I came across these movie Zingers from the silver screen and because we have just watched the Academy Awards or at least heard about them I thought it would be fun to quote some Zingers. And then because I am a professional organizer always thinking of getting rid of clutter I have come up with some of my own.

“Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a d—“—Clark Gable in gone with the Wind (1939) OR
“Frankly, my dear, I am going to get rid of clutter”.

“I’ll be back”. –Arnold S in the Terminator (1984) OR
“I’ll be back…as soon as I get rid of clutter”.

“Show me the money”!–Cuba Gooding Jr. in Jerry Mcguire (1996) OR
“Show me the trash bags so I can get rid of clutter”.

“After all, tomorrow is another day!—Vivien Leigh in gone With the Wind (1939) OR
“After all, tomorrow is another day to reduce clutter”.

“I see dead people”—Haley Osment in The Sixth Sense (1999) OR
“I see it is time to clear clutter”.

What do you think? Will my “zingers” endure over the next 50 decades? Have fun this week getting rid of clutter.

When I was 4 years old my mother taught Home-eck in high school. (I don’t know how to spell it). She was one of those dedicated teachers who worked early and stayed late. I stayed with a woman I called Granny Grover all week and my mom To stop me from running away she told me there was a boogie man who lived in the would come and get me to go home on the weekend.

I wanted to be with my mom even though Granny Grover was someone I liked. I started running away and Granny would have to come and find me walking along the road headed home which was about 15 miles away.

ditch bank who would come out and get me. From then on it kept me from running away.

Do you tell yourself stories that keep you from getting rid of clutter? Do you make up stories such as:

•I can’t get rid of this because I may need this someday.
•I can’t get rid of this because it was a gift.
•I don’t know where to put it.
•My house is too small to organize.
•It will just get cluttered again so why bother.

If you honestly do want to get rid of clutter, get rid of the boogie man stories you tell yourself and clear clutter one tortoise (tiny) step at a time.

These photos say it all. I worked side by side with a mom for 16 hours on this bedroom. (Not all on the same day). And then the girl’s mom worked an additional 5 hours alone. She remarked she was surprised how long it took to organize. It does take time to organize and clear clutter.

As you are getting rid of clutter keep this in mind:
Before:

After:

•Getting rid of clutter and tidying up are two different things entirely.
•Don’t try to do it all at once, work a little at a time. On this bedroom we did 4 hours at one time. (A combined time of 8 hours each day).
•Find homes for everything.
•If you don’t know where you want to put something take time to decide where it goes before moving on to some other place.
•Put things that don’t belong in the room in a BE (belongs elsewhere) basket to be removed later.
•Have containers (label plastic bags) for trash, donate and to sell as you are getting rid of clutter.

There are other plans for this room such as painting the walls buying new carpet and painting the dresser and bed. Now that we have gotten rid of the clutter Phase II can begin. The girl whose bedroom this is is thrilled and is now motivated to get rid of clutter rather than letting it pile up.

In the book Alice in Wonderland Alice falls down a hole. When I tried reading this book I felt so closed in when I read this that I never finished reading it. Silly I know but that’s what happened.

When Alice was in the hole she came to two roads and sitting there was a Cheshire cat. She asked the cat which road to take and he asked her where she wanted to go. She told him she didn’t know. The cat’s response to this was then it didn’t matter what road she took.

What a wise cat! When we decide we are getting rid of clutter we need to know where we want to go in order to get rid of clutter. How many times have you picked up something and then put it down again, picked it up and put it down again?

Yeah, I know– MANY times over and over. We all do it. When getting rid of clutter decide what you want your outcome to be. Decide where you will put things. If you don’t know, take a minute and make a decision and then put the item in its home instead of picking it up and putting it down MANY times.

What road are you going to take? The getting rid of clutter road? Or just shuffling things around and ending up with more clutter road?

We have been watching the Olympics in Vancouver. Canadians can be proud of the fantastic Olympics they are hosting.

We were watching an interview of a skier who had flown down the hill at speeds higher than I drive my car. The reporter asked what was going through her mind as she was tearing around the curves. (Don’t cha just love some of the questions they come up with?) I know I would be thinking, “please let me live and I promise I’ll never do this again”.

The skier basically said they have no fear. This is what makes them champions. Being the professional organizer that I am; I know some people are afraid when it comes to getting rid of clutter.

