It’s your expired receipts and misplaced jewelry. It’s your child’s abandoned Lego set. It’s your husband’s spare change, paper clips, and rubber band collection. It’s clutter, and it’s time to eradicate this lifelong burden we endure.
Most clutter bugs would acknowledge that tackling the clutter problem isn’t a quickly completed chore, simply because there is a lot to overcome. But, it’s also not a problem that will be solved with one deep cleanse. Decluttering your home is a habit, not a task.
Avoid letting the clutter get ahead of you. Most of us clean in waves of intensity, setting aside several hours one Saturday to sort through stacked boxes in the garage or scrubbing the kitchen of misplaced odds and ends. While we certainly might feel great seeing such improvements, this method isn’t helping our dirty habits. In the same way that clutter collects with time, so you must battle it with time. Creating new routines and organizational habits is the only way to go. You could start with short periods set apart each day, gradually building to spend longer amounts of time, fewer times per week.
Although it may be tempting to get your co-clutterers in on the cleaning charade, don’t invite them just yet. First, conquer your own, personal clutter zones to gather motivation and find encouragement to lead the way for others.
Clutter comes from deferring even the most simple decisions. “I’ll deal with that later.” “I’ll hold onto that… for a reason I’ll figure out later.” “I may or may not need that.”
A simple way to overcome this terrible practice is to not let the item in question escape your hands until a decision has been made. Use a four-box method of organization. With three boxes in front of you, labeled “put away,” “give away or sell,” and “storage,” set them alongside clutter’s best friend, the trash can. Again, don’t wait to determine an item’s destination – it must stay in your hands until a choice has been made. If you continue to prolong your decisions, you’re letting old habits die hard.
Reserve some time to empty the boxes. Should they be left to deal with later, you’ve only rearranged your clutter. Neatly organize the “put away” items in places they belong. “Give away or sell” items should be stored outside the house or even placed immediately in the trunk of your car to be dropped off at a donation center. As the “storage” box is filled, consider the best way to categorize and store the items for efficient use of space. Finally, of course, empty the trash can.
A more drastic, immediate-results alternative is a “box and banish” method. Collecting clutter from every corner of your home, from the kitchen cupboard to the bathtub, place it in boxes and bags to be stacked outside your living space and sorted out via the four-box method immediately after. You’ve given yourself some awesomely instant results, but be careful! You risk losing interest in continuing the process, suffering an illusion that your home is suddenly clutter-free.
This method does not solve the major problem if left incomplete, for what better a place for more clutter to collect but around existing clutter? Don’t let “box and banish” be a purely cosmetic quick-fix. Remember, we’re forming new habits.
Another method of eliminating clutter is one that identifies your storage needs and storage capacities to match them up seamlessly. Move from room to room in your home, placing empty boxes in front of closets, drawers, cabinets and shelves. After removing items from a certain area that simply don’t belong, place them throughout the house in their designated storage areas. Of course, don’t think you can’t use the trash can or a “give away/sell” box. This method really works best if you have lots of time available. Use it if you several days to dedicate to the clutter.
The ultimate cause of clutter is homelessness, items without a place to be stored. Establish designated homes for your belongings. Again, we’re working to build routines here, so help your things stay in their place by building routines. When you come home, don’t let your belongings drop where they may, but place them where they belong, keys on the rack, coat in the closet and so forth. Once you adopt new declutter habits, you’ll effortlessly and mindlessly reduce the clutter in your home.
Don’t be afraid to accept that you’re not likely to adhere so strictly to a clutter-free life, in which case set aside “clutter preserves” where clutter can collect, for a reasonable amount of time anyway. Let a chair in your bedroom serve this purpose, or a drawer in the kitchen. You’ll feel a little less guilty knowing you’ve allowed it to be there temporarily.
Finally, the less you let into your home, the less will become clutter. Be careful of your purchases, and don’t buy what you don’t need. The lesser, the better! With these tips and tricks, you’re right on your way to a happy, clutter-free home.
References:
Cynthia Ewer (2009). Declutter 101: Where Do I Start? Retrieved from
http://organizedhome.com/declutter-101-where-do-I-start
Cynthia Ewer (2009). Declutter 101: Strategies To Cut Clutter. Retrieved from
http://organizedhome.com/declutter-101-strategies-cut-clutter
Cynthia Ewer (2009). Declutter 101: Staying Clutter Free. Retrieved from
http://organizedhome.com/declutter-101-staying-clutter-free
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