De-Cluttering
What typically makes up 'clutter'?
Why does so much clutter collect in my home?
What's the most important thing I can do to cut down on the clutter?
I think the most important thing is to know where to put things and to go through to make a commitment to go through your piles and weed out the things that you really don't want to keep. Lots of people will keep magazines because there is an article in there that they want to read. Well, when they finally go back and look at those magazines, they can't even remember what that article was about or what it was that they saved that magazine for. That's a sign to get rid of that magazine. So you don't want to keep things that really there is no purpose for them and sometimes we forget. So, really it's like keep the stuff but tell yourself once a month, I am just going to go through this pile and whatever I am really never going to get to or really don't want, I'm going to toss it out.
What kinds of systems can I set up to help manage my clutter?
What clutter should I keep and how should I keep it?
Does de-cluttering mean I have to get rid of mementos and keepsakes?
The only thing I would say about mementos and keepsakes is that they're very important to everybody, but I think it's important to find a way that you want to keep them. Especially for people with children, I tell them, get a box that's large enough to hold artwork that your children may also be doing and put things from that year in that box. At the end of the year, go through it and only save the ones that really mean a lot to you, that you want to keep. You can get a box for each year if you've got the space to store it, or you can find something to do with the ones that you've stored and repurpose that box for the following year.
How much time should I expect to devote to de-cluttering?
