Clean Mama Clutter Challenge Archives - Clean Mama

How to Declutter Your Digital Life

Clean Mama — Wed, 29 Jan 2020 06:00:30 +0000

It’s the last week of The Clutter Challenge (hooray!) and we’re going to finish up with paper clutter, office clutter, and digital clutter. Don’t worry if you aren’t at this point yet – it isn’t a race – do your best and finish strong, even if it takes you a little longer.

If you haven’t printed out the Declutter Order Checklist, make sure you keep reading and do that. Before you do anything this week, it might be helpful for you to figure out when you’re going to do the tasks. I use my Homekeeping Planner but you can write it on the checklist, in a calendar, on a scratch sheet fo paper. I find it really helpful to block out when I’m going to do specific tasks. This helps me break it down into manageable tasks and steps and so I don’t get overwhelmed.

Throughout the month of January we will be following this free printable – Clean Mama’s Declutter Order (also found in The Clutter Handbook) as our guide. I’ll be posting on Mondays with a couple bonus posts for the week ahead. Make sure you’re following me on Instagram for behind the scenes progress in our home!

If you’re ready for decluttering but not quite sure where to start, I have a simple method to make a lot of progress in a short period of time. Ready?

Here are your steps to a decluttered entertainment and kid stuff:

First things first, make sure your declutter station is nearby and go through everything if you can.
KEEP – Love it, need it, or use it
TOSS – Recycle or trash
DONATE – Don’t love it, need it or use it but someone else could
RELOCATE – Still love it, use it or need it, but it doesn’t belong here

I used the labels from The Clutter Handbook and attached them with a clothespin to these laundry baskets from IKEA.

Work in this order and assess what you have – clear what you can and declutter ruthlessly to find your way to a decluttered home. As you are doing this portion of decluttering, challenge yourself (and your kids if you have them) to keep what you/they use and love. It’s refreshing to have and use less.

DIGITAL CLUTTER

ZERO OUT EMAIL INBOX(S)
If your’e starting at 30 unread emails or 30,000, this can be a huge roadblock in digital clutter. Set aside time to finally start zeroing out your inbox. If you have a lot of emails that you know you don’t need, filter those out and delete them all at once instead of going one by one. As far as emails, I try to zero out my inboxes daily or at least on Friday before I shut it down for the weekend. If you are feeling overwhelmed by how addictive digital clutter can be, you might need a little break or some time away.

SET UP EMAIL FOLDERS TO SAVE EMAILS
As you’re going through your inbox and deleting, set up folders for any emails that you need to save. Going forward put emails in folders instead of leaving them in the inbox.

PUT IMPORTANT DIGITAL FILES IN FOLDERS
If you have important digital files that need to be saved, set up folders on your desktop for those files. They can be by year, by type, like 2019 TAXES or whatever makes sense for your purposes.

SEPARATE PHOTOS BY YEARS + BACK-UP/SAVE TO CLOUD
If you didn’t do the Clean Up Your Photos Challenge with me and Miss Freddy last fall, check out the posts from the series. This has been so incredibly helpful for me – everything gets backed up to Amazon and I don’t have to worry about losing anything.

As you work through decluttering, this is a great time to decide if a system is or isn’t working. Adjust if necessary and come up with a system for the items you are KEEPING.

Here is a digital clutter system that has worked really well for our family. We do have a couple rules in the house around devices – no devices upstairs in bedrooms and everyone has designated screen time. To keep the EMF radiation at a minimum, I recommend not using wifi when you can and if you are using a device with wifi, keep it away from your body. I go into a lot of detail in my book, Clean Mama’s Guide to a Healthy Home if you are interested – grab it here on Amazon. This device organizer holds the kids’ school computers, iPads, and our family’s cell phones. I love that it’s compact and keeps the cords at a minimum. We also use holders when we’re using the iPads or cell phones for viewing or listening.

charging station
cell phone stand
tablet stand
Find all my Amazon Favorites here – you can find most of the items I’ve talked about this month under Organizing Favorites.

If you feel like your phone is taking over your life, here are a couple ideas for limiting your phone usage:

Unfollow social media accounts that make you feel ungrateful for what you have.
Unfriend friends that aren’t really your friends.
Have some looming emails to respond to? Take care of those.
Turn off phone notifications. I only have notifications on email, text, and phone calls on my cell phone. Keeping any other notifications OFF eliminates any unnecessary scrolling and distractions.
Stop checking your phone. Keep your phone in a charging station when you aren’t using it. Lock it up in the glovebox or keep it stashed in your purse when you’re in your car. We still have a landline so if I am using my phone it’s more for business, taking pics, texting, and Instagram. If you want to surf the web or your Instagram feed, set a specific time during the day just for that and don’t be afraid to set a timer for yourself if you have to.
Set a timer. Use a timer on your stove, clock, phone and set it for your specific task. Ten to fifteen minute increments is a great place to start. Set the timer – focus on the task at hand until the timer goes off. Repeat the process as needed and until the task is completed. While working at home I set a timer for about 60 minutes for a focused work task and then I get up and do something home-related. It might be switching out laundry, prepping dinner, or taking a break.
Limit your apps. The only social media app that I have on my iPhone is Instagram – because you kind of have to have that on a phone for it to work. I don’t have FB or messenger, Twitter, etc. on my phone. I only use my laptop for social media and I find that that distinction helps me drastically limit my time on social media.

