How To Delegate When Getting Rid Of Clutter Using 9 Vital Tips

Learn the art of delegation to have fun and to save you time and energy when getting rid of clutter.

The neighborhood kids wanted to go to different homes and do a service project. We were asked to come up with a project that teens could do in our home. As I thought about what they could do I crossed off many ideas as I thought they couldn't do them in the time allotted. Or that the project wouldn't be done good enough. (That was silly; I could always do it over). The teens went to 20 different homes and spent 15 minutes at each home. They had a lot of fun and it was energizing to have 5 of them in our home working as fast as they could so they could move on to the next home. I assigned them windows to wash and they did a great job.

This taught me a valuable lesson. Delegation is a good thing. Getting rid of clutter in your home is a lot easier and faster when others are helping and feel responsible.

As you look at the strengths of your children let them do what they are good at because it is easy for them and is a confidence booster. Little by little they can be taught other skills.

My daughter was in girl scouts and her leader asked her what her favorite job was to do around the house. She told her it was to clean the bathroom. Her leader was amazed as she detested doing that job. We are all different and each of us has different strengths and likes.

Delegating can mean hiring a professional. Professional organizers are pros at getting rid of clutter. They are objective and can help you decide what is clutter and what isn't clutter.

Often it saves time and money to hire someone to complete a job. My husband tried to fix a leak under the bathroom sink. He spent several hours on it, went to Home Depot and bought parts and was tired, disappointed and stumped when several hours and many knuckle scrapes later it was still leaking.

I called a plumber who is an expert at fixing leaks and he had it fixed in all of 20 minutes. It would have been cheaper both money wise and time wise (not to mention ego wise) to have hired the expert in the first place. Give yourself permission to get help when you need it.

In the back, back yard--that is the over grown space behind our 'real' yard that has grass and everything--we needed help to tear out weeds, over grown grape bushes and stuff. I hired a couple of teens for the day. They were thrilled with the money they earned and they sounded like they were having a good time. They were able to exercise their muscles and work on their tans at the same time. The 'back-back' yard never looked so good when they were done.

Getting rid of clutter can be a great perk for everyone in the home. As a professional organizer I work with people getting rid of clutter all the time. It has never failed every time the person I am working with finds something they have been searching for.

When getting rid of clutter, especially if it is paper clutter be sure to look at every single piece of paper as there may be valuable papers hiding with the junk papers.

I am always telling my daughter... "If you will do this then I will do that for you". In other words barter with your family or friends when they have a skill you don't have or one you want to learn. This benefits both of you.

When getting rid of clutter, ask for help. This sounds so easy to do but sometimes we make up stories in our mind as to why we can't ask for help. We often think our family members should just see what needs to be done and should do it. It doesn't work this way. I recommend teaching our family and telling them our goals and asking for their help in accomplishing any project.