QUICK CLUTTER CONTROL
8 TIPS FOR A HOME
1. Whenever you have a few minutes to
spare put away items that are not in their correct place.
These could be toys that the kids have left somewhere,
letters that need filing away or clothes that need
putting in a drawer.
2. Dump junk mail the moment you receive it. Deal with
other mail at least once a week filing away what you need
to keep in an indexed concertina file, card or plastic
file wallets or even large brown envelopes.
3. The five boxes method. This will clear clutter from
any room or area of the house, but can look awful while
in progress. Setaside a time when you won't be disturbed,
put on a tape of upbeat music and have a treat in the
fridge for lunch. First job is to label the boxes -
Rubbish, Give Away/Sell, Keep, Sentimental and Not Sure.
You then go through everything in the area consigning
each item to one of the boxes. Theoretically, by the time
you have got rid of the Rubbish and Give Away/Sell boxes,
you should have enough space to store the Sentimental and
put the Keep items back in an orderly way. The Not Sure
box should be sealed up, stored in basement or attic and
if not needed after six months or one year, given away
unopened, so that you're not tempted to keep the contents
all over again.
4. Be ruthless. If you haven't used an item in the last
two yearsyou are not likely to need it again. Do you
really want a clutter free, streamlined home or not?
5. If you can't face an entire room, break the job down
into manageable tasks - the kitchen junk drawer, the
letter pile, the hats, coats and shoes area. That way you
won't be put off decluttering as just too
big a task.
6. Consider enlisting the help of a family member or
friend to be your organizing buddy. She helps you with
your house - you help with her clutter disposal.
7. Don't keep buying things. Stop and think, do I really
need this and have I got somewhere to keep this?
8. Don't give up. It will take time. All the clutter didn't
come into your home in one day and you won't get rid of
it all in one day. Keep on sorting, dumping, tidying and
labelling, cut back on bringing new clutter home and it
is a battle that can be won.
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