CLEAN SWEEP---suggestions??

[Lisa loves Pooh]

We've decided the answer isn't a bigger home--just less "stuff".

We are going to do a clean sweep of our home--just like the TV show--well sort of, a bit modified as hubby is home for this weekend only--so we will only be able to do round one and leave the more thorough sorting for the spring.

So--anybody ever done this and can you offer any tips for me?

 

[NMAmy]

I don't know if you want to do your whole house in one shot. Maybe just pick one or two rooms or one big problem area. I think if you try to do the whole house at one time, it might be overwhelming and you wouldn't accomplish as much.

It really does make you feel better to get it done. I usually do this when we move (which has been every couple of years up till now) and my criteria is always--Do I really want to pack this and then unpack it? It makes it easier to give stuff up.

We plan on staying in this house for some time so I need to do a run through and get rid of stuff. Probably in the spring and then we can have a garage sale at the same time.

Good luck!

 

[Chicago526]

We kinda did this. We had to de-clutter to get our house ready to sell (less stuff makes the home look bigger to buyers!). DH (at the time he was my fiance, though) already had a storage unit for his bachelor stuff, so we just moved everything there until we moved to our bigger home. But the same princeple works if you are getting rid of junk.

Start in one room, make two piles, "Donate/Garage Sale" and "Throw Away". Anything you don't want or won't use that is still in good shape, put in the "Donate/Garage Sale" pile, the rest goes bye-bye in the trash. Once out of the way, go back and start to reorganize what's left (sort, file, put away etc.). When sorting through what to keep and what to get rid of, be VERY realistic about if you REALLY need it and/or are you REALLY going to use it for something. Especially with clothes. If you haven't worn it in a year, you won't ever wear it again, so send it to Goodwill.

Once done in one room, take on the next. Don't do more than one room at a time if you can help it.

DON'T spend money on 'organization' systems until you clean out the crap first. Once you see what you have left, you may not need it, or if so, you'll know exactly what you'll need and not buy stuff you can't use.

As for the Donate/Garage sale pile, obviously it's up to you to either donate it or have a garage sale. If you live in a cold climate, it would be easier to donate it then try to have sale, but try to do it by the end of the year so you can take the deduction on your 2005 taxes. If you donate in January you'll have to wait a year and take it off of 2006. Of course if you don't itemize then it's doesn't matter!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

As for the Donate/Garage sale pile, obviously it's up to you to either donate it or have a garage sale. If you live in a cold climate, it would be easier to donate it then try to have sale, but try to do it by the end of the year so you can take the deduction on your 2005 taxes. If you donate in January you'll have to wait a year and take it off of 2006. Of course if you don't itemize then it's doesn't matter!

Actually the garage sale would be to convert the physical items to cash which would then be donated. We are in Florida, so no snow worries.


Thanks for the tips everyone...anymore???

 

[DisneyMomOK]

Chicago has some great ideas. I am doing this right now (home for a couple of weeks) and I got some good tips on the Budget Board under my Daunting Task thread. I have pretty much finished the paper work task. I have cleaned DD and DS's room of a lot, but because she is at school and he has not helped decide on some stuff (whether to keep or not) I would still like to discard more. The secret is to hit only one room at a time, though. That way if you need to close the door and forget it for a bit, you can. Lists are helpful, too. That way you have goals you can mark off when finished, a real psychological pat on the back.

Best of luck, and know others are working away, too, at the same mounds of "stuff".

Sharon

 

[chrissyk]

We've decided the answer isn't a bigger home--just less "stuff".

We are going to do a clean sweep of our home--just like the TV show--well sort of, a bit modified as hubby is home for this weekend only--so we will only be able to do round one and leave the more thorough sorting for the spring.

So--anybody ever done this and can you offer any tips for me?

I know a couple in your neighborhood who just did this exact thing My best advice is that the Holy Name of Jesus church has a big drop-off shed at their thrift store where you can drop stuff even on the weekends. They leave it open all the time for drop-offs. It's great! We have made many off-hours drop-off trips there in the past month or so.

In terms of pitching and tossing, if you don't love it and use it, Ebay it, donate it or pitch it. We moved from a house w/a basement and a useable attic into this house, so you can figure out how much we had to pare down. It was actually a very refreshing task, and I enjoyed it a lot. It's an ongoing task too, since there is just no space for clutter here (and since I abhor clutter!).

Also, the garbage men here will take pretty much any amount of stuff. You've got to love that...

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I know a couple in your neighborhood who just did this exact thing

 

[Imzadi]

I remember one tip I learned, START with the room or area which will give you the most bang for your buck - meaning start with the place in which later, you can visibly & emotionally will get the most change.

Most people start out with the closet, thinking you need to sort & declutter the closet so you can put stuff away in it properly.

The only problem is, most people don't see into their closet again once it's cleared. And all the junk that was in their closet is now blocking another area of the home. So people lose momentum & drive to do another room.

But of you start in the living room or family room & clear out the most visible area, like right in front of the TV, or around the couch; once it's clean, you can sit down & ENJOY it, LOOK at it & take pride in it, visibly see & feel the difference in the room. This will give you the enthusiasm to do the next room tomorrow. And so on.

 

[PixieDust32]

Oh boy! I need to do a good clean sweep in my bedroom, I got tons of junk everywhere, papers, books, clothes you name it!
I cleaned the Girls closet the other day and OMG! They had so many brand new clothes still with tag on, I got about 4 large trash bags full of clothes for the goodwill, I cleaned the kitchen also, but my bedroom and my closet are scary!

 

[Sandy22]

Get an anti-clutter friend to help you. Sometimes we need an objective person to help us let go of stuff.

