When you sally forth to do battle with your basement, set a timer for three hours and pretend that time really is money. You'll be less inclined to muse over Bobby's second-grade papier-mache aardvark if you feel you are paying for every minute of indecisiveness. But remember that decluttering a basement is rarely a one-shot deal, says Cyndi Seidler, owner of HandyGirl Professional Organizers, in Burbank, California. Consider doing it in waves, devoting a few weekend or evening hours to various categories of clutter.

Start in one corner of the basement and make piles for donation, disposal, and dispersal (things that will go to other rooms in the house), suggests Monica Friel, a home and office organizing consultant in Chicago. Wait until the piles are sizable before making a trip to relocate them. For things that are going to stay in the basement, put like items together. Sorting your stuff into categories will make it easier to decide what should be saved.