Help, I'm knee-deep in clutter!

52 PICKUP for NOVEMBER 2008

• Daily Anticlutter Routine: Check your calendar or To Do List so you'll know what's going on the next day (1 min).
• Pickup Project: Yard work (2 to 6 hours).
  Sweep or wash off the deck or porch. Trim bushes and rake leaves.
• Quickie Cleanup in the Living Room: Holiday paper roundup (15 minutes).
  If you haven't already started on holiday plans, get going now with a few simple steps. Gather up your lists of gift ideas and of things to do, along with your piles of holiday stamps and stickers. Keep them and all future info about holiday projects and activities in one folder so you can cut back on some of the Christmas craziness.

• Daily Anticlutter Routine: Check your calendar or To Do List so you'll know what's going on the next day (1 min).
• Pickup Project: Keep toasty warm (1 to 2 hours).
  Take a walk through the house and check to be sure that you won't be letting in drafts and mini snow drifts. Use weather stripping, caulk, or foam to plug leaks around doors and windows. Add more attic or basement insulation if the older brand is less than a foot deep.
• Quickie Cleanup in your Vehicle: Set up emergency supplies (15 minutes).
  Check to be sure that you have basic comfort items such as tissues and blankets; emergency supplies including booster cables and flares; winter products such as antifreeze and a windshield brush and scraper; and tools including a tire repair kit and a small shovel. If you're heading out on a trip, pack some bottled water.

• Daily Anticlutter Routine: Check your calendar or To Do List so you'll know what's going on the next day (1 min).
• Pickup Project: Stock up on supplies (1 hour).
  Make your list for the bathroom and include toothpaste, facial tissues, and shampoo; for the kitchen buy bottled water, canned goods, baby food, condiments, pet food, and snack foods; household supplies should include dish detergent, clothes washing detergent, wet mop pads, and light bulbs; and be sure to have plenty of emergency supplies such as extra medication, first aid items, candles, matches,and batteries.
• Quickie Cleanup in the Basement: Holiday decorations (15 minutes).
  If your holiday decorations are scattered around the house, get them all together and stacked in one spot. When the festive spirit hits, you won't have to waste time tracking down garlands,lights, and your special tree topper. If the holiday boxes are organized already, then investigate a mystery box on a nearby shelf. Pull out the outdated or broken stuff you really don't need anymore. Also, remove the mystery and list the contents on the box.

• Daily Anticlutter Routine: Check your calendar or To Do List so you'll know what's going on the next day (1 min).
• Pickup Project: Clean the house for Thanksgiving (1 to 2 hours).
  Dust, vac, sweep, and then clean the bathrooms. If guests are coming, clear off the kitchen counter, attack that spot on the rug or sofa, clean off a splotch on the patio door, sweep the front porch and sidewalk, and straighten piles of DVDs, CDs, and magazines. Still besieged by clutter? Go to Plan B: that old standby where you just scoop it all up and stuff it somewhere out of sight.
• Quickie Cleanup in the Kitchen: KP duty (15 minutes).
  Whether or not you're expecting guests, it won't hurt to give the kitchen a quick once-over. Wash off the top of the stove and the oven door, run a sponge over the refrigerator door and any spills on the shelves, and brush off all those crumbs. Quickly check the cupboard and cabinet doors and wipe off any stains or chocolate fingerprints.

Help, I’m knee-deep in clutter! by Joyce I. Anderson