One of the most important things you can do to make decorating and housekeeping easier is this: Get rid of your junk!

 

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Why? Visually, too many items automatically hide the beauty in your home. Furthermore, each item of junk you possess will need cleaning. It will need storing, it will need rearranging, it will need repair and parts. It will sap you of time, energy and resolve. So get rid of any part of your hoard that doesn't add to your life.

Ever notice how attractive nice hotel rooms are, yet how devoid of knick-knacks and junk they are? The hospitality industry has learned one very neat trick to accomplish two things: make a beautiful presentation and keep cleaning and maintenance to a minimum — they simply don't junk up their rooms with a lot of clutter. Not only are there no figurines, but furnishings are often wall-mounted without legs to clean under. Beds often have enclosed bases so nothing can get underneath. Wall décor is tasteful, but simple.

When the cleaning crew comes in, they clean even the largest and most elaborate accommodations in minutes, not hours. Why? It is largely because there just isn't any junk.

Real Valuable or Real Junk

Most junk isn't junk because it's old or beat up. You could own a pricey set of golf clubs in new condition that really is junk to you because nobody plays — you just inherited those clubs from your grandfather.

 

 

Whatever doesn't truly add to your life — and in all honesty probably never will — is real junk. If you have old magazines, probably only one or two percent of those articles are really of any interest to you. Consider that the latest issues constantly update and repackage information, so you really don't need the old ones. And if we're honest, how often do we go back through ten years of Good Housekeeping or Popular Mechanics to dredge out an article or recipe? Rarely. Get rid of them!

How about knickknacks? They make dusting and window cleaning ten times more difficult. They are usually fragile, which slows you down. They are often made of non-cleanable materials. So what should you do with them? If you love small collectibles and curios, put them in an enclosed display cabinet. Don't leave them out to clutter up your house and add literally hundreds of square feet of surface that will need dusting and cleaning.

Getting it Done

A good way to de-clutter your home is to label three boxes or bags:

• Throw Away
• Put Away
• Give Away

Go through your hoard of questionable items and put them in one of those categories. You'll once again be able to see the belongings you enjoy, and you will drastically reduce your cleaning time. After all, what you get rid of you won't have to clean.