Organizing Clutter

One of the reasons we have clutter is because of the emotional attachments we have to some of our possessions. Some of us are still holding onto the rock our child picked up off the ground and gave us as a “present.” Here are some great solutions to emotional attachment clutter from Womansday magazine:

Think Big – When you’re tempted to keep everything your child brings home, try this visualization exercise – Imagine how the volume of stuff will grow until your child is 18. After picturing the mountain of “child craft” you will be less tempted to save everything and save only the truly worthy.

Scan it – Use a scanner to create digital files of paper ephemera, like letters; toss originals. For bulky items, take digital snapshots and compile into a photobook at blurb.com

Re-purpose favorites - One woman hung onto a beloved maternity dress for 13 years. (Erma Bombeck says if you don’t save at least one box baby clothes you will immediately become pregnant no matter how old you are. I’m sure the same goes for maternity clothes) An organizer suggested the woman frame a swatch of fabric and a few other keepsakes in a shadow box.

I have been saving all my kids t-shirts from activities (camp, band etc.) and plan to have a quilt made by someone other than me (since I don’t sew well) for each of them. You can also make this memory quilt with baby clothes, college sweatshirts etc. The online crafts store Ticche & Bee has a kit you can order if you want to try this yourself (kits run $35.00 and up). Ticche and Bee will also do the sewing for you for an additional cost.

See our sister site Fasthowto.com and see our post on How to File Paperwork Faster

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