The 12 Days of Organizing

SK Simple Solutions’ The 12 Days of Organizing by Donating, Getting Rid of, or Keeping our Treasures!

12 Days, 30 minutes each day, decide what to donate, get rid of, or keep!

We are on a journey to change our clutter behavior to reduce what we buy, reuse what we have, and treasure & display our collectibles!

Now let's review the middle 2 days of organizing!

On the first day Organizing

My personal organizer said to me,

Just 30 minutes to declutter every day!

Set a specific goal: books, linens

Make 3 piles; donations, throw away, KEEP

Set the timer: 30 minutes

On the seventh day of Organizing

My organizer said to me

Donate 7 books not reading

Just 30 minutes to declutter every day!

Set a specific goal: books on 1 bookshelf

Make 3 piles; donations, throw away, KEEP

Set the timer: 30 minutes

Books. We all use them. There is a book for every aspect of life from the past, present and future. People have been composing stories since the dawn of humankind. From the cave paintings in Las Cuevas de Altamira, Spain to Danielle Steel, who has sold over 800 million copies of her books, we have been writing and illustrating our histories.

Over time we collect books and put them on shelves. When the shelves are full we get another bookshelf. Many love their books and enjoy walking by them every day. How many have you reread? What is your favorite genre? Do you have a favorite author?

Next, how do you organize your books? I use different organizing styles in all parts of the house. First I group by category: religious, travel, sports, near death experiences. Then I might group by height, color, skinny etc.

Photo by Juan Pablo Serrano Arenas from Pexels

Over the years I have lost my passion of possessing books. I have been slowly donating my books to schools or the library.

In 1 donation pile I had 162 books! And my bookshelves were still full. So, over time I have let go of more and more books. Currently I have 50 books left (this doesn’t include my husband who is taking much longer to let go of books.)

I kept my favorites and most meaningful, two of which are, The Red Tent by Anita Diamant and What Jesus Really Meant by Gary Wills.

So, in the spirit of the 12 Days of Organizing, look over your books.

Choose 7 to donate to your library.

Glance over the titles of the ones you’ve kept. Think about the stories.

Try a new way to organize 1 bookshelf: books by height, spine color, genre

On the eighth day of Organizing

My organizer said to me

8 sets of linens

And Just 30 minutes to declutter every day!

Set a specific goal: linens, sheets & towels

Make 3 piles; donations, throw away, KEEP

Set the timer: 30 minutes

Now, the linen closet. It’s time to evaluate sheets & towels. Remove only these items from closets and cabinets.

Sort by category; size, type, sets,
Store by season.
Use baskets, soft boxes, or clear tubs to organize linens.
Eliminate old, discolored, torn linens.
Use place mats, decorative drying mats, or shelf paper to line the shelves.
Place donated items into a plastic bag and move it to the garage.

How did you do these past 2 days? 30 minutes to declutter is feasible. Set a specific goal; books, linens only. Focus only on that specific item. Use the 30 minutes to sort and evaluate what to donate, throw away, and KEEP. Put it all into a plastic bag, take it to the garage for donations, NOW! Keep organizing, release your possessions and live a more simple, decluttered life.

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