If you find that person send them my way.

Or, I could come to your house, and you could come to mine.

I'm convinced that if all I had to do was sit in a chair while every single item was brought to me for a decision, that I would be able to say - Keep! Charity! or Garbage! My ohelper would then put the item in the appropriate place and that would be the extent of my involvement.

It's the bagging and boxing and running up and down the stairs and having to deliver it to the curb or to the Goodwill store that makes me crazy!

Seriously,I know it seems overwhelming. Please keep in mind freecycle.org which will help you get rid of the perfectly fine stuff that you no longer want/need. Someone who is looking for just that thing will be happy to get it. (I have gotten rid of arts and crafts stuff, sleds, basketball hoops, music stand etc).Keep it in mind- that way you dont feel guilty to throw it away; you can even feel pleased that someone else will get use of it.

Here is a link that might be useful: freecycle

You CAN pay people to do that for you. Don't know how much they cost though.

As far as donating clothes and household goods, don't forget your local women's shelter and/or safe house. Many of these women have the clothes on their back only and desperately need good clothes. And if they had to flee with children, the same can go for the kids. When they finally get on their feet and get an apartment, they typically have nothing as far as household furniture or kitchen items. Check with your shelter/safe house before you take stuff down there, to see what kind of storage capacity they have.

Here you go:

national association of professional organizers

They have a link to find someone in your area.

Don't worry... I won't throw perfectly good stuff away... that's why it's all still here! *LOL*

Need the time and energy to get it from where it is currently placed to somewhere outside of my home.

;)

Oh.. I am cleaning out closets and rooms today and finding that I am moving stuff from one location to another. It's truly insane.

I do intend to donate furniture, bedding, kitchen utensils etc to a woman's shelter or a family that has been burned out of their home. I also have a garage full of stuff from my sister for a garage sale. It all requires time and organization though-- even to give it away. Then there is that FULL wardrobe for the two sizes smaller than my current size that I insist I will get back into this year. Arggggh.

I am feeling claustrophobic and overwhelmed. It makes me want to never buy another thing.. ever. I know that won't happen but after this experience, I'll definitely think twice before buying something.

"It makes me want to never buy another thing.. ever. I know that won't happen but after this experience, I'll definitely think twice before buying something."

I just told my husband exactly that!

I'm decluttering too and as I pack boxes and cart them to Goodwill it makes me feel horrible at how much money I've wasted over the years, in buying stuff. Stuff that sits collecting dust, stuff I didn't need at the time anyway, stuff that cost me money I could have been saving to, oh, create my dream kitchen or take a fantastic trip. Sigh.

I'm with you, Funkyart, it really does make you feel ready to step off the consumption wagon for awhile.

Something that has helped me is having a perpetual supply of empty computer boxes (the kind paper reams are shipped in) and they are ideal: small enough to handle, with lids. My husband brings them home from work and for some reason having receptacles keeps me motivated. Something else I do is nibble at the mountain. I get overwhelmed too, so instead of making grandiose plans I just pitch in a couple of items when I see them and remember that I don't want 'em anymore :).

Good luck to all my fellow spring cleaners and declutterers.

Ann

There are a couple shows on tv that show just that. Lots of good tips for gaining control. The shows are great motivators, too, just watching others go through the process. Try picking just one, little bitty area and forget the rest : )

I don't think the link below is the same one I'm familiar with, unless they show it with different hosts. I usually see the woman with shoulder length dark hair, explaining how to use bins to sort through the stuff. She tries to rid people of their emotional attachments to things when purging.

Mission Organization

This year my goal has been to "reclaim" the dead spaces in the house - space that's not being used efficiently, or not being used at all.

So far I've done the kitchen, laundry room, an cabinet under the stairs.

This Easter I was able to use a beautiful set of dishes for the first time in years. I had it stored so badly before that it just wasn't worth the effort to get it down.

Once I get motivated, I have no problem deciding what to keep, give away, or throw out.

What helps me is to choose a small area (cupboard or closet) and commit to organizing just that area in the next week. Small goals are easier for me to achieve - rather than planning on doing an entire room at once.

