Kim Kubsch

To put yourself on a diet, you consume less and are more discerning with your daily food and beverage intake. So, apply that to your home and Put Your House on a Diet!

A few guidelines to Put Your House on a Diet:

Do not add to your space without subtracting from the space. Apply this guideline to each room, closet, cabinet, or drawer of your home. Plan on needing the most time in the kitchen. It is often an overloaded area.

Remind yourself to let go of the excess so you have space for what matters the most. Get rid of the small stuff so you have more energy to concentrate on the big stuff.

Before a new item comes into the home, decide which item(s) will leave. Maintain a One-In, One-Out policy.

Have nothing in your house that you do not see to be useful or believe to be beautiful, keeping in mind that clutter is too much stuff in too small a space.

Thinking of your paperwork, work from files, not piles. If you have not set up files yet, create an order that makes sense to you, such as alphabetical or chronological. Maintain an up-to-date index of all your files that itemizes the files, which helps avoid creating duplicate files.

Clutter is visually unappealing, and it tends to hide the things you love. Worse yet, it usually causes more housework. Often it can be dangerous, with trip hazards and sometimes fire hazards. Hopefully, you don’t end up replacing things that get lost in the clutter, costing more money. It causes more time spent looking for things.

So, are you convinced yet that you should Put Your House on a Diet? Try it—you will likely like it! Keep in mind that your clutter didn’t accumulate overnight, so don’t expect it to disappear in a day. A little at a time is all you need to start seeing and feeling a difference. Putting Your House on a Diet will make you smile and feel peaceful when you look at the various spaces that were trimmed down. To feel accomplished and remind yourself of your pre-diet house, take a photo before you start and take one after. How many pounds of stuff did your house lose?

To propel your downsizing efforts prior to your transition, contact me for a free 30-minute consultation. Contact me at 480-720-8566 or [email protected].

Check back monthly for more ideas about organizing, decluttering, and downsizing! Visit www.JoyfulDownsizing.com to order my book Getting Your Life Together Organizer, available in printed paperback or downloadable and editable eBook.