Do you NEED all the things you have? Label makers are NOT a waste of money!

It is hard getting rid of things!

My daughter and I have been working on her room (this is a big project that took about 2 hours)! I could have been done a lot faster if I worked by myself, but we both had fun, and she had a say in the project. I also have ADHD tendencies and had to stop to check email and facebook and play a game with my son.

We started with her dresser, under her bed, toy shelves and her closet. I actually just pile everything in one place and make a mountain! I find this easier than just doing one thing at a time, because this way you see EVERYTHING you are dealing with! Plus it makes you want to get rid of that mountain!

Before we started her drawers were overflowing (and one drawer was a junk drawer). The top of her dresser looked sloppy, and her closet wasn't bad, but it had quite a bit of stuff that wasn't being used. She also had random stuff under her bed!

I had a whole bunch of containers/baskets that could fit on her closet shelves. We decided that she could only keep what we had room for! This is a big step to decluttering. If you don't have room for it, do you really need it? If you have room for it, do you still need it? If you aren't using it, let someone else get the enjoyment from it.

She decided she wanted games/puzzles, cds, Nintendo DS games, barbies, polly pockets, costume jewelry, and purses/wallets/old cell phones. Books are in a different cabinet, so we didn't have do deal with them.

My daughter had a blast making labels for her baskets. In the middle of this project she says, "label makers are NOT a waste of money!" We kept one large basket for misc. As we were going through the mountain, she would put the things she wanted in the baskets. Once the baskets were full, she was done. That left me to decide what do with the leftovers. We are giving some things to her cousins, donating quite a bit, and some things were going in the trash.

Our end result was nothing under the bed, about $2.50 extra change in her piggy bank. We reclaimed an entire drawer which is now strictly for dance and bathing suits. Plus her closet has everything she wants with easy access. In addition, her stuffed animals are well accessorized! I found a few hats and flower leis that we didn't know what do with. Her stuffed animals on her bookshelf are now wearing them!