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Do you walk by a room and cringe because of the accumulated stuff? Have you lost a parking spot in the garage because things took its place? Imagine the relief and joy you feel when these spaces open up. It's a matter of finding a place for everything in the room or passing it on to someone who will appreciate it more. Facing a room filled with overflowing dumped items can faze anyone. You're probably thinking, Where do I even begin? Step 1 is to pick a room to declutter. Now for Step 2, grab three trash bags or boxes. While the clutter may not be completely gone in an hour or a day, these tips will give you a fast head start. If you're looking for new DFW homes, this is the perfect time to get started. Once you find that home, you'll need to pack your stuff. It'll simplify moving when you go through this process while packing. Here are five organization tips to help you get the clean home you deserve. Sort Clutter Quickly Now that you're armed with a trash bag and a strong desire to reclaim your space, your mission is to quickly review each item. Foe each item, ask:

• Is it mine?
• Has it been used within the last year?

The quickest thing to purge are items that are not yours. Your new rule is that anything that doesn't belong to you has no place in your home. For all items to return, put them in a bag or box with a note to return them. Anything that has not been used for more than a year is either a victim of "I-might-need-it-someday" syndrome or it's tied to a memory. The "I-might-need-it" items are one of the hardest to shed. But they're also one of the major causes of clutter. You have two more unused bags or boxes. One bag will be the one for things you've used within the past year. The other bag will be for items for everything else. Don't spend too much time thinking about the item. Just put it in one of these two bags. Review Bag of Rarely Used Items Now most everything is in one of three bags. Open the bag with the items you haven't used in more than a year. As you take one out, determine how long it's been since you've used it and if it's worth keeping. People hang on to that blouse that they don't love in case they need it in this color or for that occasion. Let it go. If it's a coat for very cold weather and the winters have been mild, it may be worth keeping as coats aren't cheap. However, if the style is outdated or the coat doesn't appeal to you, recycle it. Rather than dumping the coat in a room, store it in a box containing seasonal items. Store the box of seasonal items in a space out of the way. You can give up other things like the waffle maker you haven't used since you first bought it. Should the opportunity to make waffles comes up, you can always borrow someone's waffle maker or buy pre-made waffles from the store. Sift Through Papers Here's another rule worth establishing to help prevent mail clutter. Next time you get the mail, go through it and recycle anything you don't need. Bills and time sensitive mail should go into a box or folder that you review regularly. As you flip through the mail, file it or recycle it. Most bills and important papers can be sent electronically. Consider switching all your bills to paperless. Saving them in your email app takes less room than piling up on top of your desk or table where they're bound to get misplaced. Not everything can be paperless. Thus, it's worth having a file cabinet. Create folders that make sense for you. For instance, parents can create two folders for a child's education. One folder is for the current school year. At the end of the school year, purge this one. The other folder contains anything that needs to be kept longer. Manage Your Memories Do you have a deceased relative's fine china or jewelry that you never use? It's tough to let go of items like these. Remember the bag of items tied to memories? Time to dig through those. For things you don't use, consider passing it on to relatives who might appreciate it and use it. Before you do, take a photo of the item. It'll make letting go easier. Repeat the Process Rome wasn't built in a day and neither was the clutter. Schedule clutter clean up on a regular basis. Once you conquer every room and the garage, switch clutter cleanup to a monthly schedule. New stuff will be coming in all the time. One rule you may want to institute is that anytime something comes in your clean home, the same amount must go out. Buy a new shirt? Toss an old one. Get a jump on gift-giving season by requiring everyone pick five to 10 items to donate or recycle. Clutter is a solvable problem that can be cured by devoting a couple hours a week on cleaning. It requires no drywall, painting, or any more involved things owners of old and new DFW homes need to do for once-a-year fall home maintenance and winterizing a home. There's something about an uncluttered room that helps unclutter the mind. Applying these organization tips will lead the way to a clean home. You deserve to enjoy your home.