Cedar Mill Business Association Presentation - Feb 10, 2026

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Declutter in 2026 - First Steps For A Fresh Look In A New Year

This last weekend I uncovered probably $500 in gift cards that were buried in couple of piles.

• Raise your hand if you ever purchased a gift card for someone.

• Raise your hand if you have money to burn.

• Raise your hand if it would bother you to know that the recipient of your gift card threw it in a pile never to be seen again (unless… )

• Raise your hand if YOU might be that person who is the recipient of a gift card that MIGHT have been lost in a pile.

INTRO

My name is Joni Thurber and I have a business called Juggle Source. I have met most of you over the last few years of attending CMBA meetings.

My business is Personal Assistant business, but within that, I do a lot of organizing. I want to disclose that I am not a professional organizer. I know organizers who are certified. They are very good, and I’ve learned some things from them. But I also have a knack for being able to visualize what needs to happen and the steps it takes to get it done, which really comes in handy when organizing, purging, or moving.

WHY DO WE CARE if we’re organized in 2026, or in any day?

Because being organized, to a large degree, gives us:

• Peace of mind - It affects our well being: physically, mentally, and emotionally

• Is better stewardship (and use) of our money

• Saves us time - in spite of what you might think you don’t have time to put something in its home

WHY did I share the above Gift Card scenario?

Because it’s common - I’ve seen it in every socioeconomic background. People with lots of money and people with very little money, will lose their gift cards, which is, literally, money.

I want to assure you that being a person who can keep things organized, neat, or tidy, effects people of all walks of life. I have clients who have very little expendable income, and others who have much much more. You cannot judge whether a person has got their home in order by their

• clothes

• they way they look

• their job

• their income

• or anything else.

The title of today’s message is: Declutter in 2026 - First Steps For A Fresh Look In A New Year.

That sounds pretty ordinary. Something that you might see on the front of Glamour Magazine or REAL SIMPLE. But as ordinary as it is, a fresh look, a fresh feeling, a feeling of relief, is what I believe we all want when we walk through the door of our home.

Our calendars are full with commitments to work, friends, family, home, personal well being, church and spiritual involvement, community. The list is endless. We need our home to be a sanctuary; a respite where we can rejuvenate and refuel, preparing us for the next day.

Imagine coming home after a long day. It’s rained all day. You park in your driveway, because there’s not enough room to park in the garage. You fumble for your keys while you jostle the bag of groceries, grateful the day is over. You unlock the door and immediately see the same stacks of paper on the kitchen table and the counter that have been there for, you don’t know how long. You shove the pile on the kitchen counter to make room for the groceries, and pieces of mail fall to the floor. Packages have piled up on the kitchen chairs. You make your way to the bedroom, viewing more stacks of mail and papers, on the end table in the living room. You can’t wait to change out of your work clothes. You eye the papers, books, phone accessories, and other forgotten items that sit on your night stand and dresser. There are bandaids, hair ties, pennies, quarters, old keys, stickers, business cards, pens, pencils, lotion, earrings, bracelets, a pop can, a pair of scissors, a spool of thread, some photos, a journal, a postcard… The sweater you started knitting six months ago lays on the floor, and it looks like the cats have pulled the yarn out of the basket, because it has disappeared under the bed. You walk back into the kitchen, because that’s your routine when it’s time to make dinner. Your husband says, “What’s wrong honey?” And you reply, “I don’t know. I’m just in a bad mood.”

OR

Imagine coming home after a long day. You hit your garage door opener, and slide into the garage, grateful to be out of that rain. You get the bag of groceries out of the back seat and walk into the kitchen from the garage, and set the bag on the counter. Grateful to be home, you head back to the bedroom and change into sweats. You place your jewelry in the dish on your dresser, slip into your house shoes, and return to the kitchen, grab a Caffeine Free Coke Zero (or pour a glass of wine) and begin dinner preparation, reveling in the solace of home after a hectic day.

I think we all know which of these scenarios we’d all prefer.

Today I’m going to touch on two areas of organizing: maintaining and purging.

