Hello FlyLady,

What do you do with your “clutter”? Do you give it a kiss and throw it in the trash? Or send it to the thrift store?

I have clutter. I am reading your emails and am ready to be reborn ;). We are planning to move very soon and do not plan to take everything with us so I have to declutter. I know I have a lot to go through, so what do I do after I collect it all?

Holly

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Dear Holly,

I am so happy that you are beginning to get rid of your clutter. Please do not do too much too fast! I don’t want you to crash and burn. This is why we ask you to spend  15 minutes a day getting rid of your clutter. We like to babystep our way through the clutter. We did not collect it all at once. Your home did not get messy in a day and it is not going to be clutter free overnight.

One of our FLYing Lessons is to declutter 15 minutes a day. In the  FlyShop, our  Declutter Kit and our Timer are great tools to facilitate this task.

We have three types of clutter:

• Give Away
• Put Away
• Throw Away

We like to play games and establish routines to get rid of clutter and keep us focused:

• 27 Fling Boogie
• 5 Minute Room Rescue
• Hot Spot Fire Drill
• Daily Missions
• Weekly Zones

The clutter that needs to be given away has to get out of your house right then! Do not pile up an extra bedroom. Do not fill up your garage. Do not place it by your front door.

This means as soon as your timer goes off, go take your clutter to your car! This way the next time you are out, you can drop it off at your favorite resale charity. My favorite is Habitat for Humanity. Last year we built our first house. Habitat has 750 Restores all over the USA and Canada. If you don’t have a Restore near you then pick your favorite charity. Keep in mind that Habitat does not take clothing. They usually have a Goodwill Donation Box on their premises.

Please do not donate items that need to be thrown away. We need to be responsible for our own trash. Charities cannot afford to dispose of your trash.

Please pace yourself when you declutter. If you take babysteps you will not feel as violated. Just think how you would feel if someone came into your house and got rid of all your stuff. This is why I am not fond of those decluttering shows. Spend 15 minutes a day and before you know it your clutter will be gone.

It took me three months of doing a 27 Fling Boogie, three times a day; morning, afternoon, and evening. I had three rules during the three months of my decluttering: the clutter had to go to the car immediately, when I got to the charity resale shop, I could not go in and buy anything, and I was not allowed to go to yard sales.

It is the consistency of decluttering every day that is going to help you get rid of the CHAOS and Clutter.

You can do this!

FlyLady

Don’t Crash and Burn

Tools you need to Make Your Home Shine!