Clutter: Where Do I Start?
We could all use a little more organization and a little less clutter in our lives. It can be hard when so many things cluttering up our closets, desks and homes. How do you even decide what is and is not clutter; and how can you get rid of it?
This is a task we often approach the wrong way.
We look at the clutter, and try to find some way to get it organized. I’m not saying it isn’t a big problem for some of us. I think everyone has a bit of the hoarding syndrome – it’s just worse for some than others. If you can’t open your closet without those boxes of extra Christmas wrap you’ve been meaning to use up falling on your head, or can’t find the floor for the clothes, then you have a problem.
What we really need to think about first is not the ‘doing’ of decluttering, but the decluttering of our mind – the reasons why we have the clutter in the first place. Make two lists, based on these two criteria:
a. What’s really important to you
b. What is not, that you can let go.
You may find that by uncluttering your mind, you can more easily unclutter your surroundings.
Now let’s get started.
Reducing clutter is easy you just have to know simple solutions in order to get your things organized. For many of us, the number one place to find clutter is in the closet. The door closes on ’stuff’, and we can ignore how it is piling up. It may start off containing coats and winter clothes, but can easily morph into a hold-all for sports equipment, boxes of old clothes or even stacks of magazines. You need to find some storage solutions that work.
If your closet doesn’t have a shelf at the top, put one in. Now don’t just stop there. Buy some stackable bins that you can label and place on the shelves – gloves, hats, and scarves. Remove those things that don’t belong. Are you really going to read those old magazines? Why not go through them and cut out the articles that you would like to keep and place them in a binder by using clear plastic sleeves. Can you store the golf clubs in the garage, and isn’t it time you took those clothes to the thrift shop?
cluttered closet
Under the bed is another clutter nightmare. It seems to collect shoes, boxes of pictures and memorabilia, and extra bedding. Perhaps there is no where else to keep this stuff. If your closet clean-out is done, you may have just gained a place. However, you can find simple solutions to your storage problem here too. Why not maximize the space you have under your bed. Find some wheeled bins (with labels, of course) to hold your seasonal bedding or your shoes. The wheels make them easy to slide out so this is an easy way to store items but still keep them close at hand.
Again reducing clutter is about assessing the items you have and figuring out if it is worth keeping them. Ask yourself questions about the item:
- Is it important to you?
- Have you used it within the past year?
- Is it in good shape?
- Are you keeping this item because it came from Aunt Anna, and it would make you feel guilty to get rid of it?
- Is it out of style and not worth keeping?
These questions can be difficult, but when you stay focused on having a clean, organized living environment, you will be honest with yourself. You’ll find as you strip down those un-needed material possessions, you are also de-cluttering and freeing your mind.
