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72 Take stock of your children's clothing and shoes. Gently used clothing and shoes can often be sold at consignment stores or handed down to a friend with younger children. TIP: Organize a swap meet. Invite friends to your place and exchange clothing and toys that your children are done with.
73 Go through your child's bookshelf and remove any books he or she has outgrown. Find a website where you can swap your gently used kids' stuff with other parents.
74 Change the bed sheets weekly to keep dust mites away.
75 Hang your child's art and display in a gallery frame. But don't keep everything your child brings home from school; it can pile up quickly.
76 Clean and disinfect toys regularly. Hard toys can be washed with warm water and soap, then air-dried. Most soft toys can be thrown into the washing machine.
77 Encourage your children to be self-reliant. Install child-level hooks for clothes and low shelves for toys and books so your child can learn to put things away.
Basement
78 Get rid of anything stored in the basement that hasn't been used in over a year. If you've been storing old or broken furniture and appliances down there, it's time to make a decision. Either fix it up or let it go!
79 Invest in a dehumidifier to get rid of the damp air.
80 Make use of your basement. It's a large space, so create a playroom, TV space, spare bedroom or just an organized storage area.
81 Keep basement windows open in the summer to let the house breathe.
