Author: Martha Tobin

by Martha Tobin

Often I get asked, “where do I even start to declutter?”. I recommend starting in a small area and using the 6 box method to sort items. This is going to make the process easier and faster.

To begin, set up 6 boxes (medium to large size) and label them:

1. Donate/give to family and friends
2. Sell
3. Trash/recycle
4. Memorabilia to review
5. Paperwork to review
6. Maybe items

-Sort all items in this area that you are focusing on into these 6 boxes.

-When you come to paperwork or memorabilia, just sort these items into their respective boxes. I recommend reviewing these two categories are a later date so that you don’t get taken off track from the decluttering process at this point.

-For any items that you just can’t decide on, put them in the labelled ‘maybe’ box and put that box aside for a few days. This allows you the time to think about these items without making a rush decision.

-For items you are having a hard time letting go of (even though you no longer need or use the item), consider taking a photo of the item so that you can keep the memory but let the item go.

-For collections (i.e. inherited china set, books, figurines, etc) consider keeping just one or two of the collection so that you can keep the memory but let the other items go (either by donating or sellin them or giving them to family or friends).

-For those items you do decide to keep, determine where they will ‘live’ in your home and move them accordingly.

Decluttering is always transformational and where you gain no lose. Keep your treasures, feature them so that you can see them often but let go of those other items that have been weighing you down or fencing you in so that you can reclaim that space.

“The more uncluttered I lived, the more joy I found.”

(Zina Harrington)

By Martha Tobin

I read an article called ‘Choose Your Hard’ (by A. Alabi) that resonated with me. In it the author compared many life situations like the ones below:

—Being dependent on someone is hard but being depended upon is hard

—Being employed is hard but being unemployed is hard.

—Being married is hard but being single is hard.

In the end the article summed up by saying that every situation comes with its challenges so pick the path you can be most content with.

I think back on this article when people reach out to Declutter4Good for organizing and decluttering help. Clearly these clients have come to the conclusion that living with their clutter is harder than the thought of finally tackling it.

If you are ready to finally tackle your clutter and gain some space as well as peace of mind, I can assure you that my team and I will make it much less exhausting and challenging than you think it will be. And we’ll do it in a fraction of the time it would take you to do.

“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” (Ralph Waldo Emmerson)

By Martha Tobin

Time is our most precious resource. In fact it’s the one thing most of us just don’t ever seem to have enough of.

What if this year you gave your mom the gift of less ‘stuff’ and more time?More time to do the things she loves to do like gardening, crafting, reading or spending time with her grandchildren. More time for herself.

Decluttering and organizing doesn’t just clear physical spaces (like crowded closets, stuffed basements and jam-packed drawers), it creates mental and emotional space so that we can focus on those things that matter most.

Give the gift to your mom (or yourself) this year that allows her or you to spend less time managing ‘things’ and more time living. Decluttering is about realigning with your purpose and what matters most to you.

And on any job we’ll take those items you no longer need or want and donate them to local charities.

By Martha Tobin

by Martha Tobin

by Martha Tobin

Six years ago my mom and my youngest brother died twelve days apart and my world fell apart. In quick succession we then had to empty and sell my mom’s home and empty my brother’s apartment.

I ended up with a lot of items that fell under the heading of ‘memorabilia’. For a few months these items sat in a pile in the middle of our living room as I didn’t have the emotional strength to tackle it.

When I did start to go through these items, it was a sad but beautiful experience that made me realize that while I had kept some of these items more out of grief than memory; other items conjured up vivid, powerful memories.

Here are the determining factors regarding memorabilia that I kept (and you may find helpful):

• Does it conjure up a good memory? (i.e. photos)
• Would it be something I would want to display in our home? (i.e. painting)
• Is it something I would wear or use? (i.e. recipes)
• Is it something that I can store but access easily? (i.e. letters)
• Is it relevant generational information for our children? (i.e. old passports)

In the end, I kept some photos, letters, handwritten recipes, a few clothes, a recording of their voices, some paintings etc. And I have found sacred spots for these to ‘live’ in our home.

There is nothing that will ever replace the loss of a loved one but having their energy around you in the form of memories that you can glance over at will bring you joy.

At the end of any decluttering journey there is always a ‘lightness’ that makes life more hopeful and encourages self-awareness so that you can move forward with your plans and dreams.

Keep your treasures….better yet, find them a place to live in your home where they can be enjoyed everyday.

by Martha Tobin

More and more these days, the younger generation is saying ‘thanks but no thanks’ to the items generously offered to them by their parents and grandparents.

Instead this younger audience tends to favour a more contemporary, cleaner aesthetic that doesn’t include fancy dishes, serving platters, china cabinets, boxes of old family photos, VHS tapes or photo albums, old handmade quilts, antique dolls or figurines.

The younger generation are very aware that due to the rising cost of living, their starter homes will be smaller with less storage space.  They also know that most of their parents and grandparents’ furniture and collections have likely depreciated in value. So while these items hold meaning and memories for you, the reality is that these items have little sentimental or monetary value for them.  

