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4 New Tips & Tricks I Learned from My First Out-of-State Decluttering & Organizing Job in Seattle This Week
If a client reached out and asked for decluttering and organizing help from two states away, you’d assume it would be virtual, right? Nope. Cue the airplane… she wanted my hands-on help, so I booked my first out-of-state job! With only a few weeks to spare, we discussed details and decided on a three-day window. I had a graduation up there anyway, so we split a flight and I bounced from a fun vacation to a fun job. Win squared! I had never decluttered and organized so intensely for three days in a row before, especially clocking 11 hours a day. It worked out great, but was eye-opening for sure. …
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Fantastic Fall Fling: How to Get Rid of Excess Items Before the Holidays!
If you’re anything like our family, Thanksgiving and Christmas mean lots of food and people. Before that happens this year, wouldn’t a little more space be nice? It’s okay if you have a compact home—the key is getting rid of items you don’t need or like in order to make space for the things you love! For example… Last year I opened my fall decor bin and found a couple things I didn’t like. The mistake I made? Putting them back in the bin. If I didn’t love them last year enough to bring them out, what makes me think I’m going to love them this year? Now I’m doing…
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8 Simple Things We Can All Declutter and Donate Before Spring Cleaning Our Homes This Year
Lest you think I’ve mastered decluttering in my own home, let me assure you… it’s an ongoing battle. I mostly write these things to hold myself accountable, but I’m stoked you’re coming along with me today. This of course is not a complete list of what could be decluttered before spring cleaning. It’s just a nudge to help you start. And clearly, to help me start again too since I found more things I could easily part with! So here are my eight things to declutter instead of cleaning around them. Spring cleaning can happen next month. First, let’s work on getting rid of these…. 1. Outdated Electronics From VHS…
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Spring Decluttering with an Organizing Pro: 20 Items You Can Quickly Donate or Toss This Weekend
It’s no secret—I looove me some organized spaces. That doesn’t mean every square inch of my house is organized, but I’m working on it. Disaster areas usually elevate stress and organized spaces usually usher in peace. But sometimes getting started is so overwhelming some people don’t even know where to begin. Been there? After decluttering and organizing different spaces for years, a friend and I decided to turn our love for order into a business. What we’ve learned after being in our clients’ closets, kids’ rooms, pantries, garages, offices, laundry rooms, and linen closets could fill a book. But here are the top declutterable things we consistently see. You’re sitting…
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Creating an Organized New Year: The 3 Best Places in Your Home & How to Start
If you’re assuming this post is all about turning your whole house upside down and starting over, you can exhale now. This isn’t for the expert organizer, the detailed filer who never has a paper out of place, or the housekeeper who scrubs with a magnifying glass and Q-tips. And all the normal people said amen. But… it is definitely not too early to think about spring cleaning. I’m guessing I’m not the only one who’s wondered, Wow… it would be so much easier to clean around less stuff. Let’s back this train up though. First of all… Feliz Año Nuevo! I realize new beginnings aren’t everyone’s cup of chai, but…
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Quickly Saving Drowning Memories, One Wet Photo at a Time
Last November my teenagers bought me AirPods for my birthday. Spending so much of their own money to get me pieces of fancy technology made me feel loved. But I’m not a fancy girl. I have an old phone, our TV feels ridiculously large, I don’t own a watch (much less a smart one), and if it were up to me, Alexa would be kicked to the curb. But I have a husband who loves that stuff and two teens who work and volunteer in tech. So of course they all want me to jump on the bandwagon, and AirPods were one way to get me there. On a sunny…
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Goin’ to the Marketplace to OfferUp Stuff: Tips for Selling Good Junk Online
“How much for this?” “Ten dollars. It’s real silver.” “Will you take two?” Garage sale offers like this always made me want to blurt, “Two what? Two goats? Two crates of eggs? Two dozen avocados? No. I said ten. Not ten shillings, not ten pesos, ten dollars.” “How about five?” And ‘round and ‘round we’d go, politely arguing in English or Spanish until said shopper talked me down against my will because I was afraid I wouldn’t get another offer but then I got mad that I caved because I could’ve gotten more on eBay or at a pawn shop but I don’t have time for that because I have…
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Donate This, Not That: Tips to Donate with Dignity
I know… I’ve had good intentions that went awry too. I’ve donated things I probably should’ve thrown in the trash. I felt guilty about the blatant waste though, so I passed it on for someone else to hopefully benefit from. Trouble is, if an item falls into that category, it’s probably going to end up costing the recipient more time than it’s worth. I never truly understood this principle till I moved to a 3rd-world country. Pretty sure the ministries in Mexico get more donations from the U.S. than any other nation, but after living there for 12 years, I’m not confident the helpful handouts outweighed the inconvenient/annoying ones. For…
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Simple Steps to Finally Get Rid of Those Boxes
This one might strike a nerve, amigos. Or three. But since I can’t see you and you can’t reach me… we gonna get down the nitty-gritty of our containers. Yes, those containers. His, hers, mine and yours. The cardboard boxes… the plastic bins… the forgotten… the ignored… all of it. So here’s the question on the awkward table between us: If God impressed upon your heart a move—across town, across the country, to another country—how soon could you pack up and get out? I don’t want to be known for my stuff. But if I’m in a constant state of avoiding piles, adding more boxes to the rafters and…
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I Decluttered and Broke Up With 500 Things. You Can Do It Too!
Feeling skeptical? Yep—I get it. I didn’t think I had 500 unwanted things I could find either. I wanted to move toward a minimalist lifestyle though so I knew it would be a solid challenge. An impending international move sealed the deal. Let’s be clear: my husband loves pitching clutter but has zero desire to become a minimalist or live in a tiny house, so I was on my own. Suggesting he only keep one coat, two shoes and three books would probably make him shake his head and mutter about hipster millennials and their vintage cameras. Paring down doesn’t mean you have to become an official minimalist though. Don’t think…
