Annnnnd we’re back with the second installment of Meg’s guests posts on how to ditch the clutter! And based on all of the decluttering and organizing I’m seeing all over my social media feeds, I have no doubt that this series is serving a great purpose! So here we go with part 2 – thanks, Meg!!
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Hi!! How’d you do with the kids toys and all the paperwork? Good? Great!! Let’s move right along to the bedroom. Stop right when you get into the room. Are you staring at a bed?
Day 3: Pillows
Unless you take a vacation or sleep over at Grandma and Grandpa’s, you use your pillow 365 nights a year. Regardless of the fact that I’m sure we all do an AMAZING job changing our pillowcases all the time (hmmm…), our pillows still require washing and replacing. I have read what can live on pillows overtime. It’s not pretty. I’ll spare you the details and leave it at this — just because you cant see it, doesn’t mean it isn’t there (if you want, you can read for yourself HERE but proceed with caution).
So, off come all the pillowcases in all the bedrooms. Anything that’s not up to par will not be returning. I am pretty embarrassed by the state of the pillows in the master bedroom…all four are OUT.
The average pillow is not crazy expensive. In fact, I remember buying some for $2.99 each out of a 12 foot wire display at Target a while back. They very quickly lost all their fluff and were flat as pancakes within a month. A lesson in “You Get What You Pay For”.
Take some time and find a good deal on pillows. HomeGoods has a great selection, and most of them that I saw recently there were about $9 each. Macy’s often has great deals on them as well, and there’s always those handy 20% off Bed, Bath and Beyond coupons. My youngest and I headed off to Bed, Bath, and Beyond…
Not time to buy new pillows? Perhaps yours just need a good cleanse. How do you wash your pillows? In the washing machine, of course. Followed by a pretty extensive trip in the dryer. It usually takes my dryer two or three cycles to get them properly dry. I have read it is helpful if you put a tennis ball inside a sock with the drying pillows. The tennis ball “beats up” the pillows and gets them into better shape. Something to keep in mind – when I have done this in the past, I have found that the very inexpensive pillows (i.e., the ones that cost $3), do very poorly in the washer and dryer. They come out very lumpy and are pretty much destroyed.
Here are some pretty extensive pillow washing instructions.
Day 4: SHEETS AND TOWELS
Today I opened up my linen closet and there was so much stuff in there. This brings me to a 2019 New House Plan: Every bed gets one complete extra set of sheets. This will get rid of a lot of unnecessary clutter in the closet. No need for 10 miscellaneous pillow cases. No need for twin size sheets from college days. No need for TWO complete extra sets of sheet for one bed. We have 4 beds in our house so we are allowed to have a total of 8 complete sheet sets. Beyond that – toss it into your Give Back Box! This also serves as good reminder to all of us that as cute as the Pottery Barn Kids sheets are, it is very likely that your child’s bed is ALL SET. Ex out of website!
And next up — towel check. Out come all the towels from the shelves onto my bed for sorting. Each towel needs to be inspected. No long threads coming undone, no big holes, no funky smells. Consider taking any unwanted towels to a local Humane Society. While nobody in your house will likely be thrilled when using a towel filled with strings and holes, a little kitten should would love to claw into it!!
One more tip: A very smart neighbor from our last home clued me in to THESE TOWELS from Target — thank you, Sarah from Colonie, NY! They are great quality, super soft and not terribly expensive. I’ve seen Target run a 40% off towel sale before, but you can save 10% with code HOME right now!
Day 5: The Universal Key {AKA The Key Every Parent Needs}
This isn’t so much a decluttering thing, as it is a home refresh activity. In my house, there is a Universal Key or a cotton-less Q-Tip sitting on top of every single door frame. Today I am double checking to make sure the Key/Q-Tip is still, in fact, there. If one is missing, it will be replaced. Easy!
This is a Universal Key.
Long story short, a few years ago, my older son locked the younger one in his room. My younger son was in his crib and about one year old at the time. My husband was at work, and I was beside myself, pretty much ready to knock down the door with an ax. Enter my good friend, Mary. Mary brought over a Universal Key and was able to unlock the door with a simple twist of her wrist. Crisis averted, day (and door) saved.
Let me try to explain… If your doorknob has a lock on it that you push in, it’s likely the opposite knob will have a small hole on it. If you ever need to unlock the door from the outside, just stick a small Q-Tip (minus the cotton) in, and it will pop the lock. Amazing! (Edited to add from Courtney…a bobby pin will also work well, too! Just bend it into an ‘L’ shape!)
However, if your door has a lock that requires a turn, you can’t pop the lock. Instead you need a Universal Key. On the outside of the knob, you slip in the Universal Key and turn it. Ta Da! You are heroically turning the lock on the door! Problem solved!
I recommend buying one and trying it out on your doors before you’re in a stressful situation!
Stay tuned for one more post on tips and tricks to get your house back to square one ! <3
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