Ever buy what you don’t need? Receive gifts from others that you can’t or don’t use? Guilt often keeps us from discarding those items. Do you save newspapers and magazines that you think you will read but never do? You’re afraid you might miss some good information. Yet you never get around to reading them because you can’t figure out where to begin!

All of us save things from past stages of life and never get around to discarding them or giving them away. What about all of the out-of-date clothing and shoes in the dark corners of our closet? We save clothes our kids outgrew ages ago. And the paper bulge! The financial and personal information is a real sore spot which has accelerated because of computers. Paperwork is no fun, so we avoid it at all costs. We just have so much stuff, which collects until it becomes a huge burden in our lives.

We need to unclutter and unburden to we can reclaim control of our lives and allow ourselves the freedom to do what we really want to do. Less is More. More time, more money, more freedom.

So how do you climb out of this escalating clutter? A realistic assessment of your actual needs is essential. Evaluate what things are really important to you. It takes a lot of discipline and diligence, much like a diet, to simplify our lives.

Here are some ideas that will help motivate you to start decluttering each day. Limit the time you spend uncluttering. Seat realistic goals. Take the first step and find a starting point. Begin with the easier things first. Tackle a drawer per day, for example. Over weekends, tackle bigger jobs. Remember, this stuff took years to collect, so it will take time to unload.

Start now! Get a large garbage bag and walk through your house. Throw away anything that is clearly garbage. Be creative and think about how to get rid of other things that you are not using. You’ll feel a sense of relief each time you discard a bag or box of unnecessary things. Here are some items to get rid of now:

• Expired medicine – check the entire medicine cabinet and linen closet for unneeded items
• Makeup that is more than one year old.
• Sunscreen that is more than two years old.
• Grocery bags – 10 are enough!
• Food – dried and canned foods that are more than a year old and spices you don’t use.

Start today! Be sure to check out these helpful sites as you begin: Messies Anonymous, National Association of Professional Organizers and Honey, We’re Home. If we can help you with anything related to your home or real estate, contact us. We are always happy to help!