Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, September 6, 1993 TAG: 9309080133
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By CYNTHIA THOMAS HOUSTON CHRONICLE
DATELINE: HOUSTON LENGTH: Medium
When you're on the telephone or watching TV, do something productive with your hands.
Don't keep old magazines, newspapers.
Dump screws, nuts and bolts that you don't know what to do with. Throw away old maps and brochures - they're usually outdated - games you don't play, mateless socks, instruction manuals for simple appliances.
Don't pick up pens from hotels; they only have enough ink to last a couple of days anyway.
You may keep: six twist ties, five paper grocery bags and 10 percent of your kids' best artwork.
Don't binge clean. Tackle a huge mess one hour at a time on a regular basis. Like dieting, it takes awhile to see results.
Delegate chores to other members of the family.
Eat only at the table.
Think before you fill your drawers. Clean out drawers by dumping them out, then making a decision about each item. Have three boxes handy: one for things to give away or sell, one for things that need to be stored, like holiday decorations, and one for things that need to be put away somewhere else in the house.
Accept the fact that you are a slob and that slobs go through stages, including: denial that you're a slob; rationalization, or inventing excuses for your unacceptable behavior; projection, or blaming other people for your mess; and minimization, making the chaos seem less serious than it is.
by CNB