For real.  After 16 homes and an untold number of Mission Organization and Clean Sweep episodes under my belt I feel certain it's this simple.  (remember my motto – simple, not easy) 

Sort

Stack

Toss

Store

lather, rinse, repeat.  

This chant is on my lips as I move through my days right now.  It's how you go from this:

 to this:

I would have added "fast" but we try to stick to non-fiction writing over here.  Speed is dependent on a lot of variables – energy level, interuptions/distraction possibilities, and how much cr@p you actually have to work through.  When you see the shows on tv move through areas in record time you have to consider how much man power they have.  If you are doing all the lifting and hauling and labeling yourself it will take longer.  If you have to stop to tie small shoes, nurse babies, or referee tween disagreements this will impact.  

Still, it all works the same way process wise.  You'll need a pile to keep, to give away, and a big bag or box for stuff to toss for the first round.  Divvy up all the items into those piles.  Get rid of the tossers and the giveaways.  Then store the keepers appropriately.  If we had more time and materials I would have printed coordinating labels here.  (and am determined to do this when stateside again!) Truth is, index cards and a pen do the job for now so it is what it is.  This is about getting the job done, even if it flies in the face of my aesthetics loving self. 

Ziplock storage bags and clear packing tape are my staple items. I put all puzzles, manipulatives, and games into the 2 gallon size bags.  Another buzz phrase – "like with like".  Office supplies in smaller size bags.  Flash cards, sewing supplies, you name it, they all get bagged and then boxed. On the other end I can grab the bags easily and distribute them to whichever rooms work best in the new house.  Again, I hope to have some lovely storage containers when that happens but truth is, the school supplies (pencils, pens, ruler, scissors, glue) are contained and totally functional right now with them all in one gallon sized bag. So some of that is to impress ourselves and other moms vs an absolute need. Save your cash for when you truly have things pared down and functioning super well.  

Some boxes got a purge and restock.  Here is the gift wrap/party box.  We have worked out of this while in England.  We save gift bags (yes, they aren't cheap) and have tissue paper, scissors, bows tossed in along with party items like streamers and candles. All right there.  Not a huge variety.  In fact, I think it would be even wiser to pick neutrals like metallics or black and white or whatever that would work for any event.  Then you certainly can grab and go from the box on short notice. Wrapping stuff is pricey.  

Alright, back at it.  Will be honest – we are not machines. As Clutter Diet explains here, one of the hardest parts of sorting, tossing, storing is how inevitably you are drawn back to where you were when you got or used the items first. It's that emotional work that is exhausting, not the physical part.  As I mentioned before it is perfectly ok to decide you are not ready to deal with momentos.  If so, go straight to logical storage and tackle more practical messes first.  Those go quickly. 

Sort, stack, toss, store.  

If you want some hand holding I highly recommend Peter Walsh's 31 Day Challenge with video coaching. (free!)  You work in small chunks and get solid habits established. 

Pinterest fan?  Join me over here.  I am planning the infrastructure of the next house.  Very excited. 

This vintage ironing board was a long-ago find which has lingered some time in the "has potential" bin due to a split in one of the legs.  Abbie caught sight of it a couple weeks ago and begged and begged to have it.  We took a few minutes yesterday to bind up the board's wounds. Today was her test run. Happy to report the dollies' dresses are all pressed and they can hold their heads high once more.  

Ish.  

It was a play iron after all. 

Ironing isn't a cool thing to discuss these days. It was a staple of my childhood and I assumed everyone did it. Turns out just mentioning ironing stirs up some intense feelings among modern moms.  In fact it's likely to be met with snickering or outright aintnobodygottimeforthat scorn.  I'm making the case for it anyway and here is why.  If you buy clothes from consignment and press them nicely they automatically look 100 times newer and nicer.  Ditto for lower end fabrics.  So much so that the posh consignment stores will starch and press the life outta their stock and it looks oh so much more appealing just for that.  

A little starch goes a long way.  If you or your husband or a child in your home works in an office or is applying for a job, personal presentation still goes a long way towards projecting professionalism.  If you are regularly out with a gaggle of children, you are far more likely to make a good impression and dash people's assumptions that one cannot adequately care for more than a single child or two.  We've got to represent, ladies.

It doesn't take a fortune. Just a little elbow grease and a few minutes to run an iron over a skirt hem or church sleeves.  By the time they are in middle school children can do it themselves. Our sons iron more or less capably. We do not press every item by a long stretch but for church and other outings and with woven cotton items, yes.

My husband was active duty military for 20 yrs.  Another military wife asked me recently if I ever brought uniforms from the cleaners that you had to peel apart they were so stuck together stiff?  Oh yes, and his dress shirts for work are not much less starched these days.  Mind you when we have had super busy seasons of life he has taken them out for laundering – not going to mislead here.  Professional pressing really does take special care, equipment and time though doing it yourself – like simple home haircuts and other similar tasks wise folks learn to do – can be a great way to save a chunk of money annually. Actually, adding up all the miscellaneous services typically farmed out in a family is a great way to discover the value of the mom who "doesn't work." Another post for another day.

So anyway, yes – we press. In fact it's a job that hasn't been done enough this fall and I am actually missing it.

Ok I'm done.  Let the tomatoes fly. : )  

how to iron a shirt here

But I far prefer the lovely binder-worthy tute sent free from here

just for fun