The quote today is from Wolfgang who is a professor at the University of Vermont according to Wikipedia.

Clearing clutter is hard to do all if we have the mindset that it all has to ALL be done right now!

When in truth when we do it a little at a time we don’t get burnt out and we look forward to clearing clutter another day. I’ve said it before and I am saying it again—set your timer when organizing and when it dings take a break and pat yourself on the back for what you have accomplished.

Is your arm tired from reaching back and patting yourself on the back? I hope so because I want you to constantly praise your efforts to clear clutter.

This is just a fragment of the road we hike up before we take off up a narrow trail on the mountain. You can’t tell it in this photo but the green leaves have come out at different times. The mountain didn’t all of a sudden turn green. Each different type of tree turned green in its own good time and then other trees turned green until the entire mountain is covered in beautiful green trees and grasses.

We are like the greens on this mountain. When we are getting rid of clutter we work at it a little at a time and we get one area organized, then another and another. What a beautiful lesson from Mother Nature, to get rid of clutter a little at a time until we reach our reward of an organized home and life.

This flower represents our reward for getting rid of clutter—it is beautiful and happy spaces. (Does anyone know if this is Utah’s state flower–the sego lily?)
What is your favorite happy space? One of mine is cuddling up in bed with the electric blanket on under the flannel sheets reading a good book.

A faithful blog reader from the UK, Alastair Street, sent me this idea on a way to get rid of clutter once and for all (is that possible?) in your closet.

“I just wanted to share an idea that one of my friends gave me: Sometimes your wardrobe can be full of clothes that you never wear, simply take an empty hanger and hang it on the very right side of the wardrobe. Then when you have worn an item from within the wardrobe, you hang it on the other side of the empty hanger.

Then when (it) comes Summer or Winter any clothes that are on the left side of the hanger you can rid of. I have gotten rid of loads of clothes this way and it is effective to know what you actually wear”.

Thank you Alastair for sharing this with us! I love when others pass on their great ideas—don’t you? This is something I have never heard of or thought about before. Try this clever idea on how to get rid of clutter and let us know if it worked for you.

Do you have a favorite way to get rid of clutter in your closet?

His wife was on some kind of a diet and he noticed she always put a lemon in the microwave before squeezing it. He asked her why she did this and she said because she would get more juice out of it. He thought that was ridiculous so he did an experiment.

He took a lemon and carefully cut it in half. One half he heated and one he didn’t. He then squeezed the lemons into separate glasses. (Is that proper grammar?) There was the exact amount of lemon juice in each glass—one half having been heated and half one cold. His wife’s comment was “we must not have heated it high enough”. That is too funny.

What beliefs about getting rid of clutter are you holding on to? Getting rid of clutter is not rocket science, but sometimes we hold on to beliefs that would make it seem like it is—such as, it is too hard, I don’t have the time, I don’t know where to put things, I can’t put anything away because then I can’t find it. Do any of those sound familiar? Is it time to update your beliefs about getting rid of clutter?

We have been using ribbons galore around our home because we have been crafting things for Valentine’s. My ribbon drawer (one of 2) got all messed up and scrambled.

You can see I like using plastic sacks to corral and contain which makes clutter control ever so easy.
All it took was a couple of minutes to put the ribbons back where they belonged rather than leaving them all a tangled mess to deal with later. (That was actually my first thought).

Setting goals makes clutter control easier than pie because we know what we want and it is easier to work towards something rather than away from something.

One of the women shared the way she gets rid of clutter is to pick and chose what project or place is most important to her and to let the rest go until she has time to tackle it. She doesn’t feel sorry for herself or beat herself up for having clutter. She is super busy as a mother, graduate student and wife along with all the other things we as women tackle. Oh and she is also 7 months pregnant with a high risk pregnancy.

I thought what a great way to clear clutter—be choosy in the projects or places to clear clutter. When that is done, move on to another area.  And let go of the guilt for having clutter in the first place—life happens ya know.

That is our Monday challenge.  Thanks for sharing this idea with us Amy. What area are you going to tackle this week? I am going to continue to work on my in box on my desk.

We have ordered from this company for years and have always been delighted with their service and gorgeous quality of the jewelry we have received from them.

I ordered a unique mother’s day gift for someone special but I have to keep it a secret as I know they read my blog. I will tell you about the delivery and packaging. It came in a box within a box promptly on the day it was scheduled to arrive which I was very happy about. You can also choose to have a gift card included. The gift I received is gorgeous and unique and I can’t wait to give it to them.

I actually ordered two gifts and the one is back ordered. They sent me an email saying they were refunding the $13.00 postage for this item because of any inconvenience this caused me. That has never happened with any other company before.

Red Envelope isn’t just about gifts for mom it is a wonderful resource for any occasion, men’s, baby , kids, jewelry, and home and garden. Check it out, you too may fall in love with a new site or rekindle an old friendship.

This product is cheap (I don’t even feel like I have to use the word inexpensive) as you can buy them at the dollar store for—that’s right one dollar.

I was working with a friend who was just moving into a home and we were organizing her closet. She had several scarfs but no scarf hanger. All of a sudden she said “I know what we can use—shower curtain rings”. And we did.

I think this is a clever product to use to hang scarves from. They can also be hung on the closet rod its self if you have enough room in your closet. What a simple yet effective way to clear your clutter. If you have a drawer full of scarves that are all scrambled you know what kind of clutter I am talking about. Or you can’t find just the one you need when you want it.

How do you store/organize your scarves?