I talk about this extensively in my Jumpstart Your Routine course – check that out here if you are interested.

Phew! Can you believe this is it? I’m so excited for you to have a decluttered home!

Here’s what you can expect on the blog for the month of January:
January 1 – INTRO – Join the Challenge!
January 2 – Decluttering Quick Start + Cleaning Supplies / Laundry Area
January 6 – Kitchen
January 13 – Bathrooms
January 20 – Clothing + Bedrooms
January 22 – Entertainment + Kids
January 27 – Office Space + Paper Clutter
January 29 – Digital Clutter
Find all the posts from the Clean Mama Clutter Challenge here.

What will you GAIN when you declutter? TIME, LESS STRESS, A CALM + COZY HOME you are excited to come home to!

please note: the Clean Mama Clutter Challenge is free – it is not necessary to purchase the handbook to take part in the challenge but the handbook will definitely help! Grab it now while it’s on sale!

Ready to clear the clutter? I’m SO excited to share The Clutter Handbook with you! It’s updated and ready to help you take on your clutter in a fresh, new way for 2020. The FREE Clean Mama Clutter Challenge through the month of January will be on the blog, Instagram, and in a new private Facebook group (purchase The Clutter Handbook to be in the Facebook group). Grab The Clutter Handbook to take you even more in depth through the challenge!

The Clutter Handbook is a 47-page pdf guide designed to take the guesswork out of decluttering your home. If you’re starting from a room you can’t walk into or just a couple clutter piles, this guide is designed to take you from clutter to decluttered in simple, manageable steps.

The problem with decluttering is not knowing where to start. If you’re just happening on this post, go here first. I have 4 steps to give you a quick start on your decluttering. You’ll gain momentum and be motivated to continue – that’s the best kind of decluttering. Getting rid of the clutter quickly, easily, and while seeing almost instant progress in the early stages.

The post How to Declutter Your Digital Life appeared first on Clean Mama.

How to End the Paper Clutter (for good)

Clean Mama — Mon, 27 Jan 2020 06:00:34 +0000

It’s the last week of The Clutter Challenge and we’re going to finish up with Paper Clutter, Office Clutter, and Digital Clutter. Don’t worry if you aren’t at this point yet – it isn’t a race – do your best and finish strong, even if it takes you a little longer. Come back to these posts as you need to!

If you’re ready for decluttering but not quite sure where to start, I have a simple method to make a lot of progress in a short period of time. Ready?

Here are your steps to a decluttered office and getting rid of paper clutter:

I used the labels from The Clutter Handbook and attached them with a clothespin to these laundry baskets from IKEA.

OFFICE SPACE

ELECTRONICS
Sort through cords, make sure everything has a match. This is also a great time to organize your electronics and cords and make sure everything is set-up in a way that works for you.

OFFICE SUPPLIES
Use containers you have for sorting like items with items. You can use drawer organizers but I recommend using containers you have or even repurposing small boxes or shoe boxes until you have decided what system works best for your office supplies.

BOOKS
Sort through books quickly and organize them in a way that makes sense – you can color code them or arrange them by author or genre. Don’t spend too much time on this but definitely decide what you can donate or gift to a friend.

PAPER + FILES
If you have a filing cabinet in your office take the time to sort through the file folders and papers or at least your paper pile. You can see how I organize all of our paper and my office here.

PAPER CLUTTER

IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR WAYS TO ELIMINATE PAPER CLUTTER, START HERE:

