by kathilipp | May 3, 2017 | Clutter Free |
Day three of the Spring Fling, and it’s time to get serious … Let’s clear out the bathroom!
I’m not so worried about your sentimental attachments in the bathroom. (“But I can’t throw away that bottle of Axe Body Wash! I have to keep it — it was the last time my son smelled good.”)
But if you are anything like me, your bathroom can easily get filled with “just in case” items.
I am a worst-case-scenario kinda girl.
“What if we run out of money and I can never buy shampoo again. I don’t want to regret throwing out that six-year-old bottle of Head and Shoulders my cousin left here.”
What if I lose my job and I can’t buy lipstick again. Even though this color makes me look like an extra on the Walking Dead, it’s better than nothing, right? I should hold on to it.”
I get it. I’m a sick, sick woman.
Those things in the picture? Those were all from my kids’ bathroom.
No kid has lived here in over a year. But I kept it all — just in case.
Did I mention that I’m a sick, sick woman?
I bet you may have had some of these thoughts as well. Otherwise, why would you have six containers of foundation and only use one?
It Gets Better
One of the best things you can do to reduce clutter in your bathroom is become brand loyal. If you are a product junkie, always trying out new lipsticks, hairsprays, etc., it’s easy to keep six different kinds of mascara around because you’re never quite sure which one is the best. Find a product that works for you, and when you start to run out, buy another one. But stop buying products you already have.
Instructions:
– Set up your three boxes/totes and two bags.
– Start with one drawer or one shelf.
– Do NOT pull everything in your bathroom to sort it out. Take it one drawer, shelf, or basket at a time.
Bonus:
Want to stay Clutter Free in your bathroom? Commit to using up what you have. Only buy a new bottle of shampoo once you’ve used up the rest of the shampoo you have on hand.
You say, “But I would never use that old bottle of Head and Shoulders!”
Then throw it out. Only keep what you will actually use. This goes for makeup as well. When you run out, you can buy a new bottle, tube, or jar guilt free. Not only will this save you space, it will also save you money.
Share Your Fling
After you fling, either tell us about it or share a picture in the comments. Remember, each day (at the end of the Fling) there will be one winner, randomly drawn from the comments, who will receive a copy of The Cure for the Perfect Life from Kathi Lipp and Cheri Gregory. So share below and tell us about your fling.
by kathilipp | May 2, 2017 | Clutter Free |
Day two of the Spring Fling. This may be your hardest yet. Taming the closet!
Asking women to get rid of clothes is like asking men to get rid of tools.
If you’ve ever struggled to get ready in the morning with dozens of items of clothes in your closet, but have “nothing to wear,” then it’s time to fling a lot of your closet.
People who look pulled together don’t spend 30 minutes wondering, “What am I going to wear?” Because they often have the smallest wardrobes.
Take a hard look at your closet. What is it filled with?
“I might need it someday!”
“But I spent so much money on it!”
“I might be that size again someday.”
Those clothes choke out your real life. If you MUST keep them, store them in another part of the house, where they won’t interfere with your real life.
It Gets Better: Taming the Closet
I have experienced so much freedom in my closet. It has taken me many seasons, but now everything in there is something I would wear today. (Okay, maybe not the heavy sweaters, because it IS May, but I will be swapping out my winter for spring here pretty soon.)
When you switch seasons in your closet (I have a tiny closet, so for me this is a MUST), it is a great time to look at your clothes and see what you actually look forward to wearing. You don’t need to keep “just in case” clothes. Make sure you love to wear everything in your closet.
If you have stuff (and don’t we all) that needs to get hemmed, taken in, let out, or repaired, go get it done so you can have a wardrobe that works for you instead of working so hard to get dressed in the morning.
Instructions:
– Set up your three boxes/totes and two bags.
– Start with one pole or one shelf.
– Do NOT pull everything in your closet out and sort through it. That will get overwhelming. You will quit and go eat Rocky Road ice cream. (Or at least that’s what I would do.) At the most, pull out three items at a time.
One of the things I like to do is pull out three similar items. Are there two I wear all the time, but one I avoid? Maybe it doesn’t fit, it has a scratchy tag, or I don’t like how it looks on me.
If it’s the scratchy tag, go get a pair of scissors or a seam ripper and take care of that puppy. Otherwise? Get rid of it and let someone else feel fab in it.
Bonus:
You know those days when you feel extra motivated? Yes, they may only come around once a year, but today could be that day!
If so, here are some bonus flings you could do that will bring more peace in your closet:
– Take three things to the cleaners
– Take one thing to get altered
– Get rid of any extra hangers you hate using. (No one should be using wire hangers from the dry cleaners. You’re better than that.)
The next time (maybe tomorrow morning) you get dressed, you will be so glad you did your fling!
Share Your Fling
After you fling, either tell us about it or share a picture in the comments. Remember, each day (at the end of the Fling) there will be one winner, randomly drawn from the comments, who will receive a copy of The Cure for the Perfect Life from Kathi Lipp and Cheri Gregory. So share below and tell us about your fling.
by kathilipp | May 1, 2017 | Clutter Free, Spring Fling |
It is day one of the Spring Fling and we are going to start easy … in the kitchen. If you declutter the kitchen, it will make a big difference in how you cook and enjoy family time together.
