It's Day 1 of our Declutter Challenge and we are starting with you, not your partner, not your kids, not your housemates.
If you want to see your whole house decluttered, and you want your family to join in, you must lead by example. You must tackle the process of decluttering in a way that you will feel the immediate results and develop a system that you will stick with without rebounding. Starting in your space with your things will have the most effect on how you start your day, how you end your day, and how well you sleep at night. And because it will effect your mood in such a positive way, you will be more likely to keep going with the rest of your house. 
We're going to start with your clothes. Why? From my experience cleaning houses and helping others organize, clothing seems to be the biggest eyesore of clutter in most people's bedrooms. Its on the bed, sometimes baskets full of it, its draped over the end of the bed, it's hanging on over the door hooks, it's laying on top of nightstands, dressers, chairs and ottomans. There's clothing on the floor, and it's oozing out of your dresser drawers and the closet door won't close. Clothing is the main source of clutter in adult bedrooms. Clearing that clutter, along with making your bed everyday will have the most visual and energetic impact on your life. We're gonna start with socks and underwear. 
Why? Again when I walk into my client's homes to clean them, inevitably I will tuck socks and underwear into drawers, so that I can close them. Those drawers are always open or have something peeking out of them, even if the other drawers are closed. 
We're going to use the Konmari Method for going through and folding our clothes this week. So let's begin.
Step 1: Collect and Wash 
Go around your house and collect your socks from everywhere they may be stashed, even the lonely orphan socks. Again, not children's socks and not your partner's socks, just yours. Collect your underwear while you are at it. If you have dirty socks and underwear, wash and dry them.
Step 2: Dump Them Out
Dump all of them out onto your bed or your dining room table and sort them into pairs. 

Step 3: Decide What to Keep
Pick up each pair of socks, hold them in your hands, and ask yourself three questions: 1) Do these fit right? 2) Are they comfortable to wear? 3) Are they worn thin or do they have wholes in them? If the answer to one and two is yes, put them in the keep pile, if the answer is no, discard them. If the answer to number three is yes, discard them.
Step 4: Create a Bag for Recycled Clothes
You will use this bag or bags over the course of this week for more than your socks. No one wants old hole filled or uncomfortable socks. So to lesson your carbon foot print recycle them! I don't mean into another use in your house though. Old stained and torn clothes can be recycled and reused for their fibers in the creation of many different products. Here in Asheville, we have a antique furniture market, The Regeneration Station that has a dumpster for recycled clothes that they send off. Call around in your city or town to see if you have a business that does this. IF you don't, just toss those socks now and forget the recycled clothes bag. 

Step 5: Fold the Socks You are Keeping
You are going to use the Konmari Method to fold your socks. Check out my video recorded this morning on my Facebook page, www.facebook.com/theneatfreaks . The folding tutorial starts at about 6:20, if you don't want to watch the whole video. 
Step 6: Find Shallow Boxes or Storage Baskets 
Look around your house. Do you have an old iPad box? Do you have other small shallow boxes that would fit nicely in your drawer, grab them. You will use them to separate ankle socks from mid-length socks and knee-high or ski length socks. 
Step 6: Place the Socks Back in Your Drawer

Step 7: The Lonely Sock Basket
If you didn't do this when you went through all your paired socks, now is time to dump your lonely sock basket on the table or bed. I bet you will find more than lonely socks in it, if you do, put those things where they go. Lay them all out and look through them to find any pairs. All the socks that don't pair up, go in the clothing recycle bag with the socks that no longer serve you. The ones that do go in your newly remodeled sock drawer. 

Here^, you see that I still have socks in the lonely sock basket? These are my daughter's socks. I know, I said do you, not your children. But, I did this to my socks sometime ago, so I couldn't take pictures of the process for the blog. Today is laundry day in our house, and I know that the few socks in our left in our lonely sock basket have matches that I will find in her wash. I found three pairs of socks that matched, and the pile on the right is all the socks and tights we are discarding. 
Tonight, I want you to do this to your socks, and then I want you to go through your underwear and bra drawers. There are lots of videos on YouTube on how to fold clothes the Konmari way. Just search "Konmari underwear" or "Konmari boxers," etc, and you will find a video that suits you. 
Happy Purging and Folding! I'll see you all tomorrow for Day 2 of our Declutter Challenge. 

