Organized Home

The verdict is in: a big house is not the answer to the clutter problem.

Biggest culprit: CEO's sewing area. One small room. Two large closets face one another in the hall outside with facing mirrors. Perfect for storing fabric and supplies, and just the thing for checking fit and marking hems!

Except that who can pin a hem in the middle of this? Check out this unretouched photo to see the bitter, bitter truth!

Time to kick some clutter butt! Experts like Michelle Passoff recommend beginning with your biggest clutter challenge. I'm game! Spring is here and the wardrobe is empty. Let's get started!

Set Up Clutter Central!

Choose a workspace and sweep the counter clean, if you must. I've assembled my Clutter Central essentials: notebook computer, Perry the teddy bear, 3-by-5s for notes, planner, pens, boxes, black garbage bags, and boxes for storage and give away items.

I plan to donate clothing to charity, and give extra fabric away to friends who sew. I'll note the contents of storage boxes on the notebook computer. There are lots of good home inventory programs, but I'm using Windows Cardfile for now.

I'll keep a running list of donated items on the computer, too. Once printed, an itemized list can be stapled to the donation receipt and filed away for tax time. My planner stands open to handle any action items that occur to me as I sort and clear.

Before I begin, I remind myself of the rules. Each item is to be handled only once. A decision--keep, donate, give away or throw away--must be made while the item is in my hands. Items that don't belong in the sewing area are to be placed in a "put away" zone near Clutter Central. I'll put them away when the job is done.

Empty Those Closets

To get started, I empty one closet. Just getting there isn't easy! I have to walk on, over and around piles of fabric, trim and patterns. I begin to haul out the contents of the first closet.

Here's a pleasant surprise! Some good clothes are there, hiding behind all the mess . . . new pants for Steve, not hemmed, CEO rayon pants made last summer, but never put away. They're dusty and covered with snippets of thread. I add a laundry basket to Clutter Central, and set up a mending box.

Don't Be Sidetracked By Sentiment

Buoyed up by this pleasant surprise, I meet my first challenge: grandmother Mim's sewing machine. Sentimental value. Dragged from Texas to California to Georgia, to Washington.

My options: I can clean, oil and set it up for use in the sewing room. Or, clean, oil, and donate to family in need of a sewing machine. I could continue to store it, unused, but in different place--but I'm motivated today! Hug Perry Bear and think about Mim. I decide I'll clean, oil, and set up the machine, photograph it (with Perry?) and donate it to a family that can use it. Mim would never treasure a thing over a person. Perry approves.

Find more sentiment: two grandmothers' sewing baskets. These I'll keep for display in the new, clean sewing room, together with Mim's high school sewing class textbook. I fight the impulse to sit down and read about how girls were taught to sew in the 1920's. On with the decluttering!

More clothes. New "Liz" coordinates bought last summer. Never worn: too tight in waist, loose in hips, need ironing. Decision: donate, made easier by finding I can't button the waistband. I put donated items into black plastic bag--quick, quick!--to avoid second thoughts.

I find lots more clothes. Much food for thought here: there are over a dozen pair of men's dress slacks. Size 34, 36, and 38. Decision: donate. I also decide to be more enthusiastic about Dr. DH's diet plans, and make a note in my planner.

Here's a lost treasure! A favorite summer skirt, ripped at the back pleat. I try it on, and decide that a simple knee length hem will save this comfortable old friend. To the mending box.