Clutter Control Tips
I don’t think anyone likes clutter. And if you’ve got clutter around your house, there’s absolutely no way that you can clean it properly. You’ll spend your whole time trying to get rid of the clutter when all you want to do is clean the house. So dusting and vacuuming will have to wait while you get rid of that mess.
So the moral of the story is–don’t let the mess turn into uncontrolled clutter, or else you’ll never get a handle on it. You’ll spend your whole time de-cluttering and be too tired or run out of time to actually clean your house.
Steps to Controlling the Clutter
1. Deal with the paper
Paper messes seem to be the biggest piles of stuff in peoples’ homes. It doesn’t matter if it’s the newspaper, the mail, bills, work papers, or your kid’s artwork and projects, it’s still clutter.
Mail – Deal with it as soon as you get it! Put that garbage can right by the front door. When you pick up the mail, open the door, and throw any junk mail that you don’t want right in the garbage can. Go through the rest of your mail right then.
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Have a “to do” file that your bills can be put into right away. Open up the bills, take out the statement and envelope, and throw the rest away! Put the to do file right where you can see it. Next to the computer, or on the desk where you do your work.
You might want to think about making that garbage can by the front door into your recycle bin. That way all of your junk mail can go in it and also your old newspapers. Then all you have to do is take the recycle bin out to the curb when you need to!
2. Do you have kids?
The hardest thing in the world is to get rid of your child’s artwork or homework assignments from school. Do you want to keep that artwork or paper as a keepsake? Or do you want to reduce clutter? It’s hard to decide.
You might want to keep a plastic storage bin in a hall closet or in your office closet just to throw those papers into. You can keep them all if you want. Or just keep the best and throw away the rest. Have a bigger bin in the garage or basement where you can put all those papers in when the smaller bin fills up.
3. Ask yourself this question: Will I use this item ever again?
Be totally honest! If you haven’t used it in a year, then you probably won’t use it ever again. So get rid of it! Give it to a thrift store or a charity, or you could even sell it at a consignment store. And if you can’t decide, then store it somewhere for a good 6 months. If you haven’t used it by then, then you’ll know. You can get rid of it.
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4. Holiday stuff
Store your seasonal items somewhere else, like in your attic, the basement or garage. Get it out of sight for now. Buy some large stackable storage bins that pull out like drawers. When you buy something for the holidays, and it’s during another season, it’ll be easy to get to that bin, pull out the drawer, and stick the new item in.
It’s even better if the drawers are clear, then you can see what’s inside, and put like stuff together with other alike items. And when it’s time to decorate for the holidays, you can easily see what’s in the bin and go right for it.
This is just a start. Cruise around this website for lots of other ideas for organizing clutter, or getting rid of it. We’ll give you lots of other ideas to incorporate into your lifestyle to make it simpler and much more clutter-free!