Deal with it daily. The #1 secret to keeping paper clutter to a minimum is to deal with it daily. Processing mail, school papers, and any other paper that makes its way into your home right away is the best way to keep it from becoming overwhelming. Clutter is one of my FIVE DAILY TASKS. Paper falls under the clutter umbrella – if you follow my routine, make sure you’re including paper in your daily clutter routine.
Shred, shred, shred. Buy a good quality shredder and use it. Here’s the one we have – I looked it up and I bought it in 2013 and it’s still going strong. Don’t want to buy a shredder? Google shred day in your town or call your local bank – many towns and banks have one or two days a year where you can bring your stuff to be shredded.
Get rid of unwanted mail. There’s a free app called PAPERKARMA – just scan your unwanted mail, they contact the sender, and the mail is gone. If you’re sick of getting those pre-screened credit offers you can go to OPTOUTPRESCREEN via the Federal Trade Commission to get off that list.
Scan important papers. Save them to an external drive or cloud storage. Here are a couple I like:
EVERNOTE – a way to digitally remember everything.
NEAT and DOXIE are digital scanning devices you can use. Most printers have scanners you can use as well.
Store photos digitally. I’m sure that this is another post, but I use SHUTTERFLY, DROPBOX and an external hard drive, but there are lots of options out there for slimming down the picture stacks. Print a book once every year or two and you’ll be on your way to keeping those photos updated. If you’re behind, start with the current year and work backwards.
Store pdfs and printables digitally. I store pdfs in Dropbox or on iCloud. Set up a folder for each category and you can quickly find any printables you need. Everything’s stored in the cloud and can be found on any device – easy peasy. Did you know that if you have a tablet, like an iPad you can use printables paperless with an app like NOTABILITY that lets you digitally write on your pdfs and take notes with you anywhere?

The Clutter Handbook has an extensive paper clutter section – if this is an area you struggle with, I highly recommend grabbing the handbook to help you in this area.

What’s the Secret to Getting Rid of Paper Clutter for Good?

Dealing with it DAILY! It comes in daily, deal with it daily to keep it away. Here are a couple of my favorite ways to cut back on what comes in the house.

Here’s your paper clutter checklist:

PAPER PILE
Start with this and if it’s extensive, set aside a little bit of time every night this week to work through it.
BILLS
Next up, work on going through bills – this may or may not be included in the paper pile section in your home, but figure out a system for this.
PHOTOGRAPHS
I’ll talk more about photos on Wednesday but figuring out a quick plan of attack for dealing with photos is important!
MEMORABILIA
This can be really difficult, if nothing else, just sit down and write down a goal for this area and work on it over the next month or so. You can see how I organize all of our paper and my office here.
KIDS ART + SCHOOL WORK
Start a system for this now even if your kids are little, trust me. The time flies and it just gets harder as the kids get older.

As you work through decluttering, this is a great time to decide if a system is or isn’t working. Adjust if necessary and come up with a system for the items you are KEEPING.

Here’s what you can expect on the blog for the month of January:

January 1 – INTRO – Join the Challenge!
January 2 – Decluttering Quick Start + Cleaning Supplies / Laundry Area
January 6 – Kitchen
January 13 – Bathrooms
January 20 – Clothing + Bedrooms
January 22 – Entertainment + Kids
January 27 – Office Space + Paper Clutter
January 29 – Digital Clutter
Find all the posts from the Clean Mama Clutter Challenge here.

What will you GAIN when you declutter? TIME, LESS STRESS, A CALM + COZY HOME you are excited to come home to!

The post How to End the Paper Clutter (for good) appeared first on Clean Mama.

How to Declutter Kid Stuff

Clean Mama — Wed, 22 Jan 2020 06:00:32 +0000

As we’re working through The Clutter Challenge, we’re working in a specific order to touch most areas in the home and to declutter. Don’t feel like you have to do everything this week – I’m just sharing the information with you so you have it and can work at your own pace.

If you’re ready for decluttering but not quite sure where to start, I have a simple method to make a lot of progress in a short period of time. Ready?

Here are your steps to a decluttered entertainment and kid stuff:

I used the labels from The Clutter Handbook and attached them with a clothespin to these laundry baskets from IKEA.

ENTERTAINMENT

MAGAZINES
MUSIC – CDs, tapes, etc.
GAMES – board games, card games, video games
BOOKS – cookbooks, fiction, non-fiction

I decluttered our game/workout/coat closet this week – I’m going to use this as an example for how to work through the decluttering:

I emptied the coat closet – we have game bins and games that weren’t in bins (that’s what you see on the table). I also pulled out the rolling baskets that we keep in the closet with workout gear (weights, floor mat, etc.). See that vacuum cleaner hose at the bottom of the image? I vacuumed the floor when everything was pulled out.

This closet holds out of season and dress jackets, workout supplies in the rolling baskets, hats, gloves, snow pants in the hanging organizer, and games up above. I treated it like any decluttering project:
1. take everything out
2. clean the space
3. assess and edit
4. group and categorize
5. put everything back

The Hanging Closet Organizer is from Target found here and the rolling baskets are from Pottery Barn – similar ones found here.

KIDS

If you have kids you know that decluttering takes a little more finesse. You have your schedule to work around and their schedule. Are you at work all day? At home all day? Somewhere in between? With three kids at a variety of ages and stages, I know that there are quite a few factors involved in getting things done when they’re up and awake.

CLOTHING
I keep a bin in each kids’ room and they put clothes that they’ve outgrown in the bin. This is typically decided when they put on a shirt or pants and suddenly it’s too small – I tell them to put it in the pack away bin and choose a different ensemble. Once the bin is filled up it’s either given to a cousin or put in the basement for a younger sibling.

