Beat Summer Clutter

There's no getting around it: to free your house of excess stuff, you’re going to have to do some serious tossing. Spread this task out over several days and set a reasonable time limit for each day.

• Concentrate on one room at a time. Donate old clothes, books, toys, and household goods, or have a big garage sale and treat yourselves to something fun with the proceeds.
• To tackle a messy garage, you'll need strong shelves, labeled storage boxes, and an iron-willed determination to get rid of anything you don’t really use.
• Let each member of the household be part of the solution so they'll be more invested in keeping things organized going forward.

• Contain the mess before it comes through the door. Install a series of sturdy hooks in the garage or by the back door for jackets, wet towels, bathing suits, etc. If you've got kids, hang the hooks low enough so even the youngest can take responsibility for their own things.
• Put a big basket for each person below their clothes hooks to catch shoes, baseball mitts, toys, etc.
• Are your kids junior collectors? Let them decorate shoe boxes to house their random finds. For more public displays, showcase natural beauties such as seashells, fascinating rocks, dried flowers and the like in large glass cylinders or old-fashioned collector's display boxes. Make it look purposeful, and almost anything turns into art.
• Make it a habit to end each day by going room to room (with the kids) gathering loose toys, books, and clothing into a big basket. Divide the harvest into individual piles and have everyone put away their own things before they go to bed.
• Don't let mail stack up. Sort it into bills and other important correspondence immediately, and toss the rest. Read and recycle newspapers daily.
• Reward good deeds. A treat at the end of the week--pizza party, movie night, a favorite picnic--could encourage your family to help in your quest for a tidy home.

• Instead of wasting time hunting things down, keep a tote bag filled with everyday gear such as sunblock, shades, hats, hand wipes, and a small first aid kit so it will be ready to go when you are.
• Have another bag packed with essential picnic things to make spur-of-the-moment outdoor feasts a simple pleasure rather than a logistical nightmare.

• Don't let chores eat up all your daylight hours: make a weekly schedule for cleaning, errands, and family playtime--and stick to it.
• Get out of the kitchen! Plan meals around the time-saving idea of "cook once and eat twice." That could be as simple as doubling up recipes and freezing the extra, or making enough chicken to serve two different ways in the week.

Take time at the end of August to go through summer clothing, toys, and sports equipment. Donate or sell what your family has outgrown so you can make a clutter-free transition into the next season.