If this week's expected rainstorm isn't enough to say we've officially entered a new season, today is the first today of spring. For a lot of us, that means flowers and Easter candy. And for others? Spring cleaning.
Julie Naylon is a personal organizer with No Wire Hangers in L.A. She joined Take Two's Sue Carpenter at her house in Highland Park to walk her through some decluttering tips and tricks.
Start with "the purge"
Take it one step at a time. Don't even think about the whole job. Think about doing the first step, which is the purge. The first step is you have to go through and group all the like items. Don't get rid of things until you see what you have.
Where to start
Start with whatever room is bothering you the most. It doesn't matter where you start, but it's good to go through, do the purge, group the items together. Once that's done, the fun part is to play with the space and figure out where it should go.
Clear purged items ASAP
Get it out within 24 hours. You can not have a donation bag that sits in your house for longer than 24 hours because if it does, it most likely is not going to leave. You have to finish it by getting it out.
How to decide what should go
Paper in my house I treat like it's on fire, so I immediately scan it and get it out. It's an action item. A good question to ask yourself is how easy it will be to replace if you need it.
One in, one out
Practice the one in, one out rule. When I buy a new pair of jeans, it's taking the spot of another. It's a good way to take inventory of your closet and see what you have.
How much time to spend
If you're doing it alone, set timers. It could easily get off track. Start with 30 minutes.