TOYS
Involve them in decluttering their stuff too. If there are toys that they’ve outgrown or don’t play with, suggest packing them up for a younger sibling or donating to a local charity or preschool that would be interested in them. If you want to do this secretly, put the items in a bag and if they don’t ask for them for a week or two, it’s probably safe to say they won’t miss it. I don’t necessarily agree with this approach for everything but there are some items that it works with.

BOOKS
ACTIVITIES
When it comes to sorting and organizing toys and activities, figure out what works for your child/ren and your space. Take Legos for example: we have tried organizers, drawers, categorizing by color and what works the best? Throwing everything in an underbed organizer with wheels and store it under the bed. It’s out of sight when it’s not being played with and it’s easy to see everything and sort. Our youngest loves it this way.

Same kid, we’ve tried binders, open organizers and other ways to sort his football cards and we finally figured out that having them organized by team and division is what he loves. He can see the teams at a glance and he can sort them himself. Our oldest likes keeping his in a binder that he organized by team.

ART + CRAFT SUPPLIES

As you work through decluttering, this is a great time to decide if a system is or isn’t working. Adjust if necessary and come up with a system for the items you are KEEPING.

Here’s what you can expect on the blog for the month of January:

What will you GAIN when you declutter? TIME, LESS STRESS, A CALM + COZY HOME you are excited to come home to!

The post How to Declutter Kid Stuff appeared first on Clean Mama.

How to Quickly Declutter a Closet

Clean Mama — Mon, 20 Jan 2020 06:00:14 +0000

This week we’re tackling CLOTHING and BEDROOMS – I’ll also share a blog post on Wednesday about decluttering entertainment and kids stuff. Don’t feel like you have to do everything this week – I’m just sharing the information with you so you have it and can work at your own pace.

If you’re ready for decluttering but not quite sure where to start, I have a simple method to make a lot of progress in a short period of time. Ready?

Here are your steps to a decluttered clothing and bedrooms:

I used the labels from The Clutter Handbook and attached them with a clothespin to these laundry baskets from IKEA.

CLOTHING

STEP 1: SHOES

Go through shoes quickly and keep what you wear regularly and considering donating any shoes that don’t fit or are not in your regular rotation. I am a minimalist when it comes to shoes and try to keep under 5-7 pairs at any given time. Decide on a number or what you have room to store and keep the best.

STEP 2: OUTERWEAR

Make a quick assessment on what you use for outerwear and keep what you use regularly and donate anything that you no longer wear or need. Assess everything – is there anything that you can toss, donate, or relocate?

STEP 3: CLOTHING

Sort clothing by season and type – I find that this really helps me keep clothing in check and see what I have.
Edit everything – keep the best – this is the time to be critical and eliminate anything you don’t use or need. Keep that DONATE bin or basket handy.

QUICK TIP: If you aren’t sure if you want to keep an item, turn the hanger around and if you haven’t used it in a certain period of time that you decide, donate it.

BEDROOMS

Once you’re done decluttering clothing, it’s time to declutter your bedroom(s). Follow this order to quickly declutter any bedroom.

declutter floors – keep, toss, relocate, donate
check under the bed – remove anything that doesn’t below
sheets + linens – assess sheets and linens – is there anything that is worn or ripped or not used?
pillows – keep the best
bedside tables – empty and declutter – return the items that you use daily

Here’s what you can expect on the blog for the month of January:

What will you GAIN when you declutter? TIME, LESS STRESS, A CALM + COZY HOME you are excited to come home to!

The post How to Quickly Declutter a Closet appeared first on Clean Mama.

How to Declutter the Bathroom

Clean Mama — Mon, 13 Jan 2020 06:00:37 +0000

If you have one bathroom or five, you can declutter them this week or just do your main bathroom if you are short on time. Whatever you are able to do, do your best and do it thoroughly so you don’t need to come back to it and re-do it or complete it. That means if you tackle one drawer in your main bathroom, really tackle it. Take everything out, only keep what you use and need, wipe the space clean and return the goods back to the space. If you want to tackle the entire bathroom, same thing, do your best and get it done. I’m going through all of our bathrooms this week and I’m decluttering them assembly line style. Keep reading to see what I mean. Make the time, move as quickly as you can, and be ruthless with what you allow to stay.

If you’re ready for decluttering but not quite sure where to start, I have a simple method to make a lot of progress in a short period of time. Ready?

Here are your steps to a decluttered bathroom:

I used the labels from The Clutter Handbook and attached them with a clothespin to these laundry baskets from IKEA.

We’re starting this on a Monday – if you follow the Clean Mama Routine, you know that Monday is Bathrooms Day. That means that we CLEAN the bathrooms on Mondays. Perfect! Start by doing the Monday is Bathrooms Day Routine so your bathrooms are CLEAN. New here? I have a 15 minute method to get ALL your bathrooms clean. Here’s a free printable that details the full how-to and here’s a post that shows you what I use to clean our bathrooms and this post shows my tricks for cleaning a toilet naturally.

