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I’m going to admit something right now, I am a saver. Whether it’s for sentimental reasons, because “I’ll use it within the next year”, or even just because I don’t want to throw it out. I’m the saver in the family, my mom isn’t, which lead me to want to declutter and clean up the basement for her. In our basement, there’s a storage area, a pantry area, and laundry area. Since CA and I are still house searching, all of the gifts we received from my bridal shower are in my house, mostly in the attic but the overflow is in my basement and a closet in the office/Thor’s room. Even though I can’t do much about the gifts, I do know that I can do something about the accumulation of things I’ve kept, as well as organizing the house things we have in the basement.
Work Smarter, Not Harder:
Whether you’re alone or have help, work in sections, and set up areas for things to be put. Trash, Donate, Re-Organize, and things to be put in bins or space saver bags. It can be hard being organized will rearranging and essentially making a larger mess with taking things apart. When I was going through everything I made piles of everything, and even though I felt like I was making a bigger mess, the piles helped me put things away quickly.
Racks/Shelves:
These are a huge space saver, we have shelves over our oil tank, and 2 metal shelving units that hold household items as well as bridal shower gifts. Things can be easily seen and it’s much more accessible than having items piled up. We have one shelving unit that has home items, basically an overflow from our small kitchen. It’s things that we use occasionally, but it’s perfect because if I need that double boiler for melting chocolate I know exactly where it is.
Keep Seasonal Items Organized:
By seasonal, I mean both season and holiday and if they can be combined into one box or area do that. I put them in order of what season/holidays are coming up next. Since we’re in summer, fall and Halloween would be up next, and so on.
Also, go through your seasonal/holiday items. I know for us, some things can be weathered, especially if they’re outdoors, or from the sun they can become faded. In addition, older items can simply just fall apart. Make sure all of the lights work if they’re in good condition. If not, it may possibly be time to throw them out.
Have you used it in the past year?:
Biggest question ever, amirite?! If the item has sentimental value, put it in an area that’s not to be thrown out and keep other sentimental items with it (this will come in handy with the next step). If you haven’t used it in the past year, and you don’t want to get rid of it, put it in a separate bin or area and mark it, so you know that within the next 6 months to a year you need to use it. If it’s time to get rid of it, see if you’re able to donate it or pass it on to someone who will use it.
Bins/Space Saver bags:
These are a huge help. On the shelves and even on the floor we have bins for everything. If you have bins, label them, it doesn’t need to be fancy, it can be masking tape and a sharpie (like what I did). Just make sure to say what’s on the inside of that bin, so when you’re looking for something, you don’t need to open all of the bins and look inside. I have a large bin for all of my shoes, right now it has all of my winter shoes inside of it. We also have a bin for all of the outdoor Christmas lights.
Space Saver bags are great for blankets and bedding that isn’t being used. Since we’re short on space, we use space saver bags to store our blankets and comforters. They’ll take up less space and we’ll know exactly what blankets are in what. If you want you can label them too, particularly if you have multiple people in your house.
One of the hardest parts of decluttering is actually getting rid of things, and when you finally do get rid of things, putting them in a garbage bag that breaks can be an extra hassle. I know that after decluttering, the last thing I want to do is deal with a broken garbage bag or one that has a hole in it. After picking up the Glad® Advanced Protection Trash Bags at my local Walmart, my woe of broken trash bags is over. The Glad® Advanced Protection Trash Bags have superior strength, with the RipGuard™ technology to prevent rips and tears. Which means no matter the shape of what your putting in the bag, the bag will hold! #Winning! I can’t wait to put these Glad® Advanced Protection Trash Bags through the torture test when we have a BBQ this summer. You won’t have to worry about leaks or a rip in the bottom with the LeakGuard® Technology and Reinforced Bottom. Pick up the Glad® Advanced Protection Trash Bags in your local Walmart and put them to your own torture test. Whether the test is decluttering your basement or even your entire house, or just a weekend party. The Glad® Advanced Protection Trash Bags can handle any torture test you throw at them, check out the torture test >> here << you’ll be amazing what these bags went through!
