10 Tips For Getting Rid Of The Junk In Your Life

Whether you’ve already done your spring cleaning or you’re still avoiding it, your home probably has lots of stuff you don’t need anymore — Junk. Stuff. Crapola. Where to get started separating the keepers from the junk?

First, a confession: I’m a huge offender when it comes to useless stuff. Our garage in chock-full of too-small bicycles, kid-friendly wagons, snow paraphernalia and Christmas decorations that have long since been updated and replaced.

Then there’s our unfinished basement, filled with old furniture, well-used but outgrown kid toys, reptile tanks and accessories (Yes, we were the owners of four lizards and a snake at the same time) and lots of bursting-at-the-seams boxes full of my late parents’ old stuff. China, crystal and collectibles — all worth a pretty penny to the right buyer — and certainly not ready for the trash heap.

Though I haven’t cleared out the house yet, I’ve done a ton of research on my options. I will get there.

But until I’m ready (which is soon, according to my husband), why don’t you take advantage of all I’ve learned.

Do as I say, not as I do.

Here are 10 tips on how to not suck at getting rid of junk.

1. Don’t do it all at once

Set a timeline to go through your old stuff. Telling yourself you can do it all in a couple of sittings is probably very unrealistic.

And that will make the task a job, and an unpleasant one, at that.

Book your time on your calendar over the course of several weeks (depending on how much stuff you have), and have specific goals for each session. Then divide your basement, garage or whatever living space has the junk, and schedule exactly what you plan to hit at any given time.

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