Mom Management Home: 3 Steps to Dig out of Clutter

The following post is taken from imom.  Check out more great articles here.


Expert organizer, Sandra Felton, says you can stop the clutter cycle.  How?  Start with these three steps.
How to Begin
Sure, you feel overwhelmed. That's the way we all start. Let's simplify this into three powerful steps. You can start out easy, but you do need to start by doing something every day. If you follow these steps consistently, you will notice that little by little your life and your house will change.

Step One

Make a strong take-off every day. A good take-off sets the tone of the day. When you:

WAKE UP JUMP  UP MAKE UP EAT UP WASH UP BRUSH UP DRESS UP LOOK UP

set a time don't lie in bed, there's a wonderful world waiting the bed immediately, automatically something nutritious bathe body or wash face take care of your teeth completely from head to toe including hair, shoes and makeup of some kind on your face somewhere during the day you need to turn your ear upward to God

And any other steps you may need to add to your flight plan, like TAKE A WALK. They don't have to end with UP.

Step Two

Change habits one at a time. Let's start with The 30-Second Rule. "If it takes thirty seconds or less to do a job, do it immediately." This applies to putting up packages when you come in, putting the scissors (or whatever) back where you got them, hanging up the clothes you take off and other things like that.
The second powerful habit is this: when you get something out, put it back — and here's the kicker — right away.
Remember STOW AS YOU GO!
Commitment to these two habits will change the condition of your house immediately.

Step Three

Attack the mess — bless the house! We don't attack the house. We attack the mess that is hiding the wonderful possibilities of our house. Use one of the two methods below to get rid of the junk and organize the house.
Mt. Vernon Method
Get three BankerBoxes™, about 12 X 18 inches. Label each box, GIVE AWAY, THROW AWAY, STORE SOMEPLACE ELSE. Starting at the front door, go around the inside periphery of the room from drawer, to cupboard, to nook or cranny emptying the contents of things that don't belong in that area into one of these boxes. Organize neatly what does belong in that area and move on to the next area.
Mt. Vesuvius Method
Use if your house is a shambles, your marriage is in trouble because of it, you fear the health department or your landlord, your adult children are distraught about your place, or you face some similar emergency. Like Mt. Vesuvius, this is a quick and powerful method. It avoids the hang-up of decision making and clears the clutter quickly. What do I do with all of this stuff?
Go here for details on the Mt. Vesuvius Method.

Used with permission from Sandra Felton.