I was going to give you a link but Les already did. I went to a free seminar sponsored by a local business. The speaker was a woman who is a member of that organization Les linked to. She gave some very good tips for streamlining paperwork at home, organizing papers at home, and for someone like me who has a home office, keeping it streamlined and running smoothly. She actually does come into the home and help people declutter and organize much like the guy I love to watch on Clean Sweep! ;D

With me taking care of my mom here for a year and now commuting to her house, I feel like I'm perpetually behind. My 'fun' projects in the garage (furniture refinishing) are collecting dust and in the way, closets are bulging after I had every last one tidy and organized. It makes me very anxious to not have order around me, so I actually looked up the woman recently to get prices. I would hire her without a doubt to come in here and help me get back on track again, budget or not, it would be worth every penny!

I can empathize. Clutter stresses me out. I find that I feel most relaxed when things around me are organized. Those who know me would probably call me a "neat freak", and the thing that works best for me is perpetual purging, where I get a big black garbage bag or box and gather all of the old clothing, toys, and books out of everyone's closets for donation. I do this frequently. My guideline is that everything needs to have a place, and if there is no place for it, either something else has to go, or I can't keep whatever it is. The key is to devote time to organization on an ongoing basis, not just at sporadic moments. I usually clean the better part of a day each week.

While my mom did the traditional "spring cleaning" once a year for weeks at a time, I find that with my and my husband's work schedules and two active boys, I don't get large chunks of time to devote to cleaning. Plus, as you mentioned, it then piles up and becomes completely overwhelming.

A lot of times, just having less stuff to take care of solves a ton of problems. My boys both have ADHD, and with their super high activity levels and constant changing from activity to activity, it's much easier to manage everything with less stuff.

Just my two cents, but when it comes to organization, I definitely think that the "less is more" school of thought applies.

Hope this helps,

Jan

We have an e-mail list serve for our UU Fellowship. Last year I was doing just as you are and " lightening my cosmic load". Every couple days I would list something I no longer needed. Then I would check the times on the e-mail responses and whoever responded first and could pick up got the item. It was great and everyone got things they wanted.

All my Mom's clothes went to the program mentioned above for women. When they get out of prison they need good clothes to go to job interviews. They are in safe places and the clothes are so welcome. I had purses and coats and tons of shoes and underwear and beautiful suits and pants etc. There were 20 bags of clothes etc.

There are more "have nots" than " haves" in this world so you will have no problem finding homes...but it is tough getting started. GOOD LUCK! c

Gee, I LOVE to organize, especially other people's things.

When I was a child I would set the items on shelves straight and labels forward while my mother shopped.

Any of ya'll in my area?! LOL

Hey, I'll clean out your closets. That's my dream job!

Wow, paint chips, I am just like you. I love to organize and I have often thought of starting my own business as a professional organizer - even before any of these shows were on tv. I have volunteered my time and "skills" to my friends for free so I could build a portfolio, but no one has taken me up on it yet. As a child, I remember straightening and organizing clothing on the racks in stores. At school, I got teased so much for my obsessive organization (my crayons had to be ordered by color). Even now, I think my house could be more organized, but when friends and family come over, they think it is crazy organized.

I wish I could teach my DD to be a little more concerned about putting her things away. She is on the road to being a hoarder and it really scares me. She does not want to get rid of ANYTHING - not just old toys, but candy wrappers, dead flowers (from valentines day), school papers, I could go on and on.

I think each of us struggles with organization in one way or another (or one extreme or another). I think part of it is a product of our culture and society. We have so many options and advertisers are constantly sending us messages that we "need" more. I don't think 100 years ago people were very concerned about organizing their closets. I really do try to live simply, but I feel like there is still too much stuff coming through our doors. It is hard to tell my children's grandparents, friends, etc. to "please do not give anything to little Johnny this Christmas, he has enough toys already." They think I'm crazy! I keep repeating this mantras to my children, "be happy with what you have" and "make good choices."

That said, I really need to clean out my DD closet and sneak some things to Goodwill.

I'll second the idea of Freecycle. I had a plate glass mirror in our bathroom that was huge. 76X42 ". I put it up on Freecyle and someone got back to me right away. She was building a ballet room for her daughter and this fit the bill.

Denali, what a sweet story! Now you know that it will be appreciated by a little girl practicing her ballet!

Cindyloo- Doesn't EVERYONE organize their crayons by color? LOL

I try to keep new things from coming in my door. I even feel guilty when I bring something home because I know I will have to pack it UGG! It changes everything when you need to be able to move at a moment's notice. Unpacking after a move is so painless and quick... which is great because we have had to move, unpack, and 6 weeks later move again! Life is fun!

