When we left the dairy in 2010, we moved five times in six years. We got better at it as we went along. And needless to say, we had less and less stuff to move each time. We got to the point where we were looking forward to moving because it would allow us to get rid of more stuff.
We’ve been in our home for eight years, so we haven’t had the necessity of a big cleanout. Moving forces you to clean out, sort and organize, but who likes moving?! There is an easier way.
I devised a plan a few years ago that has worked well for us. We divided the house into sections, and each week, we took a couple of hours and focused on a section to deep clean and declutter. Here’s how it looks for us:
Kitchen/Refrigerator/Pantry – 1st Tuesday
Storage/Shed/Garage – 2nd Tuesday
Main Bedroom/Closet/Living Room/Bathrooms/Supply Closet – 3rd Tuesday
Office/Kids Room – 4th Tuesday
Obviously, you can change the order and day of the week. I pick Tuesdays and challenge myself to beat the garbage pick up.
These cleanouts are scheduled on our calendar but are moveable if we’re busy. Most of the time, I can knock out an area in an hour.. We never spend more than two hours. It doesn’t take long, and on hectic weeks, these tasks can be broken up into shorter chunks, but we try to keep up with the schedule. Maintenance is more manageable than starting from scratch.
Just taking the time to look at what we have and where we store it has made a big difference. Most of the work involves straightening up, sorting, grouping, and eliminating unnecessary things. And we don’t need any boxes.