Purging and Simplifying

No matter where you are in life, regular purging and organizing is necessary to reducing clutter and more importantly stress! All of us have things in our home that we no longer use or want. Purging these items on a regular basis will keep you organized and stress free. The areas that have the most potential for purging are toys, closets, drawers and cabinets. If you get overwhelmed at the thought of all this, take it one step at a time, or one drawer at a time.

When purging toys, get your children involved. Tell them you need their help on which unused toys you should give to charity to help other children who don't have as many. They will love to help with this fun project and they learn to give at the same time.

When purging in your closets, use a 12 month rule. If you haven't worn it in the last 12 months or it hasn't fit you in the last 24 months, purge it! Only keep items that fit this rule if they are unique and special items that you want to keep for a wedding, special occasion, etc. The purged clothes can be given to consignment stores, charitable organizations or someone you know who needs them. It will make you feel good when you see how much they appreciate it.

Purging cabinets for medicines and canned or packaged pantry goods not used in 12 to 24 months is often needed too. Look for unused items in your kitchen cabinets like sippy cups or baby bottles when the youngest child in your house is far beyond that stage. Review plastic cups and storage containers to see if you can get by with less.

Another great way to handle your purged items it to have a garage sale. Garage sales are great ways to make some extra spending money. Getting the kids involved to help with the sale teaches them about organization and the value of money.

If you get in the habit of purging on a regular basis, you will be amazed at how much more space you have. Now you can find the things you often couldn't locate in all the clutter!