Dear Friends,

Happy February 1st! We start a new Habit of the Month today. We are going to declutter daily. The FlyLady has been doing her daily videos, and she is challenging you to get rid of a small bag of clutter daily. This could be things to throw away or give away.

Let’s talk for a minute about the giveaway part because some of you are struggling greatly with this. When I am decluttering, I use boxes that I take directly to my car, or I use a black trash bag. If you leave the box or bag in the house or garage, your family will take things back out of it.

Some of you are stuck on finding just the right place to donate your items. Here is my best suggestion — donate at the place you drive by the most often when doing your errands. Don’t wait to go to the out of the way place because you think it is a “better” place to donate.

When you put off donating because it is not conveniently located, it will either ride around in your car for months, or it ends up back in your home. So pick a place that you pass by frequently, and that is your “go to” place for donating.

If you are struggling with paper clutter, you can make it your mission this month to get rid of paper daily. I would suggest you pick a number of pieces of paper to get rid of, like 27 (27 fling boogie), or I would suggest you give yourself a small bag to fill from the shredder daily. Either way, spend time each day in February purging paper!

If your laundry is out of control, spend time each day purging clothes. Start with one drawer or one basket and get rid of the excess clothing!

Whatever your clutter struggle is, I want you to practice the habit of decluttering something daily, and at the end of the month, you will be surprised at how much you are able to clear out.

Your Zone Mission today is in Zone 1. You can either spend 5 minutes each on the Front Porch, Entryway, and Dining Room, or you can spend 15 minutes in one of those areas. It depends on what you need to do!

Today’s Zone Mission is to declutter in Zone 1.

Your Home Blessing for today is to empty the trash, sweep, and mop.

My menu plan for Friday is take out.

Send me pictures of your progress this week in zone 5!