Clutter is a huge problem at our house. We have too much stuff and no place to put it. Even those items meant to hold things like bookshelves can look unruly if regular maintenance is not done to cull clutter.

It overwhelms me to tackle our clutter. This week everyone has been sick so I’ve stayed at home for two days. The first day I was also sick and didn’t get much done. By the second day, I was feeling better and ready to do some de-cluttering. Since I was easily getting lost by what to do first, I decided to tackle a small spot. I would clear a spot and then move to another one. Once a spot is cleared, no items can be placed in that space. So when I clear a part of the floor, I will not stack up other objects on clean floor spot while tackling another part of the house. So at first I will have plenty of places to shuffle around clutter but eventually those will dwindle down. Then I must do something with everything in the house and that is the end goal.

So far I only have a small spot cleared but I’m not discouraged. If I can clear some clutter each day, then I will be very happy.

The article written by Alonso Kramer

Being from Texas means you’re really close to your family more likely than not and that holds true for me. Mom and dad are great to me and they actually let me move back home for a few months while I save up some money to buy a house. I just proposed to my girlfriend so I’ve got to get us somewhere to live but until the wedding I figured I shouldn’t just waste money on rent. Mom and dad have me here doing chores and I’ve also been trying to help in some unexpected ways, too, like looking into Texas internet providers for their house and talking to the lawncare boy about lowering his costs. I know they love me and want me here but I can’t help but feel like I’m in the way. It’s only going to be for about 5 more months but you know, it is what it is and I know this is the best financial decision I’ve ever made. I’ll come out of it with a new home!

We spend hours decorating it so it only seems right that we want to show it off. Be careful displaying your Christmas tree this holiday. With those curtains open, everyone – including thieves – can have a free peak into your home.

When you put your Christmas tree in front of a window and then draw back the curtains, check to see what is visible from the road. Keep presents out of sight as well as other valuables. You may want to only open your curtains far enough to display the tree and nothing else.

This is one Christmas tree safety tip that I never thought about until I read it on Facebook posted by the local police department. I figure there are two ways you know this tip – if you were robbed or if you are a burglar. We live way off the road and also do not display our tree near a window – there just isn’t room. So this is good to know for those who enjoy displaying their Christmas tree.

The weather has been weird. I’m not sure if I need to put up summer clothes or not. We have already seem some frigid temperatures, so the winter clothes are already filling up the chester drawers. Every season I sort through the summer and winter clothes – storing the summer clothes somewhere. This ritual always bring to light the issue of storing items we are currently not using.

Renting a storage cubicle like from Uncle Bob’s storage center is definitely a good idea. It will give me the space to sort through items while not having to worry about putting everything back into our cramped storage space at home. I would love to be able to take my time and plow through our storage items.

There are a lot of benefits to self storage. First all of your stuff is away from your house – which can be a good thing. This will make it easier to cull through later. If you haven’t missed an item in six months, then maybe it is time to permanently part with it. You become less attached to your stuff if you do not have to constantly sort through it. In theory this would make it easier to give up a lot of your stuff.

Right now our storage options are very limited as we are maxed out on space. We need to cull a lot of items. Maybe the solution is to self store and then sort through those items when I have time. Then I can get rid of what we are not using and keep what we really need.