Are you a seasonal cleaner?  Do you typically do “Spring Cleaning” to freshen up everything after a long winter?  Then, at the end of the summer when the kids are back in school and the holidays are just around the corner, do you start to think about “Fall Cleaning”?  If you are anything like me, I work a lot of hours and poof!  Overnight, my house can get really cluttered with unfinished projects, donations not made, can’t find the pencil sharpener in the junk drawer? It can start to feel a bit overwhelming.  So, what do you do?  Do you head over to Pinterest or YouTube for inspiration?  Are you yearning for beautifully arranged linen closets, matching organizing bins, etc? That in itself can be time consuming and create even more unease.  Do you start in one room and get side tracked or give up? YIKES!!!  There’s got to be a better way!!!

Before you get started – you need some kind of sorting system.  To help you avoid the “sorting system mistake”, try this:

Set up a sorting system before tackling your decluttering project. One of the most widely used is the 4 box method where you label 4 boxes as follows; Trash, Put Away, Donate/Sell, and Store.

I use the 4 box method but instead of just boxes, I use a garbage can for the Trash, a large storage basket for collecting the Put Away items, a cardboard box for the Donate/Sell stuff, and a clear plastic storage bin for the Store Items.

Like magic – you are on your way to decluttering your home and your life!

I found this list recently and like Marie Kondo (minus “does it spark joy”) it breaks things down by category.  Everyone loves a checklist.  Get that feeling of instant gratification by checking just one box of completion!  Easy, right?  It certainly helped me!  Print it out and start on just one item.  See how you feel after that.  You might be inspired to check many of those boxes this weekend!  After all, the holidays are coming…

Write to me and let me know how you liked this checklist or share your methods!