Try Flylady. Free! Yes, she sends a ridiculous amount of e-mail, but you certainly don't have to read them all (the ideas start to become part of your thinking) and she goes WAY beyond clutter. She is all about you taking care of you. I quit her a few years ago because "I couldn't keep up," but obviously I didn't GET FL back then because she always tells you that you aren't behind, so don't try to catch up. Now I understand. :)

Here is a link that might be useful: FlyLady

I think people fall into 2 camps...those who are organized and declutter without a second thought, and those who become overwhelmed with all their stuff, but can't part with it. They have good intentions, but just can't do it.

Donating to Goodwill or any other non-profit will net you a tax deduction worthy of your time. Far better return than you'd get at a garage sale. Consider also donating your garage sale stuff to an organization trying a fund raiser. Many churches and schools here hold rummage sales, and it's becoming popular to have fund raisers for medical problems, fire victims, etc. I would much rather donate my stuff to that type of organization than Freecycle it.

On the other hand, I often list something for free on CL when I need it gone from my sight immediately!

You really have to be able to give things up with a clear conscience or you just end up with excuses why you can't get rid of it.

I always wonder about the people on those organizing shows if they follow thru. I'd love to see a 6 months later recap! I do love organizing, too...but it seems that the people I want to do the organizing for really don't want to give up their stuff!

I know some people have problems with the letting go part and they probably need a professional organizer.

I have no problem letting go or organizing, but I do have limited time and DH works long hours and has zero interest in helping so I hired some handymen to help me. One guy had a truck so they immediately took the donated items to the Goodwill store and brought me back the donation slip. They took the door off the old fridge and took it away for proper disposal and the old computers went to someone who rebuilds them to be used again. It was wonderful, quick and worth every penny.

Sky

skypath, what a good idea; often times, you need help with heavy stuff ; I've hired my cleaning woman in the past for an extra day to help me out.
I want to do the sorting out but I also need an extra pair of hands to help out with folding, etc....

Sky... I'm like you except *I* work the long hours... Do you mind if I ask how much the handymen cost? That's a great idea!

If all I had to do was sort and direct, it'd be PERFECT. It's the DEALING with the piles of sorted stuff that gets overwhelming for me. I have three small children, including twins... so I have at least 2 of everything. We also downsized our house a few years ago (actually just a house with fewer rooms) and that crammed our closets and garage pretty good!

I recently came to the realization of what the root issue is... Up until recently, DH and I have always had much more space than stuff, so we never developed a routine of getting rid of things. We were very successful and moved a lot and always got a bigger place each time. I've always been a neat person and people used to say our house looked like a model home. Then came the kids and we moved to a slightly smaller space and the stuff just keeps on coming!

So... I have to create a new habit now that I had never had to develop before. At least I have recognized the problem before it got completely out of control! But I can totally see how people end up surrounded by belongings in their home with no place to sit! It can truly sneak up on you!

mitchdesj - that's exactly why I did this - there was heavy stuff that I just couldn't carry by myself. I needed help and it was worth it to pay for it.

creekylis - DH paid, but I believe it was 25$ an hour - we used our gardener and he brought his friend. They were here a couple of hours.

I had everything planned ahead of time. It was just like having movers - they were constantly lifting and moving stuff. They were neat, careful not to let my cats out and fast. I felt like I had a load lifted off my shoulders - literally and figuratively.

Sky

We just finished 'purging' our home (we're getting ready to sell). Believe it or not our garage was piled to the ceiling with junk - we had merged 4 households (me and hubby + our parents after they passed) plus 10 years worth of kids stuff.

I held a one day yard sale this past Saturday and made nearly $1,000 - biggest ticket item was just $25 which just goes to show you how many little things we had; amazing that those vases & cups and baby clothes and books and various doodads added up to so much $. The remainder was listed on Freecyle for free, of course. All but one pick up load was gone by Sunday (yesterday). We hauled that to the dump this morning.

It's all gone! It took two days to drag it all out to the yard and driveway, but it feels so good to have it gone and just let it go!!! Btw, we didn't price anything, didn't have the time.

