After reading the "Too Much Junk in the Trunk?" post you might be wondering about all that junk in the trunk (now the house). I promised you more info on our junk removal process. So here it is! The first post in a new series all about the Frugal and Green benefits simple house. The Mr.'s favorite saying is "Less is More". We try our hardest to live that motto but in our materialistic world is a never ending battle.

But no worries, I have never enter battle without a good strategy. Here is an outline of our basic battle plans for de-junking our house.

• Time- I only start this project when I have a lot of time to work on it. Otherwise it doesn't get finished and is de-motivating.
  
• Prepare- I spend the week before hand mentally going though each room and changing things while I live my normal life. This seems to help make the work go faster because I've already started a short list of what items need to stay and what can go.
  
• Focus- When it's time to start working it's easy to get distracted. I try to stay focused by giving everyone a job, no TV, only music that gets you moving, and no checking email.
  
• One- I only tackle one room at a time. This relates to the above in that it keeps me focused. If I leave the room I start cleaning a different room and never can get one done completely. I also limit myself to one room a day if possible.
  
• Supplies- Make sure to have everything you need with you when you go into the room. Here is the general list of items I take with me to insure I don't leave the room and get distracted.
  

1. Two paper sacks (trash and stuff to sell)
2. Laundry basket (for items that don't below in that room)
3. Vacuum or broom
4. Surface and window cleaner w/ rag
5. Phone (so I don't leave the room!)

• Finish- It's important to finish the job. That means take the trash out, sort out the sack of stuff to get rid of and either post it on freecycle, craigslist, ebay or put it with your growing garage sale stash. Take the laundry basket full of stuff and put it away correctly. If you do this after each room it will make each room a little easier.
  

You might be thinking right now that I get distracted easily. Well, I think that when it comes to cleaning and de-cluttering most of us do! It's not in our nature to get rid of things so we tend to avoid it. I really do not want the process to take FOREVER so if I stay focused it will be done faster.


Are you ready to start de-junking your house? I am! You can follow along as I try to tackle my house room by room following the basic battle plan laid out above. The first battle will take place in our living room. It's time to make some room for the incoming toys!


What is your de-junking battle plan like? Do you have any strategies to share with us? Join me along the way and add a link to your progress posts!