You will be doing Step 1 during the bathroom cleaning – hooray for multi-tasking!

STEP 1: CLEAN + CLEAR COUNTERS

completely clear + clean bathroom counters
assess everything – is there anything that you can toss, donate, or relocate?

STEP 2: CABINETS + DRAWERS

tackle all of them or just one or two – this is up to you. My preference is just to go as quickly as I possibly can and get rid of anything that can be tossed.
completely empty, wipe clean, and put items in categories/zones to keep organizing easy

STEP 3: MEDICINE CABINET

check expiration dates
completely empty, wipe clean, put back what you use and want to keep

STEP 4: TOILETRIES + MAKEUP

keep the best and get rid of anything you don’t use
makeup does have an expiration date and it can harbor bacteria. If you have mascara that you’ve been holding on to for 3 years, it’s probably time to let it go
if you are feeling super productive, give your makeup brushes a little love and wash them – here’s a post on how to wash them

STEP 5: BATH TOWELS, HAND TOWELS, WASH CLOTHS

bath towels, hand towels, wash cloths – repurpose/donate anything worn or with holes and keep the best

Here’s what you can expect on the blog for the month of January:

What will you GAIN when you declutter? TIME, LESS STRESS, A CALM + COZY HOME you are excited to come home to!

The post How to Declutter the Bathroom appeared first on Clean Mama.

How to Clean and Organize a Refrigerator and Freezer

Clean Mama — Wed, 08 Jan 2020 06:00:57 +0000

A clean and organized refrigerator and freezer not only is nice to look at but it also helps make cooking and meal planning and meal prepping a little easier. First things first, before you can organize a refrigerator and freezer, you need to CLEAN it. So let’s start there. You can divide this task up and do it different days but I think it’s easier to just tackle both at the same time. I find it easiest to clean the refrigerator and then the freezer. The process for both is the same except for the washing process – for the freezer, I use a barely damp bar mop towel to wipe clean, not the water/soap mixture.

HOW TO CLEAN THE REFRIGERATOR + FREEZER

Empty the refrigerator/freezer – take everything out and check dates and decide if there is anything that you aren’t going to use. Toss anything with expired expiration dates and anything that is past its prime. Bring your garbage can over to the fridge if you need to.

Put items that will return to the fridge/freezer categories: fruit, veggies, beverages, leftovers, meal prep, condiments (I separate these by savory – on the right door, and sweet – on the left door), dairy – whatever makes sense for your family.
Remove drawers and shelves if needed/possible – bring them to the sink and wash or wipe clean and thoroughly dry.

QUICK TIP: If you cannot figure out how to remove a shelf or drawer, do a quick internet search – you can usually find a YouTube video of someone showing how to do it.

Wipe the refrigerator/freezer down.
REFRIGERATOR: I use a bowl with a drop of Castile soap and warm water – if the fridge is stinky I’ll add a sprinkle (a teaspoon or so) of baking soda to the water/soap mixture.
FREEZER: I use a barely damp bar mop towel to wipe clean, not the water/soap mixture.
Vacuum with a CLEAN vacuum cleaner attachment if needed. Wipe the attachment clean with rubbing alcohol before using in the fridge/freezer. This method gets all the crumbs, dog hair, whatever else you find in the crevices and crannies of this appliance.

Use a toothpick for tough spots – If you can’t get stuff stuck in the seals or crevices, a toothpick works well. Make sure you are using it almost parallel to the crevice so it doesn’t break off or puncture anything.

QUICK TIP: Moving forward, wipe down your refrigerator weekly as you’re doing a grocery list/menu planning. You’ll be able to maintain your clean fridge status and you won’t have nearly as much food waste. I do this on Friday as part of my Catch-All Day Routine.

HOW TO ORGANIZE THE REFRIGERATOR + FREEZER

Before you put everything back into your refrigerator and freezer, decide on zones for your refrigerator and freezer. If you want to plan it out a bit you can use sticky notes on the shelves to figure out where things will go and fit. Here’s how I organize the refrigerator.

The freezer is pretty easy. The top drawer is usually butter, ginger in a container, with ice packs and yeast in the door. In the lower section we keep meats and leftovers on the left and frozen fruit/veggies on the right. We have a large storage freezer in the garage so this is more of an ‘immediate freezer’.

What will you GAIN when you declutter? TIME, LESS STRESS, A CALM + COZY HOME you are excited to come home to!

Ready to clear the clutter? I’m SO excited to share The Clutter Handbookwith you! It’s updated and ready to help you take on your clutter in a fresh, new way for 2020. The FREE Clean Mama Clutter Challenge through the month of January will be on the blog, Instagram, and in a new private Facebook group(purchase The Clutter Handbook to be in the Facebook group). Grab The Clutter Handbook to take you even more in depth through the challenge!

