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Clutter Busting: The One in, One Out Rule
Sunday March 16, 2008 by Danelle IceClutter busting is a necessity in maintaining an organized home. Things can accumulate, multiply and pile up in the absence of active clutter busting.
For tips on how to get rid of clutter in your home, check out Declutter 101: Cut clutter at home at Organized Home by Cynthia Townley Ewer. She has tons of great information on her site about how to get and stay clutter free!
Today, we’re going to focus on staying clutter free after you’ve put in the time and effort to declutter your home. This little rule is something I call the “One in, One Out” rule. How does it work?
Basically, for every new item you bring in to your home, you have to take one out. Give it as a gift, donate it to charity or put it into the garage sale/eBay box. It doesn’t matter where it goes, just as long as it goes!
Identify your top clutter areas and use the “One in, One Out” rule for just these areas. For example, if the kids’ toys and mom’s shirts are 2 things that are overabundant in your house, first pare them down. Once you get to the right number, the only way to keep it at or close to that number is to enforce the rule. When you’re thinking of buying a new toy or shirt, think to yourself, “Am I really prepared to take an old one out and donate/sell it?”
Talk to your family and make sure everyone is on the same page. Only pick 2 or 3 areas to start with and make sure everyone knows what they are. It will take a little reminding and a little getting used to, but even this small rule will get your children thinking about material things in a different light. They may think twice about asking for a new Elmo toy if it means they have to give up one of their other toys! You may find it helps eliminate the “more is better” attitude so prevalent in our society and teach them value what they have.
This rule will help you to keep your fantastic results after decluttering by maintaining the level of your stuff. We don’t want our stuff to be in charge of us!
Homemaker Barbi Says: Take control of your time and home by using the “One in, One Out” rule!
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2 Comments:
Scott @ The Passive Dad said on September 12th, 2008 @ 1:30 pm:
Boy, you are right on with the need for communication when de-cluttering. I overstepped many times when trying to donate some of my wife’s items. Now I buy large plastic containers and label them for storage.
You have a fantastic blog and I would love to have some input from frugal female bloggers on my site. Drop by any time and join in the conversation.
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Anonymous said on May 26th, 2008 @ 2:48 am:
I know how overwhelmed you can become with clutter…I went through my home and threw away so many things I did’t need, gave away or repurposed. It has changed my life to some extent, not to be addicted to all these things. I can find things now. I buy less and Use things up. I no longer stop at garage sales or thrift stores unless there is something I really need. Flylady.org is a wondreful site that can help you declutter…Love your blog Barbi,,,I just found it today..Pulled you into my favs..