A Box at a Time

Article 4 in My Clear out the Clutter Series

A Box at a time

Not in a box? Put it in a box, only as much as will fit.


Clutter, it's a curious thing. It's like a noxious weed. It's like garlic mustard or quack grass. It seems to multiply and grow. It overtakes its surroundings, hiding the beautiful landscape or rather, decor. It quickly reaches the point where it becomes disparaging, discouraging, seemingly beyond the point of no return. That's when we have to narrow our view point from the broad picture to the cropped corner of the frame. Bite it off in chunks.

If you have a box of items, which need to be sorted and put away, just go do it. If you only have a box of clutter then you probably don't need to read this. Go plan your garden projects. Go work out. If, however, this box is just the tip of the iceberg, begin to take care of it now. I mean it, start a new habit or confronting issues head on. No more procrastinating. Apply this to the garden chores and the garden will reward you with unbounded joy. Apply this to the home and you will go out to the garden, guilt free this spring.

If you have more than a box... or two. If you unfortunately have a mountain of undealt-with miscellaneous items then use some strategies to ensure you remain sane and avoid stress.

Limit your time and you'll minimize the headaches. Make it feasible. Set the timer and stick to it. Make a schedule, add it to your day's plan and stick to it.

Bags I put in my son's room. He doesn't even live here anymore!

Box it! Gather a few cardboard boxes, plastic containers, whatever you've got. Put the clutter, all that will fit, into the limited number of boxes and bring them out into the open. Set up other boxes or bags, especially those that stand up on their own to catch tossed items easily. Label them to suit your needs, depending on the nature of the clutter: "Upstairs," "Rummage," "Donate," "Craft Room," etc. Then sort it! Empty the boxes of clutter and make the bold decisions! Leave nothing even if you have to have a small bag called, "Undecided." However, if the timer goes off you need to stop. At this point if you are on a roll, then go reset the timer but don't let it go on indefinitely. It could make a good move forward go bad quickly.

Live to fight another day! Relax and enjoy your day's efforts.

Dreaming of Summer... and Bumble Bees Zzzz...


This reminds me of an article I just read about how butterflies see in color but not clearly like we do. They need masses of like flowers to draw them. We need to have like things in one place in order to function at our optimum potential. Let's get organized indoors now so we can make peaceful, restful, helpful places outdoors when the time comes.