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.

I work with people all the time as a professional organizer setting up their offices and creating a filing system that works for them. As we clear clutter from drawers and other places we always create piles of documents that need shredding.

Shredding is easy to do if it is done a little at a time. As a professional organizer I recommend opening mail next to a shredder so it can be done sooner rather than later. If that doesn’t work keep piles to shred to a minimum so it is doable. When we put it off and think we will get to it later it becomes more than our small shredders can handle.

Here are two options for shredding:

•Call your bank or credit union and see if they have a shred day. In our community several do offer this service quarterly for free. Or if you are a member, some institutions allow people to bring papers in to be shredded any time.
•Office Max has partnered with Shred-it and you can take your documents to an OfficeMax retail location. They charge by the pound.

When you take your documents to be shredded there is no need to separate papers or remove paper clips, binder clips or staples. It is secure and once they have been shredded into confetti-sized pieces they are recycled for uses such as household paper products.

Do you have a favorite way to shred at your home to clear 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.

Our kitty Menina has Super Powers. Really! We call her Velcro Kitty because when we try to pick her up (and she doesn’t want to be picked up) she attaches her claws into the carpet and it is impossible to lift her. She’s so funny. When we lift her up, up comes her rear end, but not her front end too.

Do you ever feel when you try to clear clutter it has Super Power? Do you just get rid of one pile of clutter and then it reappears? Take a look at why your clutter has Super Powers and ask yourself the following questions.

Do you need containers to put things in? Do you need to label containers you already have so you know where to put things back after using them? Do you need to get some things out of your home to clear clutter—things you are hanging on to “just because”?

I challenge you this week to break the Super Power of clutter as you are trying to clear clutter in your home. Please let us know what you are doing to break the Super Powers of clutter. Let’s do this challenge for a week and see how many things each day we can do to get rid of clutter.

Today is the day I review a product that can help clear clutter. I asked my computer genius son-in-law if he had a good idea for an organizing product. He told me to do one on dup. This is such a great organizing tool I am going to get it for my computer.

It is a program that finds and removes TRUE duplicate files, searches duplicate file contents regardless of file name, deletes or moves duplicate files, clean up disk space and manage files better. It restores speed and performance, fixes system errors and crashes. Clears duplicate and junk files in the registry.

Price: Free to try (50-file trial); $26.00 to buy. Click here to clear clutter on your computer.

OR: I goggled duplicate finder and I came up with several choices—some that were free. As always the choice is yours. Do you use a duplicate finder now? Or have you ever heard of it before? I hadn’t. I am sure I can clear clutter from my computer files and I would like it to run faster and better so this is definitely something I will try.

Isn’t there another day? Do you sometimes feel like all you ever do is clear clutter and you never get to the end? I was helping my 9 year old daughter clean her room (several years ago) on a Monday evening and I was telling her where to put things and without realizing it I was working way to fast and wearing her out.

She looked at me and asked, “Isn’t there a Tuesday?” It took me a few seconds before I realized that she was asking if some of the things could be done another day.

When you clear clutter from your bedroom, kitchen or other rooms it doesn’t have to be done all at one time! Set a timer and only work for that amount of time. Then give yourself a break and come back to it later. (It could be 5 minutes later, the next day or in a couple of days). Keep your eye on your goal. By working slowly and steadily taking tortoise steps you will clear clutter from your home and life without the stress of doing it all at once.

I was so excited when I bought my new camera last May. It was just before I went on a trip to Hawaii. It was lighter than my old one and it took great photos the easy way—point and shoot. I didn’t have time to read the instruction book so I just filed it away (this allowed me to get rid of clutter right away!) to read when I got back. It was a great feeling to know exactly where I could find it when I had time to read and practice all the new things it offered.

One of the biggest problems I see as a professional organizer is paper clutter. No matter what room we start working in getting rid of clutter in the office is a biggie. How many hours have you spent of your life searching for an important piece of paper? It is so frustrating!

I have an organizing tip that will help with getting rid of paper clutter:

1.Have a landing place for mail. Use an attractive basket and place it the room where you want to sort your mail or if you know where it goes put it in your file right away, like I did.

Getting rid of clutter in your office can free up your time so you can have less frustration and more time to do what you really want to do. If you had an extra 15 minutes a day what would you do?

What do you like best about your living room? Is it that it is free and clear of clutter. We visited someone once and were shown into their living room. (While we waited for her husband). There was a beautiful asparagus fern that had shed a few needles. She said she loved this plant because it shed sometimes and that reminded her to vacuum the room. I sure don’t need a plant to remind me when it is time to vacuum or get rid of clutter.

I took a look at my living room and I was secure in my knowledge (or so I thought) thinking there was no clutter in my living room. That is until I looked in my piano bench. There I found a scarf, a partially eaten chocolate candy bar, a beautiful print, and an old newspaper. I declare clutter can seep into just about anyplace.

•If you have your TV and DVD player in the living room keep a basket for the purpose of holding the remote controls. You can always find them and it helps with clutter control.
•A night light with an auto sensor or an LED night light (I love mine—there is never a bulb to replace and they have hundreds of hours of light) is nice to have to prevent stubbing your toe in the dark if you or someone else is in this room at night.
•When you start to get rid of clutter; start from the inside and work out. If you have bookshelves, piano bench, or an armoire start there. I know as a professional organizer this saves a lot of time.

What have you found in your living room that you have been looking for?

What do you use your living room for? For some it is a family room, a den, or a rec room. It could be the space where you entertain, read, and watch TV or even plan your next vacation. You’ve probably decorated it with things you love.

However you use this room either as a place to relax or a hub of activity this week I will give you ideas to help you create an even more “livable” living room. Make it a goal to clear clutter in your living room during the month of February.

•Is your furniture comfortable but sturdy?
•Treat all fabrics with a stain resistant coating. This will help the fabrics stay bright and clean longer. Patterned fabrics will help camouflage spills. (Who says we spill?)
•Reduce clutter by using baskets for magazines, newspapers, children’s toys and catalogs.

What do you do to clear clutter in your living room?