Spring Cleaning - Get the Clutter Out!

Admittedly, I am just like Katie in which I'm writing this post from a "do as I say but not as I do" standpoint regarding clutter. It's something I've battled since getting married and combining households and suddenly things aren't where I left them anymore. :>)

Also? Pre-marriage, I moved approximately every single year, either into a different apartment or a different city entirely. Nothing helps you pare the clutter like moving! Now that we've been here for nearly 7 years, I'm finding that a lot of things have snuck up on me, and I swear they multiply in the storage room... [OK, I'll also admit that moving once a year was better motivation to dust than I have now. Eew.]

Katie at Kitchen Stewardship has a nice mix of tips for organizing different aspects of your life (see them here) and I don't say that just because she mentioned my 40 Bags in 40 Days decluttering challenge that I undertook for Lent. Read my initial post to find out how physical clutter has an effect on us spiritually.

Back around the beginning of the year, I started reading a blog called A Slob Comes Clean. It was actually a crafty post that sucked me in, and then I couldn't help but click around to see what the title meant. Turns out it's exactly as it sounds! I'm one of many of Nony's readers who continually comment that we're reading about our own problems and life on her blog. She has really come a long way herself, and doesn't pull any punches when she talks about her problems and issues with stuff.

One of my favorite posts is My Two Decluttering Questions, which are:
If I needed this item, where would I look for it?
If I needed this item, would it ever occur to me that I already have one?

In the case of the first question, the result is to simply take the item there. This might foil you, though if you don't actually LOOK in that spot when you are trying to find the item. (Reference this post. That is SO something I would do.)

In the case of the second question, if the answer is "no" then she says to get rid of it because you'll just buy a new one if you need it anyway. This theory was highlighted by this post where she cleaned out a junk drawer and found items for that she could potentially need but didn't realize she had and the $1 they cost weren't worth the "storage and memory-related stress anyway." Great move on her part!

Head over to Kitchen Stewardship to read Mandi from Organizing Your Way explaining the benefits of decluttering, and then hop to Mandi's blog to find out how. Next week, we wrap up the Spring Cleaning Carnival as Claire from Saving Money Plan helps us tackle eliminating debt.