Spring Cleaning Decluttering Tips {Video}

It's time for spring cleaning! But the very thought of cleaning can be overwhelming to many of us.

Maybe it's because we can't vacuum our floors until we pick up all the clothing on them first. Or perhaps you can't motivate yourself to dust because you know every surface in your home is covered with piles of stuff that you'd have to deal with. It might be that you are afraid to open that closet or cabinet door because you've been stuffing things in there all winter and you're worried it will all fall out.

Tired of all the clutter that's built up over the winter? Want to clear it out so you can free up your time and energy to enjoy the nicer weather and all the fun activities it brings with it?

If any of this sounds familiar, then it's time to declutter! Overwhelmed? I'm sharing tips today to help you get started :)

Decorating a Special Christmas Tree!

I had a wonderful opportunity this month to choose a charity that needed a Christmas tree and then decorate a tree donated by ChristmasTreeMarket.com.

I chose the Peel Family Shelter, a local shelter that provides safe, secure short-term accommodation to families that are in a housing crisis.  After a few discussions with staff members, we decided to decorate the tree at a time when the kids from the shelter could help.

Day 3: Getting Ready To Donate {Decluttering From A To Z}

This month I'm hosting the Decluttering From A To Z challenge.  It's a fun way to help you declutter items in your home that you may not have thought of decluttering.

Today we're talking about donations: why it's good to donate, what kinds of things you can donate, where you can donate, and how to make it easy to donate as you declutter.

Giving Tuesday and the 365 Items in 365 Days "Prize"

Have you heard about Giving Tuesday?  Apparently it's been around for a couple of years, but I only learned about it this year.  Giving Tuesday is the Tuesday after American Thanksgiving (and Black Friday and Cyber Monday).  It's a day for people around the world to give back and encourage others to give as well.

You can read more about Giving Tuesday here:

Giving Tuesday.org

Giving Tuesday - Wikipedia

Giving Tuesday.ca

And this video summarizes it really well:

Why am I telling you about Giving Tuesday?  And what does this have to do with the 365 Items in 365 Days decluttering challenge prize?

365 Items in 365 Days Challenge: August and September Update

How are you doing in the 365 Items in 365 Days Declutter Challenge?  It's the 266th day of the year today so if you started in January, your target is to have purged 266 items by now.  But don't worry if you've just started.  Just jump in!  And now is a great time to declutter now that the days are getting cooler and your family is spending more time indoors. 

Today I'll be sharing what I've been decluttering since my last update.  By doing these monthly updates I hope to give you ideas of things you can purge from your home.

365 Items in 365 Days Challenge: July Update

How are you doing in the 365 Items in 365 Days Declutter Challenge?  It's the 210th day of the year today so if you started in January, your target is to have purged 210 items by now.  But don't worry if you've just started.  Just jump in!  And now is a great time to declutter before summer ends and the fall schedules kick in.

Today I'll be sharing what I've been decluttering since my last update.  By doing these monthly updates I hope to give you ideas of things you can purge from your home.

Why I Gave Away My Wedding Gown

So... a couple of weeks ago I gave away my wedding dress.  Over 16 years after my wedding.  Why, you ask?  Good question!

I've seen discussions on other blogs or in other forums about what to do with wedding dresses and I know there are a LOT of different opinions on the subject!

Here are some of the most popular things to do with a wedding gown:

• Sell it right after the wedding.  Makes sense.  Then you don't have to store it.  And you can get back some of the money you paid for it.  And most newlyweds can use the extra cash :)
• Hold onto it for sentimental reasons.  It's such a special day and you felt so beautiful in your wedding dress that you can't imagine giving it away or selling it.  Many people feel they could never part with their wedding gown.
• Make Baptismal, Christening, or Dedication gowns out of it.  Or a pillow or little purse for the rings for a future son or daughter's wedding.  All beautiful ways to make those occasions that much more sentimental by incorporating part of your wedding day.
• Keep it hoping a future daughter will wear it on her wedding day.  Another way to make a wonderful day even more special.
• Donate it to a charity who gives gowns (or sells them for a lower cost) to people who can't afford to buy a dress.  You can do this with bridesmaid dresses or prom dresses too.

I didn't choose any of those options though.

Organizing Ideas for the Weekend #3

Time for another quick organizing tip!  This one comes courtesy of Lifehack.org.  In this post called "How to Get Rid of Things After You Declutter", Lori Thayer commends people for decluttering, but recognizes that sometimes we don't actually get the items we've purged out of our homes.  Boxes and bags can sit in garages or entryways or corners of a room, waiting until we do something with them.  But, today's tip is to just get rid of them!

My Daughter Has Too Much Clothing!

My daughter is 5 years old and has 2 dressers...yes, count 'em...1, 2!  Plus a closet that has her dressy clothes hanging up.  Seems like a lot for a child! 

She only started out with one dresser (the taller one) and I stored all the off season clothes and items that were too big for her in bins in the basement.  But when my husband and I bought new bedroom furniture for our master bedroom a few years ago, we decided to move our old dresser into her room.  It was part of a bedroom set that I had when I was growing up and I wanted my daughter to be able to use it too (she also has the bed and night table).  We talked about selling the other dresser but then decided her room was large enough to have both dressers and we liked the idea of getting the bins out of the basement and storing those clothes in the extra dresser.  So, she has 2 dressers. 

Garage Clean Out Part 1

For the last few weeks I've been "watching" other people clean out and organize their garages through the pictures they've shared on their blogs.  It inspired me to tackle our garage so I'm joining the Great Garage Clean Out Challenge (a few weeks late but better late than never right?!).  This challenge was designed to be completed over the course of 4 weeks (and 4 blogs) but I'm catching up so I'll do this in 2 blogs.

First of all, let me say that our garage was LONG overdue for a major clean out.  The amount of stuff that gets dumped there or accumulates there makes this an overwhelming area so we keep putting it off.  But no more!  Last weekend my husband and I took on the challenge.  Here's a "before" picture of the whole garage: