17 mini moves to help you declutter
Motivate family from the start of a project to play their part in cleansing clutter.
15. Get specific.
Identify exactly what you need help with and set concrete deadlines. (“By bedtime Saturday, I need you to sort all the video games into two piles: those you play and those you don’t.”)
16. Reinforce deadlines.
Assignments carry weight when you back them up with both a reward (“You can have the money we make from reselling the old games”) and a consequence (“After Saturday, I’m moving all unsorted games to a box in the basement”).
17. Try leaving assignments to chance.
Organizer Jamie Novak recommends writing a numbered list of 12 mini tasks and having each family member roll dice to see which task they’ll work on. You can also pull slips of paper with tasks from a bowl or make a deck of assignment cards.
(Real Simple magazine provides smart, realistic solutions to everyday challenges. Online at www.realsimple.com.)
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