The post How to Clean and Organize a Refrigerator and Freezer appeared first on Clean Mama.

How to Declutter the Kitchen

Clean Mama — Mon, 06 Jan 2020 06:00:13 +0000

I think that decluttering the kitchen is probably the most difficult room to declutter because there are so many aspects and functions in the kitchen. When a kitchen works well and efficiently, you don’t notice it nearly as clearly as when it isn’t working well. My challenge to you is to do a complete and thorough job in the kitchen this week – not only will you benefit from a decluttered kitchen but you’ll be able to immediately feel the affects in your days moving forward. Make the time, move as quickly as you can, and be ruthless with what you allow to stay.

If you’re ready for decluttering but not quite sure where to start, I have a simple method to make a lot of progress in a short period of time. Ready?

Here are your steps to a decluttered kitchen:

STEP 1: CLEAN + CLEAR COUNTERS

Remove everything from your counters and place everything on your kitchen table or another surface.
Wipe the counters down with warm soapy water and a bar mop towel or sponge. Take a look at what WAS on the counters and quickly evaluate if everything gets to return or if there might be a better place for anything that’s on the counters. Use the KEEP, TOSS, DONATE, RELOCATE Declutter Station bins that you set up.
Return items to your counters.

STEP 2: EMPTY, PURGE, CLEAN REFRIGERATOR + FREEZER
Divide this task up or do it all together – I think it’s easier to do the fridge and then the freezer. The process is similar except for the freezer, I use a barely damp bar mop towel to wipe clean, not the water/soap mixture.

Empty the fridge/freezer – take everything out and check dates and decide if there is anything that you aren’t going to use. Bring your garbage can over to the fridge if you need to.
Put items that will return to the fridge/freezer categories: fruit, veggies, beverages, leftovers, meal prep, condiments (I separate these by savory and sweet), dairy – whatever makes sense for your family.
Remove drawers and shelves if needed/possible – bring them to the sink and wash or wipe clean and thoroughly dry.

QUICK TIP: If you cannot figure out how to remove a shelf or drawer, do a quick internet search – you can usually find a YouTube video of someone showing how to do it.

Wipe the refrigerator/freezer down – REFRIGERATOR: I use a bowl with a drop of Castile soap and warm water – if the fridge is stinky I’ll add a sprinkle (a teaspoon or so) of baking soda to the water/soap mixture.
FREEZER: I use a barely damp bar mop towel to wipe clean, not the water/soap mixture.
Vacuum with a CLEAN vacuum cleaner attachment if needed. Wipe the attachment clean with rubbing alcohol before using in the fridge/freezer. This method gets all the crumbs, dog hair, whatever else you find in the crevices and crannies of this appliance.
Use a toothpick for tough spots – If you can’t get stuff stuck in the seals or crevices, a toothpick works well. Make sure you are using it almost parallel to the crevice so it doesn’t break off or puncture anything.

STEP 3: CABINETS, DRAWERS, PANTRY, FOOD STORAGE
Depending on how much time you have and your commitment to decluttering, you’re going to want to go through your kitchen cabinets, drawers, and food storage. Make sure your declutter station is nearby and go through everything if you can.
KEEP – Love it, need it, or use it
TOSS – Recycle or trash
DONATE – Don’t love it, need it or use it but someone else could
RELOCATE – Still love it, use it or need it, but it doesn’t belong here

I used the labels from The Clutter Handbook and attached them with a clothespin to these laundry baskets from IKEA.

STEP 4: KITCHEN TOOLS, SMALL APPLIANCES, TOWELS

Next up? Go through any utensils you haven’t decluttered, small appliances, and kitchen towels. If you have doubles or any tools or small appliances that you haven’t’ used in a while, now is the time to assess what you have and donate or relocate any extras or anything that’s not usable. Go through kitchen towels and repurpose any that are past their prime and use them as cleaning cloths. Fold your towels and arrange your towel drawer in a way that works for you.

Make sure you are completely emptying these spaces and cleaning them out before moving to the next step.

STEP 5: UNDER THE KITCHEN SINK

Empty the cupboard under your kitchen sink
Put the items in 4 categories: Keep, toss/recycle, donate, relocate.
Wipe down the cupboard – consider adding adhesive paper (like Con-tact paper) to the bottom shelf to protect it and make it a little more decorative.
Put what’s left into categories and set up containers to keep things in. I use a handled bucket, an upcycled vase for cleaning brushes, a small dish for veggie brushes, and a turntable for kitchen cleaning supplies and cleaners. Use what you have!

This post goes into detail about how I organize under my kitchen sink if you’d like more details. You can find my favorite products in my Clean Mama shop and in my Amazon favorites here – look under the Kitchen section. I’ll be talking more in depth about these areas on Instagram and in the private Facebook group for anyone that purchases The Clutter Handbook as well over the next couple days.