Since this is a general presentation and I don’t know what your home organizing status is, I’m going to give you some basic tips to maintain, and to purge.

MAINTAINING

Everything has its place - and they don’t have to be labeled or in matching containers

What prevents us from maintaining order?

• Being tired

• Not having a place to put things

• Time - There simply doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day.

• Procrastination - It’s boring! I just don’t feel like doing it.

• Distractions

  
  

The primary strategy to maintain is to create systems, habits, routines, and EVERYTHING has its place. 

Now I’ll go over these barriers with some tips. 

Keep in mind, I could elaborate on all of these ideas, but we only have a short amount of time.

Being tired - Schedule time to put things away, or create a routine

Example: My habit is that when I bring new items into my home, they are put away the same day. OR…all items that I bring into my home are put where they belong on Saturday mornings when I return from the gym.

WHATEVER you want it to be. But create it a system that is realistic.

Not having a place to put things - Create a location. Collaborate with family members or hire an organizer to help with this. Things to consider:

• Like things with like things

• How often do you use it? What makes sense?

• Space and room - What’s your space budget.

  • Example: Batteries - the garage or in a kitchen drawer? I keep mine in the garage on a shelf. I know exactly where they are when I need them.

Time - This goes back to scheduling a time, or creating a routine. You will SAVE time by not looking for lost or misplaced items. You will also spend more time and money on the back end when things pile up. This speaks to being a good money manager.

Procrastination - This is common. While there are some people who get a kick out of organizing, that’s not most people. But I will tell you, like many things, the journey may not be pleasant, but the outcome is very satisfying. But make it easier on yourself with systems or routines, and a place for your things. This will make putting things away less daunting, more agreeable to you, and more satisfying.

Distractions (other demands or indulgences, ie: watching The Pitt) - Again, this goes back to having a place to put your things, so you can be efficient enough to get to the things you enjoy without it costing you so much in time, money, and well being.

So, make it easier on yourself with systems or routines. Everything has its home.  This will make putting things away less daunting, more agreeable to you, and more satisfying.

In the scenario of the gift cards, or the coming home scenario, imagine if all those things had been put in their proper place. For example, gift cards can go:

• In a drawer or basket near the door where you exit

• In your glove compartment

• In your wallet

• In your gift box (as long as you don’t regift… my client last weekend actually told me that happened!)

  
  

So that is MAINTAINING. Everything has its place, and the take away is to create systems and routines.

PURGING - Start with what’s EASY and start AT THE BEGINNING!

We tend to look at the whole project, and become overwhelmed by it. But everything has a beginning and an end. A football game, unloading the dishwasher, a recipe, taxes… everything! No one ever thinks: I’m going to win this game with one run. I’m going to unload the dishwasher with one motion. I’m going to create this dish in the blink of an eye. No! Everything has a beginning, and this is no different.

When I start in a room we have three black garbage bags or boxes that we label (usually with a Post It Note): DONATE, KEEP, TRASH

Definitions of DONATE, KEEP, TRASH

DONATE - This can be any number of places

• Goodwill, Community Warehouse, Beaverton Resource Center, Facebook Buy Nothing - no donation receipt)

The stumbling block often are the restrictions of these non profits.

I want to say something about Goodwill: Goodwill, or any other non profit, is not where you send things that are stained, torn, or broken. They too have to go through the items to discern if they are sellable items. Also, I know a lot of people are bothered that the CEO makes a lot of money. I’ll admit that I don’t know a lot about that. But what I do know is that there are almost as many Goodwill locations as there are Starbucks. Goodwill makes it easy for us to repurpose and reuse our items. And then, it offers an affordable option to shopping. Their donation sites are open into the evening. And they also have a career counseling center, and they offer free ESL classes to improve reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. There is a focus on employment and US citizenship preparation. They employ people with disabilities. I think all of these features make my donations to them worthwhile.

KEEP - It can stay in its place or… you place it in the bag if:

• putting it someplace else

• give it to a friend or a relative

• or sell it.

Make sure that you really do GIVE it or SELL it. - These are now ACTION items.