What is a house?
Well, that's a silly question. The answer is easy, right? A house is a building. Maybe we don't call it by that exact name, maybe we call it an apartment or a condo or a mobile home, maybe your house is an RV or a tent, but regardless of what descriptive word we choose to use, a house is a physical space that a person or a group of people live in. But I believe a house is more than that. I believe a house is a living breathing thing. 
A house plays a role in our lives just like people do; it holds space for us just like our families, our friends, and our pets do. The most basic role of a house is to provide us with physical shelter. It's a place for us to go to be protected from the elements. That's quite a big role, deserving of respect, but a house is more than a physical shelter. It shelters us from the harmful behavior of other people, of animals, it provides us with a safe place to store our things. Now, obviously, in a certain percentage of cases a house fails at that role, just as people sometimes fail at their roles, because some people are just not good people, but for the majority of our lives it succeeds at those roles. Besides just physically protecting us from bad people and animals or storing our things safe from theft and damage, it also shelters us from the negative or over-whelming energies of other people and of our busy modern world. And yet still, a house is so much more than a physical shelter and a shelter from chaotic energy. 
A house is the first environment that we start our days in. It lends its energy to how we will go about each day. Just like making our beds sets the tone for the rest of our day, the space that the bed sits in also sets the tone for how our days will go. A house is most often the place where we prepare and eat our food, and the condition of your kitchen can dictate what energy we directly put into our bodies. A house is the environment that we come home to and end each day in. It's where we land ourselves to unwind, to decompress, to relax. Like starting our days in it, the condition of our house can influence our ability to unwind, to relax, to let go of our stresses. A house is the space where we often cultivate our deeper relationships with others in life. It's where we fall in love, it's where we make our children, and it's the environment that we bring them home to in the first precious days of their lives. We learn and grow as parents in our home, and we raise our kids in them for 18+ years. The energy in our house plays a role in who they will become as adults, and how they will raise their own children. We play games, we read books, we build forts, we watch movies, we play dress-up, we create art, we cook and we snuggle; it's the place where we spend most of our quality time with our kids. We celebrate birthdays, and holidays and coming of age moments. We create and pass down traditions in our homes. We welcome pets and friends into our homes, and we create memories and love with them too. Our houses are the places where we celebrate when we've had a great day at work, or school, or someone calls and gives us good news. It is the physical place where we dream and plan for our futures. If you are lucky enough to own your own home, it will provides a more secure future not only for you, but for your children and possibly your grand-children. A house is where we cultivate our creativity and our goals. It's also a place that holds space for us when the world is all wrong and unfair, when our lives are chaotic and stressed and sad. 
A house is where we vent our anger and our frustration when we've had a bad day. It's where we heal when we are sick and where we nurse our family members and pets when they are ill. It's the place we come to to hide when we are filled with anxiety or suffering from depression. It's the place where we will contemplate and make the hardest decisions of our lives. Sometimes, it's the building where we must witness the people and the animals that we love transition out of this world, and then it becomes the place where we grieve their loss. It's the place where we too, will eventually become sick or grow old and die in. A house holds space for us to feel safe through the tough emotions of living. 
A house plays a huge role in our existence. Our house holds energy! It holds warm air in for us in the winter, and cool air in the summer. It has active power wires running through all of its walls that move energy from outside of our homes in, to power the machines we use to make life easier or more entertaining. It has cables running through its walls and wireless signals beaming through the air to provide us with a means of communication or entertainment. It has pipes filled with water throughout to give us hydration, a method to cook our food, a way to cleanse ourselves and the house itself. Our homes are alive with moving energy even when we are not present in them. It's not only physical, tangible energy that brings it to life; it's alive with the unseen energies too,the energy of every person and thing that has come through its doors. 
Every item in our home carries with it an energy. Every memory or moment, good or bad, carries with it an energy. And those energies influence our own energy levels and moods, either positively or negatively. The energetic alive in a house influences the way we live our lives, the way our children, our pets, our plants and and the people we invite in live theirs. 
A house is a very special and powerful place. It is a sacred place, a very sacred personal space. It's the thing that we work hardest to keep in our lives, and the thing that most of our hard-earned money will be spent on. When our homes aren't treated with respect or cared for, neither are we. And vice-versa. When our house is chaotic, so our our lives. When our house is stressed, so are we. When our house is cluttered, so are our minds. When the places we eat and go to get clean are unhealthy, so are we. And the opposite, when we are unhealthy, our house often falls into an unhealthy state. A house isn't just a building. It's an organism with its own unique ebb and flow of energy. 
I want you to think about your life and what people, things, activities, and qualities you hold most valuable. Write them down. Make a list of five to ten things that you value most. Then, based on your values, write down five to ten goals you have for yourself over the course of the next year. Where and how do you want to be this time next year? Sit with those two lists for a minute, and then get up and walk through your whole house room by room. Does your house carry with it an energy that reflects those values? Does the energy  of your home support your goals in life? What areas or things in your home participate in holding you back from living your core values and attaining your goals? And what area or things in your home energetically support your vision for your how your future unfolds. Write those things down too. Put them on your refrigerator, your chalkboard, or your vision board if you have one. 
If you find yourself stuck in undesirable pattern in life that doesn't support the highest version of you, chances are when you walk through your home, you will find lots of areas and things that are preventing the flow of energy and no longer serve you. It's time to remove those things that distract us, that make us sad, that stress us out, that remind us of our failures, of people who were unkind to us or hurt us, of things that keep us up at night making lists of all the unfinished projects we must complete tomorrow and prevent real quality sleep. It's time to remove all that doesn't help us to make our dreams become our reality. 
Tomorrow, our 30-Days-to-Neat: Declutter Challenge begins. Commit yourself to taking ten to twenty minutes of your day, each day for the nesx thirty days to create more space, time, energy, and money for the things you value most in life. Join me as I go live tomorrow, March 24th, at noon eastern time to lead us through the first small step to decluttering our lives. www.facebook.com/theneatfreaks