You can always offer your stuff for free on Freecycle. Someone may be looking for just the thing you didn't sell at the garage sale.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Yes we have done it. It is great that is for sure. Before you start I suppose you need to answer a few questions...

#1) Disposal.
What are you doing with the stuff you don't want? It will be ALOT!
First stop is family that live near you. Easy targets, hehehehe.
We used every available avenue from Goodwill, Craig's List, Freecycle and garage sales to get rid of the stuff.

We do our "Clean Sweeps" right in March/April when the height of Garage Sales start.

#2) Map out the "designs" of the room before starting. Discuss changes you want to make in there BEFORE you start. It is important to have a game plan first. This includes addressing storage issues for the room. We did allow 1-2 boxes for "memories". No more than 2, however!!!!

#3) Do one room at a time. It will take longer but it will save your sanity.

#4) Go thru a room that you know won't be the hardest to get rid of stuff first. Do a living room, for example.

#5) Clean the room top to bottom, fresh paint and/or flooring if necessary. The point of Clean Sweep is to give the room a new feel as well as get rid of clutter.

#6) Put back in only what is used/played with/ displayed. If it has been sitting in a box for years it is not being honored. Either display it or get rid of it.

I have found that #6 is the hardest part. It took me many "Clean Sweeps" to part with my grandma's stuff. But I wasn't using it and I realized I had to let it go.

Decluttering is a lifestyle now. I also have to do another BIG PURGE. It gets easier as the years go by.
Good Luck!

 

[chrissyk]

I forgot to add that Habitat for Humanity has a "Restore" store in our area that will pick up things like unneeded appliances, construction materials, etc.

That's how I finally got rid of the random cabinets and granite that were left sitting in our house after we bought it. We couldn't move that setup with 6 people, and we couldn't find anyone who would take it. I called Habitat and they had people out here to pick it up within 2 weeks. They also gave me a receipt for a tax deduction If you have anything of this nature that you want out of your house that needs to go during the "Clean Sweep", this is a great place to donate to...it's effortless!

 

[rockin_rep]

We did allow 1-2 boxes for "memories". No more than 2, however!!!!

#6) Put back in only what is used/played with/ displayed. If it has been sitting in a box for years it is not being honored. Either display it or get rid of it.

Yes yes YES!

My rule of thumb, for the most part:

If our keepsakes are true *treasures* then they're out TO treasure and enjoy. If not, they're gone!

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I need a clean sweep of my garage. Now! I'm picking up my new van tonight and tomorrow night we're supposed to get snow. There is no room in my 2 car garage for even one car. Ugh! Maybe I'll see what I can do today even if it involves sorting and putting away what I can and then stuffing the rest in the already overcrowded other side. How did we get so bad? We used to park both vehicles in the garage.

 

[golfgal]

Go into it with the attitude that if you toss it now and find in a year you need it again, you can always borrow or buy another but chances are you won't need it again!

 

[Ranatra]

We did this about a year ago before we started our total house renovations.

We had a dumpster parked in our driveway waiting for our demolition work, and we were able to use that for any throwaway stuff. A lot of stuff I carted to Good Will also.
We started with the attic and continued from there. It felt great to get this house emptied out. You just don't realize how much stuff you save that you really don't need.



Good Luck!!

 

[disneygals]

If you have items that you know you want to get rid of, but you are sentimental about, take a picture of them.

When I watch Clean Sweep and neat, they always say don't save something because your mother gave it to you...either A you still have the person or B if you don't, that's not your love or memory of them.

Don't I sound sensible? But, pleeese don't look at my house. I'd love to do a clean sweep, but I think I need a team!

 

[Nancy]

My main rule of thumb is if I haven't used it in over 1 year, or I forgot that I had it, then obviously I don't "need" it...so out it goes.

The memory saves are a bit tougher. I am going through this with my MIL right now. She has 2 houses full of junk.(her house and Grandma's house) Grandma has been dead for almost 3 years....and she is still holding on to her house and paying utilities at both places. We finally told her she has to get rid of Grandmas house. So as we are packing to move things, she can't throw anything out. We were dismantling a bed in the spare room...the room hasn't been touched or cleaned in who knows how long....I find an old zippo type lighter. I go to toss it and she stops me. "That was my Dads, I can't throw that out." Grandpa has been dead for 15 years, this lighter has been under the bed for at least that long. I tried very hard to explain the principal that the memories of your Dad are not attached to the lighter, she didn't even know the lighter was there for how many years, the memories of him are in your heart...she still has the lighter now, she would not throw it out.

I take big boxes that I get from the grocery store; box one is the save box, box 2 is the yard sale or e-bay (if you do that), or donate box, #3 is the throw away box. Get a comfy seat and sort away. I agree with the tackling 1 room at a time, clean really good as you go, I love walking into a room after I've done a "clean sweep". I think I'll plan mine for after Christmas.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I bet that Flylady has a section on her website about this. www.flylady.net

Here's something about clutter control http://flylady.net/pages/FLYingLessons_Declutter.asp

 

[va32h]

I second the idea of having an objective friend help you out. Tell them to ask you why you are saving this stuff, and if you don't have an immediate, valid answer - out it goes.

I have done this with many friends - it helps that I am not a sentimental person by nature (I don't save greeting cards, and have been known to even throw out photographs!).

Another method I use - if I am uncertain about whether to keep or toss something, I put it in a box, tape it up, and put it in the attic. After six months, anything still in the box goes straight to Goodwill, without a second evaluation. I figure if I haven't needed it in six months, I won't be needing it at all.