KEEP IT TOGETHER

M om ’s Ultimate Fam ily

Organizer,

$25, is your

one-stop binder to get

everyone in yo u r house on

the' sam e page— literally.

HOST A SWAP MEET

If y o u ’re am o n g the fashion frugal,

g ather so m e frien d s and neighbors

fo r a clo thes and sh o es exchange.

clothingswaps.com

STRATEGIZE

C h o o se one area

o f yo u r house to

d o a deep purge.

Achieving one

clutter-free room

will m otivate you

to m ove on to

another pro ject

PARTING

WAYS Do

you really need

multiple sets of

dishes? Pad yo ur

wallet by selling

one o f yo ur

collections online.

Reduce paper by

sorting it this way:

D oes it require

action, is it for

reference, o r is

it trash (A-R-T)?

—organizer

Lone Marrero

TRASHBAG

TANGO Here's

how pro organizer

Peter W alsh jum p-

starts a purge Grab

two trashbags and

spend 10 m inutes a

day m aking the

rounds. Fill one with

item s to recycle or

throw away and the

other with things to

donate o r sell.

THE PRICE IS RIGHT

M ove m erchandise quickly at

yard sales by asking no m ore than

about 10 percent o f the price paid

when the item was new.

ribbon

C onceal clutter w ith stylish

□rage. D ecorative boxes

b len d in w ith books and

a rt o n shelves

vtnppLoq'

Striped box, $

13

.

50

;

paper-source.com;

green and orange boxes, starting at

$

10

;

containerstore.com

CLEAR OUT CLUTTER BY

ASKING YOURSELF: Do

you love the item? When

was the last time you used

it? Can you imagine yourself

or a family m em ber needing

it? If your answers are “no,”

it’s probably time to toss it

—

a u t h o r G a i l B l a n k e

HI f

'

photo*

'* !

v—

—

/

I

T H R O W O U T F IF T Y T H IN G S .C O M C h e c k o u t th is site b y o rg a n izin g expert G a il B lanke fo r m o re w ays to c u t th ro u g h clutter.

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SEPTEMBER 2009 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS

BY KELLY RYAN KEGANS; PHOTOS (BOXES) ADAM ALBRIGHT; (SHIRT) JUPITER IMAGES; (WOMAN AND BOOKSHELVFS) VFFR: (TfcAr.H RAPG) kft Tf.Af/A. (YARD SALE) GETTY IMAGES