“Most people have no idea of the giant capacity we can immediately command when we focus all of our resources on mastering a single area of our lives.” –Tony Robbins

As the owner of a residential cleaning business and organizing coach, I have a unique lens into the homes of many different types of people. I walk through someone else’s front door roughly 800 times a year, and each time I do, a different set of emotions and observations presents itself to me.

I can tell by the homes of my clients when life is flowing freely and I can tell when life is stressful. I can sense the joy in their homes and I can sense the depression. I can sense the calm days and I can since the busy and overwhelming mornings. I watch the moods of my employees as we move from one house to the next, and how each house effects their energy levels and productivity. I know before they ever step into a new house whether they will love it or dread it. And as I observe my clients’ lives from the perspective of where they rest their heads and my employees behavior and attitudes in each, I can draw a direct correlation between the homes that are clutter free and orderly to feelings of calm and motivation. And one thing I’ve noticed in the homes that are neat and tidy, where everything has its place, is that the beds or at least the master bed is made!
I see making the bed as the first and most foundational habit to transform your life from clutter to simplicity. Before you ever start asking if things spark joy, making trips with a car full of stuff to Goodwill, learning special methods of folding your clothes, creating a capsule wardrobe or redoing your pantry with neatly organized clear bins, you must learn to make your bed!
Why?
​​

