[katharina]

Along with my spring cleaning this time is going to have to come a lot of new organizing tricks and ideas. I don't want us to outgrow our living space here!

Any ideas on where to start? What are a few of your favorite organization tips when it comes to "a place for everything and everything in its place?"

[deltic]

It is not exactly spring cleaning, but every few months I give each family member a bin bag and I require them to fill it with unwanted or outgrown stuff. We then sort it and recycle almost all of it.

[jason]

Where I live they have a community yard sale (also been called a garage sale or tag sale) that is done yearly. So about a month before that I do my cleaning, going by one room at a time. I tend to find a lot of stuff that just isn't needed anymore, so it goes into a pile for the sale. What doesn't sell there gets taken to the local Good Will center. They tend to take anything as long as it is not too dirty/stained or is not electronics.

[katharina]

Originally Posted by deltic

It is not exactly spring cleaning, but every few months I give each family member a bin bag and I require them to fill it with unwanted or outgrown stuff. We then sort it and recycle almost all of it.

Oh that's really a good idea! And they can put anything in there from clothing
to books and movies to toys, etc.? Or do you require it only be clothing or
toys and so on? I might have to give that a try!

We downsized considerable when we moved here nearly 5 years ago, but it's
time for another cleaning-out so that we don't get overrun.

[chris1203]

Originally Posted by deltic

It is not exactly spring cleaning, but every few months I give each family member a bin bag and I require them to fill it with unwanted or outgrown stuff. We then sort it and recycle almost all of it.

Wow, deltic...what a GREAT idea. I think I might "borrow" your idea and see how it works for us. We always have so much clutter.

[katharina]

Originally Posted by chris1203

Wow, deltic...what a GREAT idea. I think I might "borrow" your idea and see how it works for us. We always have so much clutter.

I'm thinking a garage sale with the collected clutter might be a fun idea... maybe even with the money divided between kids. Might help them to have more incentive to really clean out closets and drawers.

[tater03]

I do that. I have a garage sale and whatever doesn't sell goes right to Goodwill. I don't even bring it back in the house. Our Goodwill takes just about everything.

[katharina]

Originally Posted by tater03

I do that. I have a garage sale and whatever doesn't sell goes right to Goodwill. I don't even bring it back in the house. Our Goodwill takes just about everything.

I like that idea... I'm not sure if ours takes everything or not. There's a Salvation Army dropoff, but they may be limited in what they accept. In any case, I'm not sure if I'll do the yard sale step or just donate stuff right away.