I know everyone doesn't subscribe to the idea of fall cleaning, but I am one of those people who always feels that I must do SOMETHING that will "count" as a fall cleaning accomplishment. Because I have been complaining so much about how overly cluttered and crowded things are in my apartment (the car, too!) and how messy that makes everything look, I think some serious uncluttering might be the thing I want to do for this year's major fall cleaning project.

So, guess what I came across? An article in "O Magazine" by Andrew Mellen that takes on this very challenge and offers some real good tips. I am going to share those tips in this post and in a series of posts to follow so that you, too, may find some help if you're facing a similar situation and should decide to do some uncluttering, too. ( I wish all of us luck!)

Mellen believes in this scenario as the key for determining what to keep and what to get rid of..."If your house were burning and your family, pets, and purse were already out of harm's way, what else would you want to save? Probably not the blender that only works on one speed, the china you inherited but never use, or the photo in which you're not exactly looking your best. Which begs the question: If those things aren't worth taking, why are they in your home in the first place?"

If you really think about it, his point makes sense! There's really no reason to keep things that don't work, don't fit, or are not needed. Allowing for some exceptions (sentimental items, for example), of course, because we are all human, after all- :0) , but for the most part, there really is no reason to keep these things.

So, the best way to get started is to establish some rules...list them and stick to them! Mellen calls these THE GROUND RULES.

1. Everything you own should have value, either because it's functional or beautiful or you just love it. Remember the question of what you would grab if your house were on fire. Use this as your "measuring stick".

2. Every item needs a place of it's own. Setting things down on the coffee table or kitchen counter creates piles and confusion. You don't lose things when they have their own established place and they are always put/kept in their place.

3. Focus on one thing at a time. Multitasking is supposed to help you get more things done quickly, but when you try to do 19 things at once, everything ends up incomplete. Remember that you are trying to SIMPLIFY your life, that's why you are trying to get rid of all the clutter, so concentrate on specific areas one or two at a time, keep your focus on the task at hand until completed, and then move on to another task.

So, now that we have THE GROUND RULES, we should be set to go, right?- :0)

So, what I am going to do, besides writing down THE GROUND RULES and sticking them on the refrigerator door, is to do a quick inventory of what is the most obvious to be tackled. I will be back really soon with the next post, which borrows the hints from Andrew Mellen, so YOU AND I can really get started!