How To Tame Clutter

Is clutter driving you crazy? An organized lifestyle can mean efficiency in your day and a more relaxing time while at home. Your home will look cleaner and you will find that you have more space which is easier to use and enjoy. Follow the tips below to begin organizing your home.

Recommended Materials:

• Stackable Plastic Drawers
• Wire Shelving
• Command Hooks
• Cardboard Boxes (for donatable items)
• Trashbags (for anything you do not intend to keep)

Step 1: Getting Rid of Unnecessary Items
Go through every room in your home and sort items by what you will do with them: keep, donate, or throw away. Keep items should be things you need and cannot part with, throw away items should be those which are completely useless to everyone, and donate items are those which you can’t use but someone else would benefit from.

Expert Tips:

• Work one room at a time, one section at a time, completing each area before you move on to the next.
• Go through toys with your child before birthdays and holidays.
• When it comes to clothes you should only have 3 types in your closet, those that fit, those that you love and those that bring you compliments. Donate the rest.

Step 2: Using Storage Solutions
Store items in a way which minimizes the amount of space they take while maximising how much use you can get out of them:

• Store small household items such as light bulbs and batteries in small totes.
• Store larger household items such as sheets or towels in stackable plastice drawers. Store in a closet.
• Attach clips, hooks or shallow wiring shelving to the inside of a closet door for extra storage.
• Place attractive storage containers anywhere that clutter gathers such as the kitchen table.

Step 3: Developing Good Habits
Staying organized is about developing better habits. 

• Analyze each new item you buy or otherwise acquire. Remember that for each item you acquire, you will have to find a home for it.
• Put things where they go when you are done using them.
• Always have a bag or box in your house which is a designated ‘donate’ location. Put items in there that you find you don’t use anymore and try to put one or two items in every time you acquire a new item.