Here’s what you can expect on the blog for the month of January:

What will you GAIN when you declutter? TIME, LESS STRESS, A CALM + COZY HOME you are excited to come home to!

The post How to Declutter the Kitchen appeared first on Clean Mama.

Decluttering Quick Start

Clean Mama — Thu, 02 Jan 2020 06:00:35 +0000

The problem with decluttering is not knowing where to start. I have 4 steps to give you a quick start on your decluttering. You’ll gain momentum and be motivated to continue – that’s the best kind of decluttering. Getting rid of the clutter quickly, easily, and while seeing almost instant progress in the early stages.

Throughout the month of January we will be following this free printable – Clean Mama’s Declutter Order (also found in The Clutter Handbook) as our guide. I’ll be posting on Mondays with a couple bonus posts for the week ahead. Make sure you’re following me on Instagram for behind the scenes progress in our home!

If you’re ready for decluttering but not quite sure where to start, I have a simple method to make a lot of progress in a short period of time. Ready?

STEP 1: Do a 3 Bag Quick Declutter – fill up 3 bags as quickly as you can. The bags can be to donate or trash/recycling but the goal is the get them out of the house as quickly as possible.

STEP 2: Set up a Decluttering Station with these categories:
KEEP – Love it, need it, or use it
TOSS – Recycle or trash
DONATE – Don’t love it, need it or use it but someone else could
RELOCATE – Still love it, use it or need it, but it doesn’t belong here

Use boxes, bins, or bags (doesn’t have to be fancy) – the main thing is that you are moving quickly and separating things that you can move to a better place or get rid of. I used the labels from The Clutter Handbook and attached them with a clothespin to these laundry baskets from IKEA.

STEP 3: Consider every single thing you bring into your home this month.
If you need to do a no-spend January, do it! The goal is to get rid of clutter and you don’t want to be bringing things in to add to the clutter you’re trying to clear.

STEP 4: Declutter your Cleaning Supplies and Laundry Area.
Less is more when it comes to cleaning supplies and laundry – you don’t need a gazillion things to clean with or do laundry with. I use only natural cleaners and laundry products because they are safe and economical. This is a whole other topic for another day or you can check out my books (I bet your library has them if you want to do a no-spend month) for more too.

Go through your cleaning and laundry supplies, keep what you need and use and let go of the rest. Get caught up on your laundry and clean your laundry area. You can see my favorite cleaning and laundry supplies here. I’ll be talking more in depth about these areas on Instagram and in the private Facebook group for anyone that purchases The Clutter Handbook as well over the next couple days.

What will you GAIN when you declutter? TIME, LESS STRESS, A CALM + COZY HOME you are excited to come home to!

The post Decluttering Quick Start appeared first on Clean Mama.

Join the Free Clean Mama Clutter Challenge!

Clean Mama — Wed, 01 Jan 2020 06:00:51 +0000

Happy New Year! I’m so excited to start the Clean Mama Clutter Challenge with you for 2020! First of all, make sure you grab your free printables here and/or The Clutter Handbook – perfect for getting ready for The Clutter Challenge and the New Year! Keep reading for a coupon code that ends tonight.

What will you GAIN when you declutter? TIME, LESS STRESS, A CALM + COZY HOME you are excited to come home to!

Ready to clear the clutter? I’m SO excited to share The Clutter Handbook with you! It’s updated and ready to help you take on your clutter in a fresh, new way for 2020.

The FREE Clean Mama Clutter Challenge through the month of January will be on the blog, Instagram, and in a new private Facebook group (purchase The Clutter Handbook to be in the Facebook group). Grab The Clutter Handbook to take you even more in depth through the challenge!

The post Join the Free Clean Mama Clutter Challenge! appeared first on Clean Mama.

Free Printable : Declutter Order

Clean Mama — Tue, 31 Dec 2019 06:00:41 +0000

If you want to declutter but are feeling lost as to where to start, use this Declutter Order Checklist as your guide. This is what we’ll be using as our guide for the free Clean Mama Clutter Challenge and it’s my recommendation that you use this order when decluttering your home. Put it on the fridge, on a clipboard, in your Homekeeping Binder or resize it for your planner. If you like this free printable, you’ll love The Clutter Handbook – it’s completely updated for 2020 and ready for you to tackle your clutter for good. Keep reading for all the info and stay tuned for free Clean Mama Clutter Challenge starting on January 1st!

(Work LEFT to RIGHT through the first row (cleaning, laundry, kitchen, bathrooms) and then LEFT to RIGHT through the second row and third row.)

Grab the Declutter Order printable here!
Check out all the other free printables too – perfect for getting ready for The Clutter Challenge and the New Year!

