Discover 8 Ways to Painlessly Declutter Your Home and Car

Summer is winding down—although you won’t know it by the unseasonably high temperatures outside but the calendar says it is. And State Fairs are blooming all over America. Fairs are so much fun. We just attended the first day of our state fair. We were eating our chicken in a pocket for lunch at some tables under the shade and I couldn’t help but notice all of the decluttering going on. There were people constantly picking up the littlest scraps of paper and throwing them away. I started looking around and everything was so clean.

They sure know how to declutter—a little at a time and before it builds up. In our homes when we see things out of place, take a second right then and put it in its home. Is the problem that it is homeless? Then make a home for it where it can live when it’s not being used. This makes decluttering painless and oh so quick.

At the fair we love going into all the buildings where they sell stuff you can’t get in stores and all those junky little things with the slick sales people that make us think we can’t live without whatever they are selling. (You know what I mean). And then we get it home and use it once and forget about it and it just ends up as clutter. So another way to declutter is to enjoy things at the store we think we have to have instead of buying it on impulse. If you walk away and are still thinking about it later it is an indication that it just might not end up as clutter and could be useful to you.

One thing I did buy was one of those little thingies that keep brown sugar soft, I love mine that I have in my sugar and I am going to use this one for my marshmallows. When I buy marshmallows I always plan on half of them going hard, but no longer with this little thingie.

The fair wouldn’t have been complete without watching the guy demonstrating the chamois. I figure I save a lot of money by not cleaning my house (there are a plethora of cleaning products at the fair) and not washing my car. I say that tongue in cheek, but I ask you how many cleaning products does one home need?

Even things other than knick knacks can become clutter if you never use them, don’t have a place to store the extra ones, or don’t like the product. To declutter cleaning products look at them and ask these questions: what ones do you never use and don’t intend on using and do you have a place for them. Don’t get sucked into buying them in the first place and give away the ones you have now and will never use.

The guy selling the great car organizer that is used to declutter the trunk of the car or the back of a van wasn’t there this year. That is one of the better things sold at the fair I thought. Keeping a container in the back of your vehicle where you can keep extra water, a blanket, a first aid kit, and umbrellas; this is a great way to declutter. There is an organized place for everything so things don’t become cluttered.

We had fun at the fair but we were in for a rude awakening when we got to our car and tried to start it. It was as dead as a door nail. (Where did that expression come from)? After about 30 minutes and asking several people for jumper cables a nice man helped us. WHEW—he was a blessing. He had jumper cables and took the time to jump our car. By the way it is wise to keep jumper cables in your car…not in your garage if you know what I mean. Those would be the perfect thing to keep in the container in the trunk instead of hanging them up in the garage. When decluttering your car remember to put back the essentials.

Decluttering is as easy as pie when it is done a little at a time and by not buying things we don’t use, need, or love.

Marilyn is a professional organizer and invites you to visit her website www.marilynbohn.com, She is a sought after public speaker and author who is passionate about teaching ways to organize your life and how to reduce clutter. She works with women in their homes and offices. On her web site she teaches you to get rid of clutter by using her Lights On Organizing System. She provides practical information on how to declutter your home, office and life. In her blogs, articles, and videos she gives timely tips on how to clear clutter and how to declutter everything in your home and office. She is the author of a book called Go Organize! Conquer clutter in three simple steps which will be in major bookstores in December 2009.