The H.O.H. Project: De-Cluttering Part 1

You can read more of my Making Our House Our Home Series here:
Introduction: Love Your Home
Part One: Making a Plan
Most often when we think of clutter we think of excess stuff. Physical items that take up space. While this is one form of clutter, I have found that there are other types of clutter that can fill our lives. Today I will focus on reining in some of the physical clutter that fills our homes. In future posts, I will talk to the other clutter that can fill our lives.

Organizing to de-clutter: Bins are your friends!

If you want a more organized house, you need to make sure that the amount of stuff you have comfortably fits in your home. The old saying, "A place for everything and everything in its place," couldn't be more true. If you have something that doesn't have a place it is homeless clutter. If it has a home that is clearly labeled and easy to find, it is really an asset. If you have a home with lots of room for storage you probably will be able to save more things than if your home is lacking in storage areas.
In our current home we have lots of great living space, but are lacking in good storage space. While systematically going through each area of our home, I was really ruthless. I knew that we had to limit the amount of things we were storing in our home. At times this meant getting rid of the "we might use this someday" items. At this point in our lives it was more valuable for me to get rid of it then to save it in the chance that we might need it in the future.

The back of the van loaded to head to a children's shop.

When it does come to getting rid of something you will need to decide how you are going to get it out of your home. I used these sources (and in this order) to de-clutter:

1) Craigslist (or other online site): Great for bigger items that are still in great shape. In my experience this is where you will get the most money for your used items. And don't be afraid to re-list your items for a while. Your item may have gotten buried or the future owner just wasn't on that day.
2) Rummage Sale: Great for littler items that are in good condition like toys and clothing. Also great for items that didn't sell online.
3) Resale Store: We have several stores in the area that will buy your items (mostly clothes and children's items) from you to sell in their stores. Just know that these stores are usually picky about the quality of items that they will buy.
4) Donation Store: When you have something that you don't want to go through the hassle of selling or hasn't sold, but you still think someone will be able to use it, donate it. I would much rather have someone use it than no one at all.
5) Garbage: Your final option. When you have something that just isn't worth it to anyone, toss it!
I have been making use of all five methods to get rid of lots of clutter in our home. We decided at the start that any money we made would be put toward the purchase of some furniture/organizational items for our home. It makes it fun to add money to the envelope knowing that each item I sell will bring us closer to our goal.
I still have some areas to work through, but it feels great to have de-cluttered this much already. We had company last weekend and a birthday party here this weekend and it really was so much easier getting ready for both without so much stuff around.