Time to declutter the kitchen
The kitchen doesn’t seem to hold as much sentimental attachment as some of the other rooms in our homes, so let’s get the 20 items out of there. I would encourage you to really look at your stuff. Do you have six cookie sheets? Unless you are planning to take the place of Mrs. Fields, that probably is overkill. Could you donate a couple so that someone who is baking their cookies off of aluminum foil has a safe way to make cookies for their kids? One thing I realized as I was getting rid of my 20 things in the kitchen? It was hard! Not because I was attached to things, but because I’ve been decluttering so much over the years that I really do have my essentials only in the kitchen. That is Clutter Free progress, baby!
What to do in the kitchen
Instructions:
1. Set up your three boxes/totes and two bags.
2. Start with one drawer or one shelf. 3. Do NOT pull everything in your kitchen out and sort through it. That’s how your kids manage their toys, and how does THAT work for you?
Bonus: You know those days when you feel extra motivated? Yes, they may only come around once a year, but today could be that day! If so, here are some extra things you could do that will bring you more peace in your kitchen:
- Fling 20 things in your fridge.
- Fling 20 things in your freezer.
- Fling 20 things in your pantry.
- Fling 20 ketchup/taco sauce/soy sauce packages.
- Fling 20 take out menus in your junk drawer.
by Guest Blogger | Apr 5, 2017 | Clutter Free, Guest Blog |
Taming the paper piles
Paper, paper everywhere! Do you have more paper piles in the form of mail, bills, and notes than you know what to do with? Amy has a simple system to help you tame the paper monster.
Today Amy shows you her notebook system she’s used for several years to help tame the paper piles. It was especially helpful when her kids were small, but even now she uses it to organize papers and keep everything she needs at her fingertips.
One Small Win: Make a family notebook to corral your papers.
Amy Carroll is a speaker, writer, and International Initiatives Coordinator with Proverbs 31 Ministries. She’s the author of Breaking Up with Perfect as well as the director and coach of Next Step Speaker Services. Amy and her husband live in lovely Holly Springs, NC with a bossy miniature dachshund. You can find her on any given day texting her two sons at college, typing at her computer, reading a book, or trying to figure out one more alternative to cooking dinner.
Share life with Amy at www.amycarroll.org
by Guest Blogger | Jan 14, 2017 | Blog, Clutter Free, The Get Organized Project, tips and ideas |
by Kelsee Keitel
Would you join me in a moment of silence for all the Tupperware containers lost due to my neglect? First stranded in my vehicle for weeks, then tossed to their dumpster deaths?
I can’t tell you the number of Tupperware containers I’ve thrown away without even attempting to open last month’s leftover salad. (At least I think that was salad; you never can tell after 30 days.)
Sometimes I think my Camry is more like a scrapbook than a car.
If given the chance to ride shot-gun amongst my leftover lunches, you may notice the floorboards are littered with last week’s junk mail, sermon flyers from at least four Sundays back, and straw paper memories of the last several early morning fast food breakfast meals I’ve consumed (Chicken-Minis anyone?).
Make your way to the backseats, and you’ll find a baker’s dozen of half-consumed water bottles, about a week’s worth of wardrobe, and enough old receipts to save a rain forest.
I don’t even have children. I can only guess what goodies they would add to my collection!
I remember being 16 and thinking I’d never trash my beloved ride to freedom.
But here I am.
Life, it turns out, is messy.
And you might be in the lane next to me, surrounded by your own junky memorabilia.
I actually don’t mind cleaning my vehicle all that much. But getting myself to actually do it? That is the problem.
I’ve got every excuse for procrastinating this job. My biggest being that the temperature outside is too uncomfortable. (I live in Indiana … so the hot is hot and the cold is COLD!) My next excuse, I honestly forget until the next morning when candy wrappers spill out when opening my door.
But there is hope!
I recently found a system that works for me. I still use the floorboards as my personal dumpster (we’re breaking one habit at a time here, okay?). I no longer have trouble making myself clean out my car.
Here’s my simple system:
When you leave for work in the morning, take two plastic grocery sacks to the vehicle with you.
Go about your day and make as many messes as you like.
When you get home at the end of the day, you’ll be prepared to clean out your vehicle (which happens to be the perfect temperature because you’ve been driving it!)
Fill one plastic sack with trash. Fill the other with items that need to go inside.
On your way inside throw the trash in the trashcan.
Bam! You’re done!
I like this system so much that I’ve started to leave a supply of sacks in my car to tidy up whenever I feel inspired.
One Small Win: If you tired of putting off the task of cleaning your car, gather up some grocery sacks right now and put them by your car keys. Next time you leave, equip yourself for the job with no excuses.
Just think of all the Tupperware we can save!
Kelsee Keitel is a graduate student and blogger, living in Indianapolis, IN, with her newlywed husband. She is passionate about cultivating sisterhood through vulnerability and introducing young women to the freedom and abundance of life in following Christ. When Kelsee is not snuggled up with a book and sipping tea, she can be found experimenting in the kitchen or chatting with her mom.
You can read more about how Kelsee experiences divine moments in the midst of ordinary life over at kelseekeitel.com or on Instagram and Facebook.
