Banish Clutter

The first step to your soon to be beautiful interior is to deal with CLUTTER. We all have it. It is the stuff of life that doesn’t have a place and a way to defer a task for later – “I’ll deal with that pile on Saturday." Each person has their own personal litmus test of how much clutter they are willing to stand. My own personal level is quite low – it makes me nervous and itchy to see too much stuff in a room. But that is me. I totally understand that there are people in this world that perhaps think clutter is kinda cozy and charming. Only you can decide how much you can stand, but if you want to do something about it, I have some sure fire ways to deal with this subject once and for all.

Clutter is an outward manifestation of the absence of a conscious organization system in place in your home. I hope I haven’t lost you yet. This is just fancy language for not giving it a second thought before now. What you need to deal with clutter is a system that can be used again and again whenever and wherever clutter strikes.

Treat this upcoming approach in a business like manner as if you are “The House Manager”. This might take some of the sentimental stumbling blocks out of the way for you. All items can fit into one of 4 categories so I want you to collect 4 boxes and label them as follows:

TOSS – This is the most obvious category – any item that is broken, yesterday’s newspaper, old dated material - you get the idea.

PUT AWAY – Items that you have use of and want to keep. They may not have a place in your home yet but they will soon.

GIVE AWAY – Stuff that can be given away to your local Thrift Store for the ultimate Green Solutions of getting still useful stuff back into circulation again. You will feel good at getting rid of it and having contributed to a local charity. A double whammy!

SELL – Items that are maybe too good to give to the thrift and something that you may make some money on in a yard sale. This will only work if you are the type to actually have a yard sale. Otherwise, pack these items into the Give Away box. I suggest finding a corner of a garage or basement to store these items, pricing them as you go along.

Okay, there is a fifth box but only use this if you absolutely need to. It is the MAYBE box – something that doesn’t fit into any one of the categories above. You know, like the ugly teapot that Aunt Betty who visits once a year gave you. Date this box for 6 months and then review it again. I guarantee you will be able to cull it further the next time around.

Now you are probably saying to yourself this sounds workable but to do a whole house will take forever. That is the beauty of this particular system – you can apply it to a drawer, a corner of the room, the kitchen table, one bookshelf -- so that you are doing this in small bursts of energy, building confidence as you go along. Believe me when I say once you use this method, you are going to be hooked on the incredibly powerful feeling of control you will gain over clutter.

Now, I want to go into a bit more detail about the PUT AWAY stuff because this will involve other areas of the house. Ultimately, everything in your home should have a designated spot – one that every household member knows about and so can return the item to when they are done with it. This involves some thought on your part in regards to the most logical places for things. For example, dishes and glasses should be stored in the cupboard near the dishwasher. Telephone books should be near the telephone. Toiletries should actually be stored in the bathroom rather than randomly piled in a heap in the bedroom on one of your trips upstairs. You get the idea. For now, as you are taking the baby steps to a more organized life, put the items in the area of the room that they will ultimately live in. Don’t worry that they are not going to fit into the overstuffed drawers or closets because they will someday soon as you continue the purging and sorting procedure. You will be freeing up lots of space as you go along.

Here is where you can apply another time-tested approach to organization – it is THE KINDERGARTEN METHOD. Like goes with like – all the pens and pencils should be stored together, same for extension cords and paint brushes. Make sense and seems rather obvious doesn’t it? I think it is something that most people never really give much thought to, but if they apply this method they will never have to ask their spouse where the ‘thingy that goes to the vacuum cleaner is’ again. If you are planning on purchasing storage bins please choose clear ones that you can see through. This will make it so much easier to find things in closets, drawers and basements.

Quick fun tips
Stopping clutter at its source – have you ever noticed the neat and tidy person in the post office very calmly flipping through their mail and wondered what they are doing? They are separating out the junk mail, right there in the post office, and throwing it away immediately. The stuff never even enters their house. This is brilliant in its simplicity.

Everyone house needs a command center whether it is a desk, or a small home office. This is where the business of life can be dealt with – writing out checks, signing your kid’s permission slips, filing important papers away. Keeping all of this activity in one place makes the most sense.

Consider finding a spot to be designated as a Creative Center where you will find markers, paper, ribbons and art items. This can be set up in a closet and can be quite coloruful and fun – again using the kindergarten method of placing like items together in clear plastic bins.

Sometimes we have too much of a good thing such as too many sets of sheets or towels. When you think about it, each bed in your home really only needs two sets of sheets. Again, this can be a personal preference but consider keeping the best quality linens and parting with the mismatched ones, creating more room in the linen closet.

I want to leave you with this thought – don’t try for perfection but instead focus on creating a more livable environment for you and your family. You will find that your life feels easier and less stressed and that everything seems to run smoother. Then, you will have more time and energy for the fun activities of life – time with your kids, spouse and friends and the good feeling of knowing that you are returning at the end of the day to a neater, more organized and comfortable home.