Additionally young adults these days value experiences more than acquiring things. Their priorities are travel, flexibility and freedom and they know that ‘stuff’ will only weigh them down.

So what can you do with all of your furniture and collections that your kids have indicated they don’t want?

If you want to sell your items here are a few options:

–yard or garage sale

–post items on online marketplaces

–reach out to an estate or auction company

–take them to consignment stores

If you want to give your items away here are a few options:

–put them on a Buy Nothing group

—donate them to a local charity

–post them on the GiveShop app.

Determining what you want to do with your items well-ahead of time will allow you to start the decluttering process at your own pace and perhaps find someone who treasures your items like you do.  

While getting rid of items you spent money on can be difficult, the burden of ‘clutter’ can be equally costly in terms of time, focus, energy and space.  And it can be costly both emotionally and physically to your kids if in the end they have to do all the decluttering when you are no longer able to do it.  

“If everything is special than nothing is.”

(Ruth Soukup)

by Martha Tobin

Do you feel like you have too much stuff?   Life is hectic and there’s no question we all need things to run our homes, our lives and to function day-to-day like dishes, clothing, toiletries, tech items, tupperware, and gift wrap, etc.  

But how to determine if you have too much stuff?  Here are 10 questions to ask yourself:

#1. Is your home making you feel stressed and overwhelmed?  Your home should be where you recharge and unwind.  

#2. Do you lose items or can’t find items when you want them (i.e. keys, receipts for returns, items to give back to a friend, etc)?

#3. Do you have duplicates of items – maybe that you bought because you couldn’t find the original (i.e. gift wrap bags, sunscreen, travel mugs)

#4.  Do you have boxes in your home that you’ve never opened, unwrapped or used. Maybe you’re not even sure what’s in them anymore. Maybe they ‘moved’ with you.

#5.  Are you finding that you have to buy more and more storage bins and baskets to store all your things?  More containers or off-site storage units are rarely the solution.

#6.  Are you embarrassed to have people over as they’ll see the state of your home?  Often clutter causes shame and this can lead to loneliness when we keep others at a distance. 

#7. Do you repeatedly try and organize but within a short time, it’s back to its original mess? When you have more stuff than you have space for organizing is not maintainable. 

#8. Are the surfaces of your home covered with stuff and you find your home difficult to clean?  Clutter everywhere makes moving items around to clean very challenging. 

#9.  Do you feel distracted and find it difficult to focus or be productive? Having too much stuff around you overloads your senses.

#10.  Are you hanging onto items in case you’ll need them someday?  Keeping ‘just in case’ items is always going to cost you space so determining when you last needed the item is a good gauge to know if you still need to hang on to it. 

When the stuff in your home starts to weigh you down and fences you in, decluttering is key.  Our ‘stuff’ should never control us.  Experiences and the people in our lives are where our memories are made. 

Need some quick, non-judgemental help?  Reach out to me for a free consultation.

by Martha Tobin

I don’t know about you but for me there is nothing like getting a good sleep.  It allows me to wake up energized, recharged and refreshed.  A good night’s sleep affects our mood, how we get along with others, how we think, react, work and learn.

Cluttered bedrooms remind us of our hectic lives so it’s really important to remove these distractions to be able to truly unwind.

Here are 6 tips to create a place of peace in your bedroom:

1. Spend a few minutes everyday putting things back where they live in your bedroom (i.e. clothes back in closets or drawers, shoes back in a shoe rack.
2. Return items to their rightful locations in your home (i.e. dishes back to the dishwasher, laptop back to your home office.
3. Add some baskets and bins to sort ‘like with like’ (i.e. phone chargers, tech accessories, adaptors in one, magazines and books in another).
4. Add some vertical shelving to make the most of your bedroom storage and keep items from piling up on the floor.
5. Eliminate potential distractions by moving them elsewhere (i.e. workout equipment to another room)
6. Remove trash from your bedroom or out of sight by adding a trashcan with a lid in a corner of the room.

A peaceful bedroom is going to create a relaxing vibe and encourage a restful and restorative sleep.

As Charlotte Bronte once said, “a ruffled mind makes a restless pillow”.

by Martha Tobin

As we move into the month of February, the winter weather and less daylight hours can begin to give you cabin fever. And of course, if you are also feeling weighed down and fenced in by your ‘stuff’, it can make you feel even more blue and overwhelmed.

Perhaps this is the year that you decide that your ‘stuff’ is no longer going to control your day-to-day enjoyment and your productivity.

Maybe this is the year you want to have friends over to your place again or maybe you just want to feel some calm when you enter your home so that you can truly recharge there.

With that in mind, here are 8 things you can start to declutter and get out of your home:

–Kitchen utensils you no longer use

–Clothing that is damaged, stained or no longer fits

–Tupperware that doesn’t match up

–Dead or sick plants

–Old magazines

–Broken footwear

–Toys your kids don’t play with

–Bags/boxes of donations you’ve been meaning to drop off

Need some assistance making decisions about items you are hanging onto? Declutter4Good can help.