This one is in a midtown location on Saturday. This is a great time to bring in the florescent lightbulbs, dead batteries and electronics, the cans of paint that have been lingering in the basement.

Here are some good affordable and easy ideas for the mess that always accumulates under the sinks.(re-linked to Real Simple Magazine)
http://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing/organizing/under-sink-storage-00100000077884/index.html

Back in 2002, author Dinah Sanders wrote: “I’ve decided to invent a new holiday called Discardia. It takes place in the time between the Solstices & Equinoxes and their following new moons. Discardia is celebrated by getting rid of stuff and ideas and habits you no longer need.” Dinah’s been writing about Discardia ever since, and now she’s published a book on the subject.

Although the book is structured around things you might do at each of the four Discardias each year — we’ve got one coming up, running from March 19–22 — each chapter could be read on its own, providing inspiration in the area where you want that inspiration.

“Weeding out things that no longer need to be in your home — that juicer you never use, the old beloved decorative item that has morphed somewhere along the way into merely an object to dust — can leave you uplifted and energized and draw your attention back to those things that do still matter to you.

When you are uncluttering or sorting through old things … allow some items to go into a Not Sure container. In a perfect world, every single thing is clear and unladen with emotional baggage, but I don’t live there and I bet you don’t, either. Don’t try to force an airtight system onto a far more complicated reality. Leave yourself a little slack. Keep moving on the easier choices to get your 90% progress while letting the 10% weird ones bide a little time to get less weird.

Many people engage in some kind of projects that involve supplies. Knitting, carpentry, building Linux servers, whatever. When one has a hobby, somehow, through a magical process, the supplies for that hobby proliferate beyond reasonable bounds. … Fill up a bag with your excess craft crud. Depending on the boot and the stuff, give it to a school or a charity or throw it in the dumpster, which may be where you rescued it from in the first place.

Remember you can keep a digital photo of a meaningful inscription, or a page on which you are quoted, and not the book itself.

How many things in your house purely represent your affection for someone but which, as objects, you would otherwise not choose to have? That slightly tacky jewelry from your deceased great-aunt that you never wear but which you wouldn’t want to hurt her posthumous feelings by donating to charity?

To be more productive and rewarded, don’t try to do more at once; instead, choose your actions well and do what you are doing with greater focus.

If you gut strongly says “no” to something, find a way not to have your mouth say “yes.”

I bet you have a tool you use every week — maybe every day — that bugs you. It’s adequate, which is why you haven’t replaced it, but it is suboptimal and it slows down your say or doesn’t put you in a good mood. Replace this tool with a better version and learn what a difference truly well-designed things can make.

When we re-examine our belongings after self-reflection, we begin to see how letting go is deeply intertwined with being honest with ourselves. … Look at the things you’ve had in front of you for so long that you’ve stopped seeing them. Do they still match who you are? … Acknowledge your beginnings and accept when you’ve grown beyond them. Be true to who you’ve become.”

(reprinted from Jdorganizing.com)

I’ve recently discovered the website called Houzz. You may want to check it out Decorate with Intention: Clutter Clearing 101

" title="De-cluttering article on Houzz" target="_blank">here.

1. Is this item something I use regularly?

2. If not, is it something I love?

3. Am I keeping this out of obligation? (Did the person who gave it to me think that it would be something I should cherish and keep forever?)

4. Do I think I should love it?

5. Am I saving this just in case? (most people say yes here but consider what you are giving up today for the POSSIBILITY only of it being used one day in the future.)

6. Do I have multiples of the same things? (if likely, reduce the amount of mulitples)

7. Could something else do the same job? (or if needed in the future, do you have the resources to be able to find something else that would work?)

8. Am I holding onto it to fix one day? (Is it going to be worth the time I spend cleaning/fixing it?)

9. Could I use this space for something else? (Likely something that is currently on the floor or stuffed into a closet elsewhere)

10.  Is is either beautiful, memorable or useful today? (If so, hang on to it for now. You may not feel the same way about it down the road however.)

1. Get off of mailing lists / cut down on magazine subscriptions.

2. Use automatic Bill Pay to save time on paying bills and en- sure bills are paid on time.

3. Stop shopping and start donating. Having less stuff around is a great way to bring order and simplicity.

4. Reduce debt – get rid of all your credit cards except one. 5. Limit the amount of television you watch.

6. Use up what’s in your kitchen pantry, refrigerator and freezer.

7. Use the “1 in 2 out” rule for closets. For every new item, do- nate two.

8. Limit your storage space. The less stuff you have the less you’ll have to take care of, organize, and look at.

9. Disconnect electronically for short periods of time. i.e. television, computer, IM, cell phone. Enjoy the peace, quiet and free time.

10. Clean out your attic, basement or garage. You’ll find things you forgot you had or that you no longer use.

11. Take a look at what’s on your Commitment Plate. Part of a group that’s no longer important to you? Re-think the com- mitment.

courtesy of Smead Organomics.http://www.smead.com/

If you have five minutes on New Years Day, try answering the following 5 questions.  It may help to clarify some feelings towards setting some goals for the new year.

1.  What is your ideal day?  How would you spend it?

2. What is bothering you in your life right now.  Is there a way you think you can fix it?

3. What is your definition of “being organized”.  How are you not fitting into that definition

4. If you had picked a theme for the past year, what would it have been?  (i.e. conquering fear, focus on family…etc). What would the theme for the upcoming year be?

5. If you woke up tomorrow and magically found that you had truly everything you wanted, how would your life be different?

Thank you Lorie Morrerro from clutterdiet.com for providing these great thought provoking questions.

’tis the season when shopping and buying are ramping up. While this is going on, clients are I are ramping up our efforts of unloading the old gifts that were never used. Time and time again, while trying to make room in saturated spaces does a client hold up an object clinging it and say “….but this was given to me by…..” “Have you used it? Do you like it?” I reply.  ”No, not really”  is always the answer.  Off it goes to Goodwill.  So my sentiments are, please don’t buy for merely the sake of giving something.  Give with a true purpose in mind or consider talking with the recipient first – it will reduce your angst as well as the recipients’. And don’t forget, you can always give a consumable.  Something that will be drunk or eaten and while you are at it – give them the gift of time.  Go over and share it with them in person.

Click on the link and take 5 minutes to complete.  Its an helpful exercise to evaluate your values and priorities in life. Food for thought.  http://t.co/QI01hKY0