"On the homefront"
 Reducing mid-life clutter
 By: Nancy Ostengaard

Now that the holidays are over, most of us realize the amount of “stuff” we have in our home.  The extra “stuff” takes up space and can make our life more difficult when looking for those much needed “things” and being unable to find them.

Before beginning your battle with clutter, arm yourself with four large containers (boxes or large garbage bags will work) and a clothes basket. Have one large container to hold items for  garbage,  recycling, give-aways/donations and yard sale/consignment shop items. Items you intend to keep, but need to return to the proper place in other rooms, should go in the clothes basket.

Choose your point of attack. Will you start in one corner of the basement, the floor of the closet, or the first item to your right when you enter the room? Using a timer will keep you focused and working efficiently. Don’t leave the room at all during that time, especially to return items to another room.

If you have difficulty getting rid of items, ask yourself the following questions:

How long has it been since I used this?
Do I like it?
Does it work properly?  Is it broken?
Do I have more of this kind? Do I need more than one?
Can I locate information elsewhere if I need it?

After reducing the extra, unneeded items, it is time to get organized. Every item must have a home. If not, you are just stashing stuff, and will probably never be able to find it again. There should be one logical place for you to look for the items you keep. For example, there should be one place where you will find your socks, one place for old tax records, etc. Extra items lying around your home or office probably never had an established “home.”

The most important part of organizing is to first group similar or related items together. This will allow you to make one decision about how to store the entire group instead of making a decision about each item. When they are placed together in a group, it will allow you to see how much space they will need and what type of container will work best for storage. Storing like items together will also make it easier to remember where you put things.

Four simple steps to remember when organizing:
• Look for related items and gather them together.
• Dispose of unneeded or duplicate items.
• Choose a container for each group of items.
• Choose a home for each container.

Once the clutter is gone, and you are better organized, 2008 will be more pleasurable.

For additional information, contact Nancy Ostergaard, North Carolina Cooperative Extension – Buncombe County Center, 255-5522.



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