Clutter

Clutter drives me crazy. I have been on a "de-cluttering kick" lately. This is new for me and new for anyone who has known me since my childhood. I was THE BIGGEST SLOB as a kid. My childhood bedroom was almost uninhabitable at times. Clothes, books, toys and who knows what else covered every square foot of the floor. Recently I was talking on the phone to one of my best friends from high school. We were talking about how much I love to organize and am trying to get the clutter out of the house. She paused and said, "Um, so, what happened since high school? You were definitely not like this." I laughed and agreed and then had to think about my answer. I think there are a few things that happened- number one on the list has to be my wonderful, Type A, neatnik husband. Another reason has to do with owning a house. Now the things that I am organizing and cleaning are things that I have bought or been given. I feel a deeper sense of responsibility and care for my possessions. This has also been a trend since Baby Boy was born. Babies bring love, joy and lots and lots of stuff!! In order to not get taken over by all of his toys, clothes and little necessities, I have to be organized. Lastly, as I talked about in a previous post-there is so much "stuff" in life. I want to try to live a simple life, focused on family, friends, and God. I find this to be much easier without a lot of things around to occupy me otherwise.

Don't get me wrong, it hasn't been a total 180. I am still messy at times, I lose things constantly and can find myself drowning in clutter. It is a step by step process- I try to learn from others and use strategies that I know have worked for them. Any de-cluttering/organization/cleaning tips out there?