• GIVE AWAY – put items you will give to friends or donate to charity in this box .
• TRASH / RECYCLE – put items that need to be thrown away in trash bags or recycling containers .
• SELL – put items that can be sold for a profit on websites ( like eBay or Craigslist ), at consignment shops , or yard sales in this box .
• UNCERTAIN – put items that you are unsure about in this box . If you have enough room , keep the box for 6 months . If you haven ’ t needed anything in the box after 6 months , get rid of it .
Be sure to deal with sorted items as soon as possible after de-cluttering . For example , take bags of trash and recycling to the recycling center and give items to friends , the Goodwill , or Salvation Army . If you are selling items on a website , list them as soon as possible . There are many apps available now that make it easy to list and sell your gently used and unwanted items . If you need to have a yard sale , try to plan to have it within a couple of weeks . Donate the stuff that does not sell online or at your yard sale . of the items in their home . This means the other 80 % is potential clutter . Take a good look at your “ stuff ” and be honest with yourself about what you really use . Only keep things that you need and will use or that have a strong personal meaning to you . Don ’ t confuse things with memories . Our memories of people and events in our past will be with us long after the “ stuff ” is gone .
• KEEP – put items you will keep in this pile . Sort like items together so they will be easier to put away . Create organized centers for things like cleaning products , office supplies , cooking , makeup , hardware , etc . The keep pile may be divided into two separate categories in some cases : 1 . Things to keep and put away now OR 2 . Things that are broken or need repair before they can be put away . If you haven ’ t repaired a “ keep ” item in two months , dispose of it .
Maintenance
To maintain your clutter free home , the whole family has to understand that everyone needs to pick up after themselves . Doing a little cleaning and straightening every day can save you the hassle of going through this whole process again . Use the 60 second rule – if it takes no longer than 60 seconds to put something away , then go ahead and put it away instead of laying it down for “ the time being .” Make a chore chart and assign age appropriate jobs for everyone in the house , so everyone knows that they are expected to do their part to keep things clutter free . Stay firm and don ’ t do anyone else ’ s share of the work or one of two things will happen – you will always do their share of the work or the clutter will slowly build back up . Remember , it takes two weeks minimum for a new chore to become a routine !
For more information on the topic of healthy housing , check out the UGA Extension Healthy Housing website at www . fcs . uga . edu / extension / healthy-housing or contact the UGA Extension office in Thomas County at 229-225-4130 . See what you can do with a clutter-free home !
26 February | March 2022 Thomasville Scene