De-Crapify Your Home

While it's no epidemic, it's hard to argue that most of us have a little "too much stuff".

Getting rid of your stuff can be difficult. Things have value to you, whether you've formed a personal attachment to your stuff or you believe you'll have a practical use for it... someday. Most of the time, "personal value" means guilt and "someday" never comes.And, in the end, much of what we accumulate in life isn't all that important.

Here's how you can share and bless others with all of your stuff—and end up with a cleaner, more peaceful home while you're at it.

Here are some extra things you may have:

• Kitchen UtensilsIs your utensil drawer so full you can barely open and close it? You're not alone. Many of us also buy new utensils but forget to get rid of the old. Toss everything—all the spatulas, rubber scrapers, pie servers, and so on—into a box. As you use a utensil from the box, put it back in the drawer. After a month, check what's left in the box. Keep those once-a-year items that remain in the box, like a turkey baster or candy thermometer. But donate the rest.
• Clothes You're probably not going to lose the weight to fit into those 10-year-old clothes you have in the closet. Just give it up and give them away. It also concerns kids clothes - don't keep them for several years, but give your friends and relatives with younger children.
• Kids ArtsworksOf course every piece of artwork your child ever did is a masterpiece. But that doesn't mean you need to keep it. If it's not something you want to put on the wall or in a portfolio to save, take a photo and upload it to the App. Thus you can develop a digital "art gallery" or put photos in a photo album and you'll take up a lot less space. After all, think about it: If you keep four pieces of paper per week per child, by the time they've graduated from high school, you'll have one huge collection!
• ElectronicsPower cords, USB cords, and other paraphernalia for electronics clog up our desks. Sort through that "jungle" and match cords to gadgets. Old cell phones can be donated to women's shelters. Other old electronic items, like some printers and computers, should be properly recycled.Ditto for old VHS and cassette tapes - transfer them to your computer for digital storage.
• LinensMost of us have way too many towels and sheets. You need only two sets of sheets per bed, keep the extra sets under the foot of the mattress or in a drawer in the bedroom to free up room in the linen closet.
• ToysIndeed, your friends and relatives are ready to gift you one more teddy bear - ask them not to and give extra toys for those who really need them.

Cleaning can be hard when it means getting rid of things you've come to love over the years, but chances are you'll come to love the extra space even more!

Make photos of your home, upload to the App. Write how you empty your space and get rid of extra things.