Great Way to Get Rid of Clutter!

A few days ago, I posted about "preparing for preparation". I am on a mission to rid our home of clutter and excess "stuff" before the Advent season. This weekend I decluttered our bonus room (which will hopefully and eventually become our schoolroom), and then my son and I cleaned out his closet.

The one thing that usually holds me back from decluttering is, "What do I do with all these toys, clothes, tupperware?" In my case they tend to go into a box and get dumped into my basement. This is not decluttering, it's moving stuff around! I never get around to packing it all up and driving it to a donation drop-off. Knowing that it's my tendancy, I have put off decluttering, because I don't want to just move stuff around anymore.

I have found a WONDERFUL way of getting rid of the stuff! It's called Freecycle! Just visit the website, enter your city and state, and you're sent to a yahoo group that helps you easily get rid of ANYTHING. Today I filled a huge box with old toys, and filled a 55 gallon trash bag with 70 stuffed animals. At 5pm I posted them on my local freecycle group and by 7:15pm the lucky new owner picked it all up and drove away with it. All I had to do was decide who I wanted to give the stuff to! They come get everything, and I'm free of a whole room of clutter within a couple of hours.

So now my goal is to see how much stuff I can give away before November 15th!

Time to Balance the Scales!

Calmness and order come and go in waves in my household. There are always seasons when the scales tip the wrong way. Things are definately getting out of balance in my house! The signs are all there: messy pantry and closets, trashed out car, no clean underwear. Can anyone relate? When I see the signs in my house, it usually signals a problem.

As I was putting away laundry today (the first of many loads!), I tried to analyze the causes. Here in the south, school has been underway for almost 2 months. Teachers have ended their "easing in" period. Homework has started coming home, tests are being given, and projects are already underway.

We are now out 3 nights a week for sports: 2 soccer practices and a gymnastics class.

To top it off, my 16 month-old has recently decided to give up her morning nap (otherwise known as 2 hours of precious clean-up time).

All this adds up to chaos! Right around the corner are the upcoming seasons of Advent, Christmas, a trip to Disney World and my two older children's birthdays. Within the next several weeks, things are going to get crazy! There will be an influx of church services, parties, and a HUGE influx of "stuff" into our lives.

It's time to change my routine! I have gotten spoiled over the past few months. With the kids home, nights free and two naps a day to get chores done, I've put off adjusting to our new schedule.

Before it gets any more chaotic I need to take the time to make a plan. The first step is to make a list of tasks that need to be done inside the home. Before November 15th, I need to rid our home of clutter. This especially applies to toys! We have a tradition in our home that we have to give away a large number of our older toys before we can receive any Christmas or birthday gifts. My older two have birthdays in the first two weeks of January. This is our "pre-Advent" tradition, and serves as a reminder for the upcoming season.

So if you're starting to see the red flags in your own household, make a plan now! Before you know it, Advent will be upon us. Do the work and planning now, so that you can enjoy your Nativity traditions without distractions.