How to De-Junk Your Life

It's time to simplify and get organized. Here are some timely tips.

Things You'll Need

• time for sorting and tossing
• internet (optional)

Instructions

1. Unwanted calls? The National Do Not Call Registry gives you a choice about whether to receive telemarketing calls at home. https://www.donotcall.gov/

2. 

   To help prevent the piles of mail coming into your home, try this online service. Choose the paper mail you want. Stop the junk mail you don't want. Your personal information is being collected, bought, and sold by thousands of businesses every day. Without your consent. ProQuo helps you to remove your name and personal information from thousands of marketing lists, data brokers and other organizations that send you unsolicited mail. Their new catalog service helps you choose the catalogs you may want to start or stop receiving. You will find them at www.proquo.com.

3. Another way to Stop Credit Offers in the mail is easy, you just need your address, former address within two years, and social security number. One call can do it for agencies Equifax, Trans Union, Experian and Innovis. Dial 1-888-5 OPT OUT (or 1-888-567-8688) 24 hours a day.

4. Too much junk to deal with individually start by sending a postcard or letter to Mail Preference Service, Direct Marketing Association, PO Box 643, Carmel, NY 15012-0643 Include your complete name, address, zip code and a request to "activate the preference service". For up to five years, this will stop mail from all member organizations that you have not specifically ordered products from.

5. Whenever you donate money, order a product or service, or fill out a warranty card, write in large letters, "Please do not sell my name or address". Most organizations will properly mark your name in the computer. For more ideas, link to CSPR's "How to Get Less Junk Mail". http://www.cpsr.org/prevsite/cpsr/privacy/junkmail.html

6. Go through each room in your house. Start to sort out what you want to get rid of. Don't start to decide about everything right away. You'll get bogged down in the details.

7. Make a staging area for items you want to donate/sell/toss. If you decide to sell items consider an online yard sell, Ebay or Amazon depending on the condition and worth of the item. Consider donating items to your favorite charity, shelter or church. You can take clothes to sell at a resale shop. It's a small amount of cash, but maybe well worth it over the year. Once you've sorted out the old junk and done away with items you no longer need you're ready to reorganize your home and garage!

8. 

   Consider selling or better yet trading your old items for things you want. Try out zunafish and see what happens. http://www.zunafish.com/ or try http://www.swaptree.com/

9. The old adage, A place for everything and everything in its place, helps to explain the next step. Find the best place to keep all your household items. Buy containers to help you stay organized. Notice you didn't buy the containers first. Sort out the junk first. Buy toolboxes and storage bins if you garage is over run. Use under the bed storage for items in small rooms. This is a great for out of season clothing or toys in a child's room.

10. Consider a large bin in the garage for smaller outside toys or for seasonal storage. Store water guns and pool toys in the garage. Use racks and hooks in the garage for bikes and gardening tools.

Tips & Warnings

• Look for methods to organize every part of your house.

• Keep seasonal items, like Christmas decorations, to a minimum and in an out of the way storage location, like an attic or spare bedroom closet.

Resources

• Life Organizers
• DIY Organizing Tips