Question for those of you who are already decluttered by mainstream standards,

[mags.bubble]

 but are still looking for ways to make it better; do you have a method such as room by room or do you just declutter more as the feeling comes to you? 

[laurabfig]

Well, when I compare myself to others' homes, I feel we are fairly de-cluttered...but living in my home, I feel I could always do more (esp. if dh would get on board...but that is another story!). :)

I tend to de-clutter on an ongoing basis...stashing stuff that I want to get rid of in random bags around the house.  Every now and then the mood strikes me and I do a MAJOR de-clutter of the kids' rooms or closets or office or whatever and am pretty ruthless with what goes.

I really want to implement a system where we have a big box in an out of the way place (maybe under the office desk or something so little people are not poking around to see what is IN the box to give away)...then put things in the box until it is full.  When full, if we can't remember what is inside, then we clearly don't need it and we can tape it up and take it to goodwill without even going through the junk again to "decide" if we want to keep it.

[catscharm74]

I say my decluttering and simplifying is based upon where I am at in my life. 7 years ago, when I first started, it was about just being able to see the floor and get organized, then it morphed into helping me achieve my goals of going to college full time w/a newborn son. Right now, I am working full time and going back to get my Masters. I am tired of wasting my weekends and nights to clean and organize. So I am putting in a new system to help me achieve my top 5 goals. It make look strange to others or not fit the mainstream, but it is what works for me. As I find things that work better, I like to say I grow and growth is always a good thing. : )

[6kids3cats]

Well, I have six kids, all school age which makes all the difference.  They all have chores.  It's always a battle, I never give up hope.  I find that it is easier to just take one bedroom (2 kids per bedroom) at a time and just sit there  and let them haul all their stuff out then sort and purge as they put away what they know they're going to use.  I think I end up doing this every four months. That is, I hit all three kid rooms one time each during a four month period.  I tend to get on a roll and do them all together.  Fall and winter especially.  I prefer to save spring and summer for outdoor stuff rather than bedrooms.  The kids are supposed to keep the playroom clean.  They don't  Usually I sit and supervise for about four hours and then they sort and purge.  Usually four garbage bags go out filled w junk.  I am not a toy buyer and relatively few toys come in.  But the junk goes and order is restored.  Each of my kids has a cubby in our mudroom.  A shelf for boots, one for shoes, an area for coat and backpack and an upper shelf with a basket to make it reachable, that basket is for sunglasses, gloves, scarves, lip balm, etc.  Up above it all is a one long shelf that holds snack foods out of the way. There are also eight hooks for winter snow gear along the wall.  Our mudroom is also the pantry, two cans deep and four feet wide, ceiling height.  That gets cleaned out by me as the mood hits.  I like it to be organized and if it's looking messy, I'll fix that myself.  We also have a full door freezer in the mudroom.  Food is organized by beef, pork, chicken, vegetable, fruit, dessert, etc.  Everyone helps twice a year and it is emptied, sorted and refilled. 

Bottom line is that organization comforts me and I find that when I am in the mood I can get phenominal amounts done.  Much more so than if I feel I oughtta.  I am one to go through the papers on th counter as they come in or on Mondays.  I don't like to put stuff off because it's always more difficult later.  Not everyone comes naturally to it, but everyone can learn to create some habits that are helpful to themselves even if they don't enjoy it. I read something somewhere once that said if you want a clean house invite a bunch of people over for a party.  Instant motivation.  ;) 

[mamababamba]

I am now focusing on what function I want spaces to fill. Even though my hall closet was full from brim to brim, I emptied it this weekend because I wanted after 10 plus years in this house to have a closet for our mops, brooms and vacuums. It is neat, functional and relatively empty...so now I am shifting the other closets to adjust to the need and donating/tossing at a whole new level. After living somewhere a long time it is hard to shift, but rethinking purpose is really helping me to purge and feel better about my house.

[clutterwarrior]

question for 6kids3cats, what is a mudroom? I have never heard that expression before here.

I am picturing an area under the house with mud on the ground....although that doesn't seem right!

[tree_hugger]

Originally Posted by clutterwarrior 

question for 6kids3cats, what is a mudroom? I have never heard that expression before here.

I am picturing an area under the house with mud on the ground....although that doesn't seem right!

Its a small room off the laundry or garage door for removing and storing muddy or snowy boots and clothes before you go into the rest of the house. They usually have hard floors and sometimes combine with the laundry room. Or at least, that's what I think they are! LOL

[treeoflife3]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tree_hugger 

Originally Posted by clutterwarrior 

question for 6kids3cats, what is a mudroom? I have never heard that expression before here.

I am picturing an area under the house with mud on the ground....although that doesn't seem right!

Its a small room off the laundry or garage door for removing and storing muddy or snowy boots and clothes before you go into the rest of the house. They usually have hard floors and sometimes combine with the laundry room. Or at least, that's what I think they are! LOL

yup!  I have a mudroom too... its an informal second entrance usually (say on the side of the house, or off the garage, just like you said - mine is on the side of the house as we don't have a garage) that is designed to be able to get dirty with easy clean up so you don't get the rest of the house dirty.  Awesome for kids playing in the mud for example :D  nothing tracks through the living room or the main entrance where guests would see.

Mine is doubled with the laundry room and also has our water heater and fuse board or whatever its called.  So, I guess its a utility room/mudroom.

As for the OP, I just declutter more as the mood strikes me.  I have no set goals or patterns beyond 'keep getting rid of stuff I don't need.'  I already have so few things that I don't need any more goal than that.  Yesterday I went through kiddo's baby clothes (again) and pulled out more things I don't want to use for another baby (I have enough for like, three babies so I can be picky!) to add to the donate pile.  It was all organized just fine and didn't really create more room, but I just felt like going through again to see if I could minimize baby things to go through when I'm pregnant again.

one of these days, i'll go through the hall closets again...

[mags.bubble]

Thanks ladies, I was just trying to get an idea of what my ultimate goal is. I am definately decluttered quite a bit, but still feel that I am re-organizing or moving things around to often, you know? I am doing the 2011 in 2011 challenge and wondering if I can actually get to the goal with what I have left. It is interesting to see where others are at. I am not sure yet what it will take to feel like things are simplified.