Win a Book and Help Me Organize!by Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 23 Feb 2008 07:34 AM Just to make things a little interesting around here, and to offer inspiration to me in my de-cluttering and organization efforts in my own home, I thought I would run a little content for all of you. Here is what I propose. For the next week, come and leave a comment here on this particular blog post with your best de-cluttering or organizational idea. It could be any idea at all, from where to store your kitchen supplies to how to live simply. Any and all ideas are welcome, as long as you can recommend them. You can also just leave a comment offering support. During the time of this contest, from today, February 23rd through next Saturday, March 1st, anyone who leaves a nice comment will be entered in the contest. It will be a random drawing. I'll put everyone's name in a bowl and ask one of my kids to reach in and pick a name. The winning person of the contest will get to choose from among my collection of de-cluttered books. Don't worry, there are no text books here, just everything from popular novels to Christian books to parenting books. I will happily mail the chosen book anywhere in North America. So far, I am up to 25 books. I want to make sure that the winner has a good selection to choose from and doesn't question my taste, so that will serve as inspiration to de-clutter beloved books that I might have otherwise held on to for a while, as well as books that I know I just won't ever have a chance to give the attention that they deserve. I may even delve into the DVDs and VHS movies. And now here is a quick guideline. Please don't post a comment promoting your product or service. The editors here are pretty good at deleting that sort of stuff, so it won't count as a contest entry. Thanks for helping me out and good luck! Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here. Related Articles: Penicillin: Keeping Clutter Off Flat Surfaces Learn more about Mary Ann Romans  Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat. Relevanthome tags baby | christmas | Kids | family | ideas | weight loss | holidays | parenting | relationships | children User Comments  deedee1231 (4030) 23 Feb 2008 04:37 PMI am homeschooling four children and I am an evening student at the University, and as a result, my home is far from clutter free. I have noticed that most of my clutter seems to come from the children's clothing, so I like to keep a small trash bag in the laundry room. When I do the laundry anything that is getting too small or too damaged to keep goes straight from the dryer into my trash bag, and then when the bag is full I take the bag to a nearby thrift store that accepts donations. It seems to help. jonesx6 (1606) 24 Feb 2008 06:16 AMMy best advice when decluttering a certain area, when in doubt, throw it out. If you haven't used the item in a year or so ask yourself if you really need it. I find myself never using the item that I shoved into the closet last year. lol When my house is a total mess and I feel totally overwhelmed I start in one room and clean it up until its finished. Starting in the kitchen is were I always begin. Have a great Sunday! Laura  pamperedpeterson (13238) 25 Feb 2008 07:39 AMShine your sink!! LOL I got that advice from FlyLady, and it really seems to help. Just like jonesx6 said, when the kitchen (or even just your sink) is clean, it really makes the rest seem easy. I also like to use decorative baskets. My entertainment center is always getting crammed full of odds and ends, so I use baskets that take up the entire shelf. That way, it's easy to grab one and sort, or when company is coming, just "fluff the top" LOL and it looks nice.  Mary Ann Romans (26886) 27 Feb 2008 09:31 AMThat is great advice. I always feel so overwhelmed when the kitchen is dirty. dixiegirl (5) 27 Feb 2008 09:50 AMHow about decluttering and making money? While cleaning and sorting through your closets, cabinets, drawers etc. keep a box handy. Put in all unwanted, unused items. Then you plan a garage/yard sale to get rid of anything that is no longer welcome in your home. After the sale you can take anything that is left to your local charity or freecycle it. "One man's junk is another man's treasure". You have decluttered and made money. Mary Ann Romans (26886) 27 Feb 2008 09:53 AMThat is a great idea dixiegirl. You are a woman after my own heart. Be sure to check out the frugal blog. it has a lot of ideas for saving money. scrappingsteph (10) 27 Feb 2008 11:24 AMi use my bookshelves to keep me organized. i use small plastic containers or the bags from victoria secret to organize whats on my shelf. ill put all craft supplies in one bag/box, all stray pens and pencils go in another. then i use 2 to 3 different laundry baskets to sort my laundry. i have one for dark clothes, one for whites, and one for everything else. that way when it comes time to wash them i dont have to waste my time sorting through everything. and anything i find that has been sitting around for a while i list on freecycle so that someone else can enjoy it, rather than throwing it away. EMTMom2163 (5) 27 Feb 2008 01:18 PMI found that my kitchen counters and tables were where I tended to get the most clutter, so I took one basket and placed it on the kitchen table to collect mail and everything else that lands on the table and counters. Now it's all in one place and the size of the basket limits how much clutter I amass. For the kids' toys, I use see-through storage bins so that the toys are contained, yet we can see into the bins without removing everything when we're looking for that 1 special toy. Mary Ann Romans (26886) 27 Feb 2008 04:26 PMGreat ideas! Containers seem to be the theme! do you all label the containers or have them all assorted? Penny Steed (336) 27 Feb 2008 11:36 PMOrganization is a fettish of mine. I swear by the clear bin drawers for my boys to store their toys in. The best part is that I can put all like items together and they are not dumping out a toy box to get to all of thier cars, transformers, or choice of the hour. To help them is putting things away, I not only labled each drawer but also put a picture of the item on it as well. So for legos, I have a picture of legos with the word spelled out underneath it. Another place that tends to clutter up fast, with my boys, at least, is the bathroom. They are always insisting on having toys with them while taking a bath. No big, I now have a plastic basket and what toys they want to keep in the bathroom must fit in the basket. So after bathtime, I put the basket in the tub and the toys simply drain and dry in the tub, no water mess everywhere. I have another smaller basket that I keep their shampoo, body wash, and bubbles in so that I can put it up after bathtime. If not, I am buying everything in bulk each week and bubbles flood the bathroom. For my bathroom, I have a basket that I keep on my vanity to store my hair barretts, brush and small items. I then have a glass (that goes with the bathroom) that I store my make-up brushes in as well as my tube type makeup. It is both neat and decorative. Tote bags are a great place to store extra bags and purses, especially if space is tight. Just put all of them in one big bag and when you need your certain purse, you know where to find it. A big decluttering tool of mine is to sort my mail each day. Junk goes directly into the thrash can, while bills go into a wicker basket that I store all of my bill paying things in. Nice and handy not to mention coralled. I have tons more ideas, just ask away. Mary Ann Romans (26886) 29 Feb 2008 05:31 AMYou all have such great ideas! Only one more day to go--anyone else out there? Sherry Holetzky (11404) 29 Feb 2008 08:10 AMLots of great ideas. Looks like picking a winner will be tough! :) scrappingsteph (10) 01 Mar 2008 04:08 PMyes, i label all my containers. for example, i have one for all charged batteries, one for crafts, one for mail that i am keeping, one for marker, pens, etc. that way it is easy to find things Mary Ann Romans (26886) 01 Mar 2008 04:31 PMThanks everyone for all of the great tips. One of my kids will be picking the winner tomorrow AM! Mary Ann Romans (26886) 03 Mar 2008 06:19 AMYou win Penny Steed! Congrats. I'll be sending you a PM with a list of the "prizes" to choose among. Thanks! Community Tags contest, free, home, win Discuss this article
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