1. Starts Your Day With A Feeling of Accomplishment!  Chances are if you’re a seeking ways to declutter your life, it’s likely because you are surrounded by stuff and stressed out in some way by it. When we get to that state we become over-whelmed, and decluttering, purging, and organizing our lives becomes an overwhelming and daunting task. When we look at the whole picture or even just our closet, we get anxiety just thinking about where to begin, and often we fail at simplifying our lives. But if we can somehow tackle one small task with tangible results we foster a tiny sense of accomplishment.                              Accomplishing things makes us feel good, and when such a small task like making your bed brings you a little bit of joy, it reminds you that it’s the little things in life that matter.                                                                                                  On the days that you wake up and don’t feel like you have the motivation or the reason to do it, if you force yourself, making your bed becomes a simple exercise in mindfulness. Since you didn’t feel like doing it, you must stay more present in the act to accomplish it. Accomplishing something, being reminded that the little things are what bring joy in life, and practicing being present in the now sets the intention or the tone for you to face the rest of your day with ease and productivity.​
2. Making Your Bed Leads To Increased Productivity.                                      When you practice a little bit of mindfulness, you are forcing yourself to be present and put the past behind you. Putting yesterday's worries and stresses out of our mind clears a path for creativity in our minds, and creativity brings us new opportunities for growth, whether it's in our home, our work, or  our mental sphere. That feeling of accomplishment creates a domino effect that makes us want to bring more of the feelings it produced to our day. Creating a new habit like making your bed facilitates the growth of mental discipline. Discipline is the #1 ingredient to productivity and ultimately success. 
3. It Looks Nice.                                                                                                                        Even if the rest of your room looks like a tornado hit it,  your made bed will become the focal point. This is even more true in rooms like mine where the bed takes up most of the room. Because the bed takes up most of the space, most of the space will look tidy which will bring you instant gratification and calm.​
4. Making the bed helps to build healthy habits.                                                Being in spaces that feel calm can be quite addictive. I challenge you to make your bed every morning before you do anything else, and I promise it will inspire you to create healthier habits in your bedroom and eventually your entire home.                                                                                                                When I began my own personal decluttering journey, after just two days of leaving my house and coming home to a clean bed, I decided I wanted to know what it would feel like to see the top of my dresser again. So, on night two I cleaned the top of my dresser off. Then when I came home the next day to a clear dresser, I realized my mirror was covered in dust and spots, so I cleaned it. All the light it reflected literally shed light the next morning on how much clutter was still stacked up on my floors. So I took a few minutes to walk the pile of stuff I was saving for a yard sale in the spring to my shed and picked up the random shoes, clothes and bags that were hiding between my dresser and my wall. When I came home that day my “catch all” chair, (you know you have one or some storage ottoman) stood out like a sore thumb among my cleared bed, dresser and floors, so I went through the pile of clothes, random handbags and papers that were sitting on and hanging from it. I have a small house so my workspace is in the corner of my room, and serves not only as my desk, but my nightstand, so when I woke up the next morning I tidied the top of it before I left. When I came home from work, to the sun shining in on my now pretty organized and tidy room, I could see all the dust on everything, so I knocked that out. By day seven of making my bed, I had developed a habit of coming home and hanging my purse and jacket on their hooks with my keys in my purse, of putting my clean clothes directly in my dresser, of tidying my desk before bed and before I left for work, of hanging worn clothes that didn’t need to be laundered back in my closet, and putting my shoes in my shoe organizer. I even started sweeping my floors every night because I have pets and I don’t like feeling of their hair and dirt stuck to my feet when I first wake up or coming to bed with me at night. All of this started with: make your bed!​​                                                                                                                           ​It Reduces Allergies.                                                                                              This is especially true and important if you're like me and live with animals. My dog loves to sleep with me and there is just no keeping the cats off of it. With dogs and cats (and kids) comes dirt, dust, and pet dander. Leaving your bed open to catch those things leads to allergies.
5. Making your bed saves you money.                                                                            What, how? When you make your bed, your sheets are less wrinkled and your pillows get fluffed which preserves the fibers of your linens and adds to their longevity. As mentioned in #5, it protects your sheets from your pets, preventing them from snagging or tearing them with their nails, as well as staining them. It prevents stains from the grimy hands of a two year old and discourages the three year old who just learned to use scissors. Protecting your sheets from your little ones and pets, keeps your linens clean longer which decreases the need for washing and saves you money on the water, power and detergent too. And get this! Studies have shown the habit of making your bed is associated with good budgeting skills. In a world of American consumerism, we could all use some good budgeting habits.
6. Making your bed reduces stress and improves your mood!                              When we go to bed or come home to disorder and clutter, our minds cannot rest because every where we look there is stuff, and that stuff does nothing but remind of us of all the things we have to do, all the bad days and bad habits of the past, and all the areas where we are falling behind and failing at life. Being constantly reminded and surrounded by our shortcomings causes anxiety and stress. It causes us to feel overwhelmed and go to bed with worries and to-dos racing through our heads. When we’ve had a rough day and we want to come home and relax and shake off negativity, and we walk into a messy room we are again reminded of our inadequacies and the negativity of a rough day becomes even more apparent. When you make your bed, you are telling yourself that you matter, that you are good enough to create a retreat for yourself to unwind. Not only is the made bed aesthetically pleasing, but it is also a neat and orderly focal point that draws your eye and your mind to the things that are right about you, your day, and your life. When we focus on the positive and what we can and have accomplished instead of all the things we can’t and haven’t, we can rest. When we can rest our minds, our sleep improves. When get quality sleep and wake up with a clear mind our stress is reduced, and our mood can be lifted.                                                                                                                                                                          How could you not make your bed tomorrow morning? I challenge you to make your bed every morning before you do anything else for the next five days! Make note of how it make you feel, and observe any other tidying behaviors you start to exhibit. Beginning the journey to neat starts with setting small, realistic and attainable goals! Check out the ripple effect making my bed has made in my bedroom & let's start spring with new healthy habits.