They say:

•But what if I need this in 6 1/6 years or longer?
•But I paid good money for it—even though I don’t like it and I never use it.
•I Might miss it. (Might? Might?)
•But it was a gift.
•I’ll make the decision later.

Do you have a fear of getting rid of clutter for any of the reasons above? It is healthy and it will make you happy to let go of clutter rather than living in the future or in the past. Have no fear and get rid of clutter today!

Show N’ Share Tuesday is a living room. Don’tcha just love before and after photos?

As a professional organizer I always say when we are getting rid of clutter things get worse before they get better! (And isn’t that just the truth?) Obviously we were getting rid of clutter in this room. In the living room we went through every book and made piles for donate, sell and keep. Then we put the books back on the shelves. The baskets look nice as they add another dimension to the shelves and paper backs can also be stored there or cords of one kind or another if they go to electronics in the room.

Getting rid of clutter also meant removing things that didn’t belong in this room. Things such as children’s toys they ride and magazines that are old and never read.

It is exhilarating getting rid of clutter and creating a room where you can welcome your guests and have a relaxing place to read.

As you know I was all in a panic at not being able to find that elusive quilt block. Halleluiah I found it! I even remember exactly why I put it where I put it.

I had placed it by the side of the filing cabinet so it would be almost in plain sight and it would remind me to work on it and also I foolishly thought I could find it fast.

The only thing I can console myself with is in the process of looking I was also getting rid of clutter. I reminded myself that everything has a home and when not being used the item needs to live in their own place or home. If I had made a home for this block it would have lived with my other fabric which was about 14 ½ inches away. (Yet hours away as I hunted for it).

As a professional organizer getting rid of clutter is important to me and those I work with. It makes us feel liberated from stuff, happy, feeling in control and it gives us a sense of peace. I can tell you hunting for something lost has the reverse effect.

How do you feel when you get rid of clutter? Do you miss it?

I have lost a very important quilt block. So…for Show N’ Share Tuesday I decided I would search every drawer and cupboard in my sewing room until I found it. In the process I was able to get rid of clutter. I started by taking everything out in a couple of drawers. I sorted and had a great time as I made piles for donate, trash and belongs else ware.

This was so much fun—there I go again having fun getting rid of clutter. The reason it was fun was because it helped me downsize getting rid of things I don’t need. And it refreshed my memory as to what I do have.

As a professional organizer I have been teaching classes on downsizing to seniors but in reality we can all use downsizing whether we are planning on moving or staying in our own homes.

Sad to say I haven’t found the block and I only have one more place to look. I’ll keep you posted.

A man who watched my web show asked me how my book Go Organize! is different from other organizing books on the market. I thought that was a terrific question and I am sharing my answer with you as well.

1. I teach a simple 3 step system for getting rid of clutter. You’ll fall in love with this system to get organized and to keep you organized.
2. I wrote it as if I were a friend working straightforward with the reader every step of the way.
3. Many people can see the forest but not the trees. In other words they can see they have clutter but don’t know how to get rid of it. I arm you with vital insights on how to get rid of clutter.
4. There are tons of stories which are fun and interesting and instructive all at the same time.
5. The colors, graphics and size of the book are wonderful. The colorful pages are energizing. The size is perfect to carry everywhere and can be tucked into a purse.
6. It rouses your senses as you go from a dark environment to a lights on environment. I show and guide you how to do this.
7. There are much-needed tips and tricks to get rid of clutter.

Oh, and every chapter recaps and gives you the facts you need to keep organized.

In all the places you have been in the world where would you revisit? My choice would be Italy because of all the beautiful things there and I liked the “old world feeling” in the Cinque Terra.

I am not heading to Italy any time soon but I did revisit my “pantry”. It is more like a glorified cupboard it is so small. is easy when revisiting organized cupboards, closets etc. about every 3 to 5 months to get rid of clutter that has found its Clutter controlway into these spaces.

Because I do try to keep the pantry organized there were just small things I had to do to get rid of clutter. Some of the cans that I had too many of for this space I took to the storage room. I put all soups back together. I rearranged the bottom shelves so they could hold items that belong there.

I tossed some old cereal and checked expiration dates. Just by spending 7 to 10 minutes clutter control was so easy to do as it hadn’t gotten out of control.

What is your favorite secret to clutter control?