Before school started, I shared how I was taming my paper clutter for all the papers the kids bring home from school. We used this IKEA Allamala Wall Organizer (no longer available, unfortunately). The same system works with a basket, standing magazine files, or letter trays. It’s not important what the organizer is, but if you can set up a system that works for you, you’re more likely to use it and keep it going. Simply dumping the paper in is what works for me! But then what?

Today is the last day of October, and those bins were pretty full. I sat down with each child and we reviewed all the work they’d brought home the past two months. We made two piles: Keep (items that were special or showed writing and art ability) and Recycle (worksheets, etc.). Since they are part of the decision-making process, they’re learning how to determine what’s important, and they’re seeing that we can’t keep it all. We’re saving the “Keep” work in a box in their bedroom closet, and now the bins are empty* to collect the next two months’ of work. *Except for my son’s bin, which we hadn’t done when I took the photo.

This same dump-it-now and sort-it-later system can work in other parts of the house as well. Think about how you organize your mail as it enters the house. Do you have a “dumping ground” on the kitchen counter? This can be revamped into a system that works for you by using a pretty bowl or basket as the catchall, then emptying the bowl at the same time daily or once a week. I can sort the kids’ papers with them once every two months, even put it on the calendar if I need to be reminded. With my daily clutter pile on the kitchen counter, I tie it into dinnertime. I need to put each paper away in its proper place before getting dinner on the table.

Do you have a central place to collect kids’ papers in your home? Having a command center helps so much. This is the Allamala Wall Basket from IKEA; I was drawn to it because I like things that come in threes (like my kids!). It was only $20, then I embellished it with three metal initial letters I found at Michael’s for $.80 each on sale. I put it up in the dining room (the first room you come into when you enter the house), and the kids know that that’s where they’ll find their drawings, homework, and papers.

But, just so you know what it really looks like most days:

It’s a mess. I just shove the papers in there, all the art projects, and deal with them later. It’s messy, but at least the papers aren’t all over the buffet or all over the table. Thank goodness for that. We can still eat here:

Ah, much better.

I had an interesting encounter with this overflowing drawer in my girls’ room. In years past, I would have looked at this and thought, “Well, we obviously need to buy a bigger dresser.” That was my mindset for many years, certainly coming out of college where we had two jobs and a house to fill with “stuff.” Many years later (and wiser, I think), I look at this drawer and think one of these things:

• Cluttered: If there’s too much in the drawer, maybe I need to take a few minutes to get organized. I’ll go through and see if the girls have outgrown some of those pajamas (I then have a place for outgrown clothes until consignment sale/donation).
• Sarcastic: Clearly I’m doing the laundry too often if this much is clean at once. I should relax a bit.
• Blessed: Wow, we are lucky to have so much. Maybe we can give a few sleepers away to families who need them.

Living frugally and appreciating what we have has really changed me. Have you found that your mindset has changed over the past few years?

I spent a few hours yesterday cleaning out my twin girls’ room, in anticipation for “big girl beds” in a few months. I pulled out this glider, which has seen better days, and brought it down to the living room so I could Freecycle it.

This morning, my son sits in it, lengthwise-of-course, and says, “How can you get rid of this? Didn’t you rock me to sleep in this chair when I was a baby?” It made me sad, and then I started thinking, where’s the line between sentimentality and keeping a decluttered house? If I’d kept everything all these years, we wouldn’t be able to walk, so I’m quick to donate/sell/remove outgrown clothes, toys and other kid items. I do have one box in each kid’s closet with mementos, like the outfits they wore home from the hospital and other treasures. But this chair? It’s clunky, it makes funny noises when it rocks, and I’m sure someone out there needs it more than us.

Another day, another pile of laundry. I say that almost every morning–how about you? I know I’m not the only one in this boat.

According to the Soap & Detergent Association, you can reduce housework by 40% by eliminating clutter. Would that be true for you and your house? How much time are you spending moving things around, moving piles from one place to another (say, from the dining room table to the buffet and back again, not that I would know)? Which chores to you dread doing? What can you do about it?

Think about how you can reduce your housework by reducing clutter.  Here are some areas to focus on:

1. Your laundry: Can you have “clutter” in regards to laundry? Of course you can! How many clothes do your kids have–is it enough, or is it too much? How much more time would you have to do other things if you weren’t shopping–then storing–then cleaning all those extra clothes. I’ve found a balance between how much my kids need vs. how often I’m willing to do the laundry (twice a week).
2. Your living spaces: What’s in your piles? Mine are full of magazines, kids’ artwork and schoolwork, coupons, etc. When everything has a home to go to, it just takes a few minutes to put things away and avoid the piles. Consider reducing how many of these items come into the house; I’ve canceled some magazine subscriptions, even though they were FREE, because they were piling up and not being read. Then find homes for the remainder (such as kids’ artwork/schoolwork).
3. Toys: Are you stepping on toys or forever trying to find a good way to store them? Perhaps you have too many! Kids have a hard time focusing if they’re sitting in a playroom of clutter. Try taking some toys out; just store them away for a rainy day, and see if that gets the kids back to playing more contently. It will also reduce the time it takes to pick things up!

Clearly, there are a lot more than three areas in your house that may need decluttering, but you have to start somewhere! When you’re ready to tackle some small spaces in your home, declutter with my 3 Steps to Organizing Small Spaces.

I’m not sure what I was planning to post today, probably DIY Day, but I’ve been swept up into decluttering my house. Perhaps it was being stuck in the house for 7 days straight while my son had swine flu, but I’ve been feeling overwhelmed with clutter. I know that part of being a mom of small kids means living with clutter, but honestly a lot of it is mine. I held onto a lot because I was going to sell it at our yard sale, but then the flu kept me from participating. I’ve decided to let go of the idea of earning some money and instead get rid of things through Freecycle and donating locally.

Then, this morning, I read Amy’s post at MomAdvice about Reducing Clutter and it really hit home. I really liked this statement she made:

Sometimes I need to be reminded that having less instead of chasing every deal is part of living well while being frugal. Thanks, Amy! With that in mind, here’s my plan for the rest of the week:

Monday–I cleaned up the yard, weeded, cleaned out the shed, did everything that had been put off for weeks as not a priority. What a difference! Now when you look out the window, you see pretty fall mums and our few Halloween decorations.

Tuesday–Since this is my home morning, I’m tackling the kids’ closets and drawers, switching out the summer shorts and short sleeves for fall and winter clothes. The girls were good sports this morning, trying on lots of shirts and pants to see what fit from last year plus the “new to us” items I picked up at consignment sales. I settled on a small number of outfits (less laundry that way!) and will donate the rest.Wednesday–With the girls at school, I can do something that requires a little more concentration: tackling the computers. I need to move my digital photos to one place (I use a program that sorts them by date and subject). We also have a laptop about to crash, so I’m backing up any essential files and deleting the rest. I will also get the actual desk cleaned up, file my receipts and do any other “paper” chores.

Thursday–I’m hoping to do a baking day with the girls since I volunteered to bring baked goods to a MOMS Club sale over the weekend (note to self–stop saying YES–you need less stress). Since I”ll be in the kitchen a lot, it’s a good time to sort through any cupboards or drawers that need a little organizing. They’re not bad, but if they need it, I’ll use my 3 Steps to Organizing Small Spaces.

Friday–This will be my morning to do any last-minute sorting (like the toys–while no kids are watching) and drop off the donation bags so I can enjoy a clutter-free house over the weekend. Yay!

What do you do to declutter your home, or how do you prevent it from happening in the first place?