TRASH - Goes into the landfill. I could go more into this, but we don’t have time. But I will say this: If we can efficiently find a legitimate donation place, it should go there. But if a donation location is an obstacle, or you’re holding on to it because you don’t like the idea of it going into the landfill, consider that, eventually, it will end up in a landfill. And your house is not a landfill.

A final thought about concerns over trash. If you’re concerned about the landfill, consider your purchases.

Start with what’s EASY and start AT THE BEGINNING!

We tend to look at the whole project, and become overwhelmed by it. But everything has a beginning and an end. A football game, unloading the dishwasher, a recipe, taxes… everything! No one ever thinks: I’m going to win this game with one run. I’m going to unload the dishwasher with one motion. I’m going to create this dish in the blink of an eye. No! Everything has a beginning, and this is no different.

We choose a starting point (a beginning) and look at every single thing. This is important to do, and really, easier for me to do with a client, than the client. Because after a while, we tend not to SEE the things in our home that other people see. I know that when I plan to have people over, suddenly I see things through their eyes, because after awhile, things just melt into the walls and becomes part of the fabric of my home. So, force yourself to look at every single thing in the space you’re working on, until you've finished: the end.

We start with what’s EASY. What happens when you do this is that you clear away the “weeds” if you want to call it that, so you can more clearly see what you have. If we look at something for more than a minute, we call it, “Not Easy,” and move on to the next thing.

EXAMPLE: We look at an apron that mom’s friend gave her. Her mom and friend have passed away. It feels like something she shouldn't let go of. But we talk through it for a few seconds. We consider:

• Do you use this apron? Can you use it? It might be fun to use! Are you getting any satisfaction by storing it? Is there someone you know who would appreciate it?

• Do you have another item that reminds you of your mom and her friend? Because it’s often the memory that you don’t want to let go of.

If there’s not a definitive decision after a minute or so, we agree, this is not easy, and we move on.

This process helps YOU process. Your mind is recognizing that one, you have a choice. And two, you had not even thought about this item in years, but now that you are looking at it, you will make an intentional decision about it. That is progress, and that feels good.

So, EASY means: you look at it, think for a minute, and realize, I DO NOT WANT THIS IN MY HOUSE! Or a more gentle approach might be: Aw, this was lovely and relevant at one time, but I think I can part with this now.

Then choose its bag: DONATE, KEEP, TRASH - recycle?

You do this for the entire space. And then you go back and do it again. You do this because as you work through this process, you will discover that once you had an opportunity to consider an item, even though you’ve moved on from it, you might decide you’re ready to let this thing go. The second time around will be much faster than the first time.

Once you’ve gone through the space twice, you’re done, for now. This process stimulates decisions, such as:

What do I want for this space? - Is it your closet? Is it the linen closet? Is it room that can be transformed? If it’s your garage, can you possibly put your car in the garage now?

As you work through this, you’ll make decisions about where everything goes, creating a place for everything, with maintenance in mind. You’ll have a clearer picture of the space and that might ignite possibilities for improving your home and its spaces.

FAVORITE THINGS AND TIPS

• 10 Mins a day, or 2/day - or… be regular and intentional. This creates a habit, a mind set, and is really, starting at the beginning.

• Good enough is great

• Google Camera

• Every home and garage needs a good junk drawer - no need to separate, compartmentalize, label, etc.

• Facebook Buy Nothing - This is a great resource for giving and receiving items. Sharing resources and repurposing.

• Facebook Marketplace

• Martin’s Junk Hauling and Recycling

• Annie Haul - Donation focused

• Cord hook 

• Website on the QR code - my services, blog. I don’t add to it regularly, but the information is relevant!

  
  

So, this is what I hope for you in 2026

• Don't be overwhelmed. Like everything else, start at the beginning.

• Start with what’s EASY. You'll be amazed at the progress.

• That your tools are 3 bags: TRASH, DONATE, and KEEP

• That your gift cards are processed, because your money is valuable - I added this because I think it's funny.

• That your home is a sanctuary that rejuvenates you for the days ahead and the people around you.