Too Much Of A Good Thing

We have too much stuff in my house. Clothes, toys, books, DVD’s, TV’s, boom boxes, computers - you name it and we have two or more of it. And the holidays have added to the packed to the gills level of the house. It is time reduce the load and set ourselves free from the weight of it all.

First lets tackle the clothes issue - for all age groups. As you do your loads of laundry set aside the items you know the kids have outgrown by placing them directly into a large bag. Don’t worry about finding the matching top/bottom – you are bound to run into it as you continue to wash, dry, and set aside.

Take a hard look at your closet starting on one side and working your way to the other side. If you have not worn the item during the last year take it off the hanger and put in the bag. Do not save it for when you lose those final 10 pounds from the baby. Let’s be honest – you will never again wear those jeans from your high school or college days. Maybe some people will be able to fit in them, but that person is not you. Not today.

How many pairs of shoes do you need? And the purses that match? Make sure each item in your closet goes with at least three other pieces – mix and match is the way to face your work at home future. Create a uniform for working at home – perhaps a couple of good t-shirts, two or three oversized shirts, a few pairs of kahki pants and you are all set. Set aside two meeting type outfits and make sure the shoes and bag you save go with both. Take all the rest to the local resale shop and make a few extra dollars to put towards that scanner/fax/copier you have your eye on.

Same thing with the children’s toys – keeping two outside types (bicycles, wagons, swing set) , and five inside types. Keep all the books – you can never have to many books but place them in the bookcase the entire family uses. Get rid of the rest – be ruthless! The only exception is the sleep with buddy/toy/blanket of your childs choice! The one they prefer above all others that comfort them. Everything else goes!

Toy boxes are the devils invitation to buy more – we have a tendency to fill them up! Out of the five you keep put one/or two in the car – usually the electronic ones – keep spare batteries in the doors side pockets so you won’t have to make an extra stop on way to somewhere where you should have been fifteen minutes ago.

Now you have the tools to slowly but surely go through each room of your house – when you have just a couple of minutes use them to reduce. Recycle when you can and throw out the rest when you can’t. Start in one corner and work your way around the room and don’t be surprised if it takes at least six months to get through every drawer, closet, and under every bed. You are not a slacker! You are a WAHM on a long term project and every time something goes out the door you are that much ahead on the project deadline. Six months from now your house will look cleaner, feel more spacious, and you will be spending more time doing what you want and less time putting away, caring for, and handling all that stuff!