The huswife's guide to

This is part one on my upcoming series unofficially titled "we have way too much crap in our house" where I will be feverishly attempting to eliminate said crap in the house.

This is one I've seen all over the internet and presented in a variety of ways. That means it must be good right?

When I first set out on this quest I had a lot of questions. For example, should I use one of those giant Costco trash bags or a kitchen bag or a grocery store bag? Boxes? What is the cubic volume of the bag? Truthfully it doesn't matter what your clutter receptacle is as long as you're happy with it. For me it's medium size black trash bags that I had laying around and a few boxes for breakables. There will also be times where there will be large pieces that can't count as bags. Don't be a slacker and choose tiny bags but also recognize there will be times you simply cannot fill a bag. Just try. If you get hung up on the details you'll get stuck and never accomplish anything.

Anyway. What do you put in the bags? Well that will depend on you!

You can download this handy chart I've created to keep track.

For now just start jotting down, in any order, places you know need a little visit from a trash bag. Don't be afraid if there's actual trash to throw out, that's clutter too!

Here are some ideas. Keep in mind you may need more or less bags for each task. I'll bet we could easily fill 3 bags of toys!

1. Kitchen - Plastic stuff
2. Kitchen - Appliances
3. Kitchen - Fridge/Freezer
4. Kitchen - Everything else
5. Kid closets
6. Kid rooms
7. Master bedroom closet
8. Master bedroom
9. Bathrooms
10. Blankets and linens
11. Living room
12. Office
13. Craft stuff
14. Purses/backpacks/bags
15. Junk drawers
16. Coats/outerwear
17. Shoes
18. Board games
19. Holiday/seasonal décor
20. Books/magazines
21. Kids books
22. Toys
23. Laundry room
24. Garage
25. Furniture
26. Paperwork
27. Garbage