I love organizing rooms and closets and I'm good at it. But, DH won't let me at our study here and it's soooooo frustrating! He tells me that he can find everything he needs eventually, but "knows" that he won't be able to find anything if I redo it. Grrrrrrrrr! He's in here every evening, Sunday thru Thursday, doing more of his office/chart work and 98% of the time it looks like someone stirred it with a stick! I'm working on him now (desperately!) to let me hire a professional organizer to help him organize this room... so far, he's resisting, though ;~(
I've thought about signing him up for HGTV's Mission Organization, but he'd kill me ;~P

ladynimue... that's what I want to do.... drag it to the driveway and let it go... I'm not planning on pricing anything either as the thought of that daunting task might be enough to discourage me altogether.

I know I'll get to it... hopefully sooner than later.

just the other day I told my husband we need to try to get on the show Mission Organization on HGTV!! Well, that isn't going to happen anytime soon so we are trying to use the tips I saw on the show and get our extra bedroom cleaned out so it can be used as a play room (instead of our family room). I find that I have a hard time letting go of the toys/clothes my 2 year old twins have grown out of...I keep everything saying "What if we have another baby?" (yeah right!) Well, just the other day it was decided that our neighborhood is going to have a garage sale for one of our neighbors who's battling cancer and has medical bills that are going through the roof. All of the money will go to this family. That has inspired me to let go of so many of the things that I was hanging on to. Now my husband is picking through the "garage sale" pile to make sure I'm not getting rid of things he still needs :-)

I second Flylady.net! She is great! I needed someone to help me break up the steps into baby steps to get rid of everything I don't love or need. With flylady for me and the Housefairy for my girls my house is looking lots better!

I am like Jan - can't stand clutter, even if it's behind the closed doors of a closet. Just too distracting for me. Unfortunately, my seemingly "raised in a barn" children don't seem to have inherited this gene :-)

DH just took all three kids to visit his family during spring break two weeks ago. I had four days with the house all to myself and cleared out a ton of stuff, then reorganized quite a few spaces. You just seem to accumulate so much with kids in the house! When I was all done, I felt like I could breathe again! I had about 5 big garbage bags of stuff to dump, then filled up the back of my SUV with dontations for Goodwill. We have a drive-thru donation center nearby so it was pretty easy to have them take it all off my hands.

I agree with the others who said this has been a great way to evaluate potential new purchases - every time I've been shopping in the last couple of weeks, I've really stopped to think about whether I absolutely need and/or love it. I've passed up or returned quite a few things lately!

Still need to tackle the unfinished storage area in our basement. The main source of clutter there? Paint cans! I was truly embarassed to see how many partially-used gallons of paint I've piled up due to my eternal search for the "perfect" colors. I can't even tell you how many golds or warm yellows I have. Next step is to whittle them down to the colors we currently have on the walls and dry up/ dump the rest.

I second www.freecycle.org as a great way to give away stuff to people who need them.

Another organization, www.GiveShoes.org, collects shoes and distributes them to those in need in more than 40 countries around the world. The catch is that you have to pay postage to ship your shoes out to any one of their three warehouse facilities in Virginia, Nevada, and Alabama. Of course, it's less costly if you live in any of these states. This is a good alternative to throwing perfectly good shoes away and assuaging any guilt that goes along with it.

I used to work on one of those shows, and the hardest part was convincing people that if they hadn't worn it, used it, read it or looked at it in 10 years, they were most likely never going to do so.

I also think that our culture lays a big guilt trip on women--if you're not saving Mama's Green Stamp books, you didn't love Mama. We're encouraged to buy new, but to cherish the old.

I understand the "trash to treasure" folks, but when I read about how people have saved 100s of cottage cheese containers and want to know what to do with them--there's no crafter born that can make art out of 200 cottage cheese plastic tubs.

Every time I go to an estate sale, I'm less tempted to buy and more inclined to go home and throw stuff away.

I have an addiction to Rubbermaid and a label maker. Friends and family laugh and my compulsive need to organize, but I can find anything at any time! I have a 6 month rule - if it hasn't been used in 6 months and I find it laying around it's gone - usually to the woman and children's shelter. We just sold our house and though I hate packing it is a great opportunity to get rid of more stuff!!

Acomom, does your city government have a paint recycling center? We have one and it is great - they take your old paint and make new paint which they sell cheaply or donate to Habitat and the like.

Another way to get help is to hire a teenager to help. In both our current and previous neighborhoods, we were able to find high school kids who would work for us. We typically would use them for a couple hours on Saturday, and they could help load boxes, put the boxes in the car for the charity thrift shop, etc. DH and I have back and knee problems so that helped immensely. Also, since we are paying someone to help, that gets us very motivated to work efficiently.