Day Five | Mini Declutter in 5 minutes/day for one week

For one week we are running daily Tips to Declutter in 5 minutes.

Day 5: Look in the garage corners for sports equipment you no longer use or that the kids have outgrown.

Tackling an entire garage is so daunting that many of us just live with the mess. The point of today's assignment is to just choose one category -- I'm suggesting sports equipment -- and spend five minutes removing items you no longer use. I'll end now because I don't want to waste your time reading when you could be reclaiming valuable space in your garage!

To keep up with all our tips, click here.

Day Four | Mini Declutter in 5 minutes/day for one week

For one week we are running daily Tips to Declutter in 5 minutes.

Day 4: Look in the corners of your closet for unused clutter. Add it to a box.

Think about your profile as a "Stasher." When I have a book to return , or a sweater that I've decided makes me look fat, or a basket that no longer holds its original contents, I tend to stuff it in the corners of my closet. When my walk-in closet looks like an obstacle course and the "corners" have grown to almost touching, that's my cue to box it all up and give it away. What's your favorite place to stash?

Tips:

• If you can't decide whether to let go or keep something, put it in a box in your garage marked "Give Away if Untouched by June 2013"
• In addition to your donate box, bring a trash bag (preferably a different color) for actual trash and a "return these" box.
• Put the "return these" box in your car so you can get rid of these things as you do your normal routine. 
• Another suggestion is to call the people on your return list. For example, I had a book I'd borrowed from a friend who didn't really want the book back; so I added it to my donation box, happy to picture the delighted face of the next woman to pick it up.

To keep up with all our tips, click here. 

Day Three | Mini Declutter in 5 minutes/day for one week

For one week we are running daily Tips to Declutter in 5 minutes.

Day 3: Wash a load of blankets or sheets you no longer need.

I've been in the spot where I wanted to put something out for donation but it was too late to wash it. So that's today's activity. Take a look in your linen closet or wherever you tend to pile those unused blankets, sheets, etc., and throw them in the washer so they'll be ready to go by Day 6. If they don't need to be washed, you're one step ahead of the game.

To keep up with all our tips, click here.

Day Two | Mini Declutter in 5 minutes/day for one week

For one week we are running daily Tips to Declutter in 5 minutes.



Day 2: Pull out boxes or trash bags and put a label on "Donate to charity." Invite the family to contribute.

This is simple, just get out the boxes and some trash bags. Put a label on it so that you start thinking about what to donate and it will pop into view. I also like to imagine a specific person -- maybe the wife of a Veteran -- who really needs that king-sized comforter while I gain the space it occupied. When you  invite the kids to contribute, you are also training them to declutter their own spaces. Everyone feels the pinch of loss when we give our belongings away -- and kids are no exception -- but when we can visualize someone who can make better use of our clutter, our sacrifice has meaning. This lesson is valuable for kids and something I like to remember myself.

To keep up with all our tips, click here.

Day One | Mini Declutter in 5 minutes/day for one week

For one week we are running daily Tips to Declutter in 5 minutes. 


Day One Tip: Call and schedule a pick up for one week in advance.


If you've already got a favorite charity that will pick up your donation, call and schedule a pick up. Make a note of how they like to have the boxes marked  for Day 2. I found a new favorite with a Google search of "donation pick up boulder." The search gave me local and nationwide organizations but I like to do everything online, so  Pick Up Please was perfect for me; they let me schedule online, they sent my reminder and receipt by email, and I feel great about it helping Veterans. Think about whether you prefer phone or email and choose the charity that fits your style.

The magic of the human brain is that when you decide to donate some of what's cluttering up your house, you will start seeing candidates for donation everywhere: boxes of summer clothes that are out of style, a comforter for a king-sized bed you no longer own, that tetherball pole that has been propped up in the garage for three years.  The way that our brains handle the overwhelming amount of visual stimuli we encounter every minute is to blur everything except what we are focusing on.  We literally see what we expect to see. So by choosing to focus on finding clutter to donate, it will pop into view. There's a great book on the topic of how our brains see what we expect to see in Designing with the Mind in Mind.


That's why we are bringing you this series. 

To give you a little added incentive, if you post a picture of your donation on the Orderly Chic Facebook page by July 1, 2012, you'll receive a $10 voucher for any products on orderlychic.com.

Kay talks about the how the design of the Grocery List Board makes kids more independent

Kay talking about Grocery List whiteboard (3)

Tip: take a picture with your phone before you leave for the grocery store.