Just a note on the free printables page – you need to put in your email address ONE TIME. Once you put in your email address I will send you the free printable page password. Keep that password handy – you’ll be able to access the printables any time with that password. You’ll put the password in the bottom box – don’t enter your email address again!

Ready to clear the clutter? I’m SO excited to share The Clutter Handbook with you! It’s updated and ready to help you take on your clutter in a fresh, new way for 2020.

I’m doing a FREE Clean Mama Clutter Challenge through the month of January on the blog, Instagram, and in a new private Facebook group (purchase The Clutter Handbook to be in the Facebook group). Grab The Clutter Handbook to take you through the challenge!

What will you GAIN when you declutter? TIME, LESS STRESS, A CALM + COZY HOME you are excited to come home to!

Check out the new printables collection in Clean Mama Home – oodles of printables to get your family and home organized and off to a great start for 2020!

The post Free Printable : Declutter Order appeared first on Clean Mama.

Free Printable : 50 Things You Can Toss or Donate Today

Clean Mama — Sun, 29 Dec 2019 06:00:01 +0000

If you’re feeling the need to declutter but aren’t sure where to start, this printable with 50 things you can toss, recycle, or donate today will help you get started. Use it as a guide to walk through your home and belongings. Of course I am not saying toss all your books or all your old negatives, I am saying, look at them and assess if there is something you can let go of today. Put it on the fridge, on a clipboard, in your Homekeeping Binder or resize it for your planner. If you like this free printable, you’ll love The Clutter Handbook – it’s completely updated for 2020 and ready for you to tackle your clutter for good. Keep reading for all the info and stay tuned for free Clean Mama Clutter Challenge starting on January 1st!

Grab the 50 Things You Can Toss or Donate Today here!
Check out all the other free printables too – perfect for getting ready for The Clutter Challenge and the New Year!

Ready to clear the clutter? I’m SO excited to share The Clutter Handbook with you! It’s updated and ready to help you take on your clutter in a fresh, new way for 2020. I have a sale in the shop officially starting on the 30th but you can use the coupon code 2020 to grab it now at 15% off with the coupon code 2020 and get ready to clear your clutter. This coupon code is good on any products in the shop and ends 1/1/2020 at 11:59pm CST. (Regular price is $12 / with 15% off it’s $10.20)

What will you GAIN when you declutter? TIME, LESS STRESS, A CALM + COZY HOME you are excited to come home to!

Check out the new printables collection in Clean Mama Home – oodles of printables to get your family and home organized and off to a great start for 2020!

The post Free Printable : 50 Things You Can Toss or Donate Today appeared first on Clean Mama.

Introducing The Clutter Handbook!

Clean Mama — Fri, 27 Dec 2019 06:00:22 +0000

Ready to clear the clutter? I’m SO excited to share The Clutter Handbook with you! It’s updated and ready to help you take on your clutter in a fresh, new way for 2020.

What will you GAIN when you declutter? TIME, LESS STRESS, A CALM + COZY HOME you are excited to come home to!

WHAT’S DIFFERENT ABOUT THE CLUTTER HANDBOOK?

I’ve simplified the process of decluttering to a step-by-step method that anyone can follow and succeed in calming the visual noise in their home. Instead of reading and reading and then finding out what the best method is, you’ll start right away by finding your reason, writing down your goals and then you’ll move into decluttering every part of your home. Wrap up the decluttering with a thorough paper clutter plan and then a plan for keeping the clutter away for good with systems that work.

You’ll also find a link for a secret resources page just for you to access as you work through the handbook. Any Clean Mama resource isn’t complete without checklists and The Clutter Handbook does not disappoint. You’ll find checklists and pages to use though the entire process.

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL FIND IN THE CLUTTER HANDBOOK:

47-page PDF
6 parts
Checklists + recommendations
Access to an online resource guide

THE CLUTTER HANDBOOK OUTLINE:

PART 1 – The Basis for Clutter
Find Your Reason
Clutter Goals + Timeline

PART 2 – Getting Started
50 Things You Can Toss or Donate Today

PART 3 – The Declutter Process
Declutter Quick Start
Declutter Order
Clutter Task Checklists

PART 4 – Put an End to Paper Clutter
Ways to Eliminate Paper Clutter
Paper Clutter Checklist
How Long to Keep It For Guidelines

PART 5 – Maintaining a Decluttered Home
Maintenance Tips
Systems to Put In Place

PART 6 – Resources & Checklists
Clutter Checklist
Keep, Toss, Donate, Relocate pages
Paper – Toss, File, Shred pages
Clutter Task Checklists
Declutter Order Checklist
Paper Clutter Checklist
Weekly Clutter Calendar
Monthly Clutter Calendar
Space for Notes
Blank Checklist

BUY The Clutter Handbook and get ready to clear the clutter in 2020!

The post Introducing The Clutter Handbook! appeared first on Clean Mama.