It’s a rainy Saturday here in L.A., perfect weather to stay home and do a little organizing. With the holidays winding down, you may be feeling a little overwhelmed and stressed from all the hubbub. De-cluttering can actually help you detox and recover from the holiday frenzy and give you a kick-start on the New Year.

I just spent the morning in my home office and thought I would share some tips to get you started. Paperwork is a great place to start because we need to get our files in order for 2013. While I’m not going to focus on filing systems today (don’t worry, we’ll tackle that topic early next year), here are three easy ways to cut clutter in preparation for the new year.

1. Shreddables

Go through your files and pull everything out you no longer need.  If it needs to be shredded, put it in a box.  If you have a reasonable amount of papers shred them yourself. If not, go online and find a shredding event in your area.  For a nominal fee or sometimes for free, you can take your shredding to a community drop-off center. These events are held periodically across the country.  Items that need to be shredded include anything with an open account number (bank & credit card statements, etc.), anything with your social security number or personal information you wish to keep private. All other papers can be put in the recycle bin.

2. Charity Donation

Though this category isn’t paper, it’s timely. Monday, December 31st is the last day to make a charitable donation for 2012.  Go through your closets and pull out anything that no longer serves a purpose in your life. It could be clothes that don’t fit or you don’t wear, linens you no longer use, dishes & small appliances taking up valuable real estate in your kitchen, etc. You get the idea. If you don’t have time to go through your whole house, pick a closet or area that is easy for you to make quick decisions. It will feel good to clear out these items, plus you’ll get an extra tax deduction.

3. Magazines and Catalogues

Gather up all magazines and catalogues that you’ve read and/or don’t need and put them in the recycle bin. If there is a particular article you wish to read simply tear it out of the magazine and set it aside. If there are items in the catalogue you wish to buy, tear out the pages and then go online to shop. This is so easy and will clear clutter in no time.

Let me know what area you decided to tackle this weekend and how you felt once the project was completed.

Until next time,