It’s easy to bring things home, but so much harder to get rid of stuff when it becomes clutter. The advantage of de-cluttering your home is that you discover a calmness that comes from having a tidy space. You spend less time searching for things. And you just feel lighter! So, to get you started on the path to a clutter-free home, here are some tips. Grasp tightly to the purge mindset. The hardest part about removing the clutter from your home is staying in the “purge mindset”—the ruthless attack on the reasons you’ve been keeping so much more than you should. “I’m going to finally lose weight and fit into those pants.” “Those were really expensive.” “It just needs a little repair.” “I might need that someday.” Forget all that. When you’re de-cluttering, don’t allow yourself any rationalizations for keeping extraneous stuff. Let’s face it. You’re probably not going to lose that weight any time soon. Secondly, just because you spent too much on something isn’t a reason to cling to it. Next, you’re never going to repair it. Consider it broken for good. Finally, “someday” isn’t coming. If you don’t use that gadget now, you probably never will. Designate the destinations. Not all of your clutter needs to be thrown away. Some of it can be donated to charities. Before you sort through your stuff, set up three large bins or boxes. Mark one for “Donate”, another for “Keep” and the third for “Discard”. Your goal is to have your “Keep” box less full than the other two. Remember that there are all types of places to donate your unwanted possessions. In addition to groups like Goodwill and the Salvation Army, there are local thrift shops, senior centers, nursing homes, childcare centers, schools, women’s shelters, libraries, animal shelters, and churches. As you look through your giveaways, ask yourself, “Who could really use this?” Stay focused. Don’t fall into the trap of reminiscing about the things you discover. Be very picky about the memorabilia you will keep. Memories stay in your memory and your heart. You don’t need to clutter your life with dust-catchers to remember good times. Work one room at a time. Start your purge at Clutter Central—that place in your home with the most excess. Maybe it’s your bedroom closet, the playroom, or basement. Starting big will give you a sense of accomplishment and set you off with a good pace for purging freely. Retire the expired. Look through your medicine cabinets and pantry. Get rid of anything that has expired. For items that are about to expire, put them in the front of the cabinet, as a reminder to use them quickly. Give up the damaged goods. Don’t keep any pieces that are chipped, cracked, stained, or soiled. Just take a deep breath and discard them. Throw out the holey socks and tattered t-shirts. Give up your orphan earring—the mate is gone for good. Get rid of the scraped-up, nonstick skillets. Trash the small appliances that don’t work. Get an external stash. A storage unit is a good investment for storing items that are worth keeping—just not in your house. Seasonal items and furniture that you want to hold onto can be kept in a storage unit, so you don’t have to look at the clutter. Check out Woods Self Storage if you are near the Yukon, OK area. There are units of various sizes, climate and non climate controlled with cameras on premises and 24/7 gate access. 405-494-7492 www.woodsstorage.com info@woodsstorage.com   Now, go out there and be ruthless!