One type of clutter that takes up a lot of space in our house is stuff that needs to be trashed. Old receipts from grocery stores. Rubber bands for hair that are too stretched out. Bills from 2006. Random plastic parts to things that look important, but we’re not really sure what they go to.
Although this type of clutter is small, and seems insignificant, getting rid of it can make a huge difference. This is the type of clutter that gets in your way when you’re looking for other, important things. This is the type of clutter that you waste time thinking about because you think you might need it, but you’re really unsure why.
Of course, the solution is to get rid of the stuff. But this is the type of stuff that no one is interested in buying. This is stuff that needs to be trashed.
Hence the phrase: de-trashing the house.
Years ago I started de-trashing when I started working on FlyLady’s program to get my house in order. FlyLady recommends that you throw out 27 things every day. She calls it a 27-Fling-Boogie. Each day, you go around with a bag, and trash 27 things. Then you actually throw it into the trash.
The number of things that you get rid of really doesn’t matter. What is important, is that you are getting rid of stuff each day. Pick a number, and then get rid of that many pieces of trash each day. Move quickly as you pick up the trash, and don’t spend too much time thinking about whether or not to keep it. If you see something, and you know you’re going to have to make a decision about it, just skip it and move on to the items that are easier.
Here’s a picture of the stuff I trashed today:
Leave a Reply