purchased during college. Now that I’m more focused on clearing out what I have and the items don’t feel so sentimental any more, I was able to pitch 20 CDS which puts me ahead for the week. (It’s one of my goals.)
If you aren’t having much luck getting rid of stuff, I encourage you to dig up an area that is ripe for ditching. You too will be able to get your home cleaner, faster.
I love being ahead of schedule. Yipee!
The Bottom Line
It’s great to maintain your home by cleaning it out on a regular basis. At times, you need to kick things up a notch and pitch a bunch of stuff all at once. This will help you rid your house of clutter-free faster.
Here are other projects I’ve been working on:
Smart Goal Setting with Inspiration from Larry the Cable Guy
Rake What Your Momma Gave Ya Home Maintenance Challenge
Be a Clutter-Busting Samurai: Cut the Cutter, Stress and Spending
DIY Organization: Secret for Organizing Tiny Pieces of Kids’ Stuff for a Dollar
Tidy Up the Laundry Room in Minutes for 30 Dollars
Cleaning Games: Dirty Little Secret for Cleaning Your Sink on the Cheap
Cure Sink Clutter and Cut Cleaning Time in Half for Free
Declutter in Minutes with this Trick Plus Motivation from REAL SIMPLE Editor-in-Chief
How to Clean Picture Windows on the Cheap
If you found this information useful, please share it. That’s good declutter karma. ; )
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